This study examined the possible contingent conditions for the cultivation effect of television viewing. Program genre, program perceived reality, and direct experience with the outside world were major variables under examination. A survey of college students (N = 255) revealed that the amount of soap opera viewing was related to perceptions (1) more people in the real world having professional jobs; (2) liberal attitudes toward nonmarital intercourse. Viewing was not related to perceptions that most marriages end in divorce, or that people are promiscuous. Regression analyses reveal that while viewing is related to liberal sexual attitudes, the best predictor is church attendance. The results suggest that direct experience with the outside world has much more to do with social reality construction than does TV viewing. Implications for future research are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-4203 |
| Date | 01 January 1985 |
| Creators | CARVETH, RODNEY ANDREW |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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