The purpose of this study is to develop and test a technique for analyzing theatre audiences based on George C. Homans' formulation of the Exchange Theory of Social Behavior. Exchange theory postulates that in every interaction there occurs a series of activities, some of which are rewards and others costs to the parties involved. The value of the costs subtracted from the value of the rewards yields the perceived profit gained by the interaction. Homans theorizes that the greater the profit perceived by the parties the more frequently they will engage in the interaction. / As applied to this study, rewards are those factors that motivate attendance at a theatre. Costs demotivate attendance. When deciding whether or not to attend a theatre the potential theatre goer considers the rewards and costs and will decide to attend only if the perceived profit of attendance is sufficiently high. / To test the application of exchange theory to audience analysis a survey was taken of the audiences for Ithaca College Theatre and Theatre Cornell. Various cost and reward question items were included in the surveys. The perceived profit of attendance was calculated and correlated with the number of times the respondents attended those theatres during the 1979-80 season. The hypothesis tested was: The frequency of attendance varies positively and significantly with the perceived profit of attendance. / The results showed significant correlations of profit and frequency ranging from .1990 to .3525, indicating that exchange theory can provide a useful structure for audience analysis surveys. These findings suggest that an exchange model audience analysis can identify those factors that motivate and demotivate attendance behavior for a particular theatre. Other statistical tests--multiple regression analyses and crosstabulations--were also used and shown to provide additional data needed to prepare effective communications with the audience market. With the information obtained through an exchange model audience analysis theatre managers can create policies, procedures, and promotional materials with added insight into their impact on attendance. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-12, Section: A, page: 3756. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75008 |
| Contributors | SCHULMAN, MARTIN., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 216 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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