This dissertation analyzed and compared the content of three prime time marital television programs for supportive marital interaction. Based on the evidence that television content can influence viewers toward the observed behaviors, the intent of this study was to determine the desirability of marital role models on television. The three programs, chosen according to highest Neilson ratings were Hart to Hart, Too Close for Comfort, and The Jeffersons. The standard used for analyzing the programs was the operationalization of supportive and non-supportive marital interaction by Sprenkle and Olsen (1978). / Two episodes of each program (or enough to present a minimum of 25 interactions) were videotaped for analysis. Nine raters were trained to recognize and code for supportive and non-supportive marital interaction on television. The episodes of the different programs were then analyzed and coded by three coders each, scoring independently. The data was analyzed in three ways: (1) a frequency count of supportive and non-supportive behaviors; (2) a ratio of supportive interactions to total interactions; and (3) Chi square tests of significance to determine whether the differences of frequencies of support and non-support among programs could be attributed to chance. / The findings reflected that the three programs portray distinctly different role models in terms of supportive marital interaction. Hart to Hart portrays very supportive marital interaction and ranked highest in scores of the three programs. Too Close for Comfort portrays moderately supportive interaction and ranked second in supportive scores. The Jeffersons portrayed primarily non-supportive marital interaction and ranked third in supportive scores. These findings can provide educators with reliable information for use in promoting programming that has value to adult viewers. The data from this study can also be employed in future studies on effects of TV viewing on adults. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-06, Section: A, page: 1801. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74851 |
| Contributors | ROTAN, GLORIA H., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 119 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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