Audience reception theory can be traced back to work done by British Sociologist Stuart Hall and his communication model first revealed in an essay titled "Encoding/Decoding.
[4] In "Encoding/Decoding", Hall addressed the issue of how people make sense of media texts, and presented three hypothetical methods of decoding.
Hall argued that the dominant ideology is typically inscribed as the "preferred reading" in a media text, but that this is not automatically adopted by readers.
The "ethnographic turn" contributed to the maturing of the field as contexts of consumption are now recognized as having significant impact upon the processes of the interpretation of media.
[11] Rooted in literary and cultural studies, reception theory emerged in the late 1960s as a response to traditional approaches to media analysis, which focused primarily on the intentions of the author or producer.
Thus, the reception of media texts can vary widely, reflecting the diverse interpretations and experiences of different audience members.
[12] One of the central tenets of reception theory is the concept of polysemy - the idea that media texts can have multiple meanings that are not dictated by the author or producer but are generated through interaction with the audience.
Reception theory further highlights the complex nature of media consumption, as audiences are not passive recipients but active participants in the construction of meaning.
Various factors such as age, gender, race, class, and education can influence readers' or viewers' interpretations of media texts.
Moreover, reception theory suggests that texts are not necessarily absorbed in their entirety, but rather selectively received and interpreted based on the audience's interests and preferences.
This selective reception reinforces the idea that audiences actively engage with media texts and shape their meanings based on their own needs and desires.