Designed to indicate the reasons behind viewer program preferences, this 32nd report of an annual opinion poll presents the results of a survey which asked 914 participants to evaluate 3,584 television programs they liked, did not like, and/or to evaluate new programs. Tables summarize the reasons why programs were selected by viewers, their…

A study was conducted to explore the hypothesis that heavy television viewing, particularly the viewing of a great deal of violence, cultivates certain misconceptions about social reality. Four counties in Florida were selected for the study on the basis of geographical location and amount of violent crime. Survey questionnaires were administered…

Determining what aspects of television entertainment program content influence a viewer in his decision about the real/pretend nature of that content was the purpose of this study, in which interviews were conducted with children, adolescents, and adults. Interview responses were coded in categories of content cues, with the coding of content…

Replies to Paul Hirsch's rejoinder to Gerbner et al's findings on cultivation analysis. (See EJ 240 175-177.) Addresses the use of the National Opinion Research Center/ General Social Surveys. Concludes that Hirsch's appraisal of cultivation theory and his reasons for rejecting the concepts of mainstreaming and resonance are unwarranted and…

Designed to indicate the reasons behind viewer program preferences, this report presents results of a survey which asked 1,576 television viewers (monitors) to evaluate programs they liked, did not like, and/or new programs. Tables summarize the findings for why programs were chosen, their technical quality, content realism, overall quality, and…

As part of a research program designed to facilitate the development of innovative television programing as well as programing that reaches unserved or underserved audiences, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting commissioned an evaluation of one 30-minute episode of the dramatic series, "Oye Willie," which features a Puerto Rican…

This study examined the effects of pictorial changes on recall of spoken text in a television news broadcast viewed by adolescents and adults. Adult recall of spoken text was impaired by mid-sentence picture editing while adolescents' recall was enhanced so long as accompanying pictures were relevant to verbal text. (MBR)

Identifies nine motivations for television viewing and relates these to age, viewing levels, television attitudes of attachment and reality, and program preferences. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of uses and gratifications research perspectives. (JMF)

Two samples, the first consisting of 13 and 16-year-olds and adults, the second consisting of children from kindergarten, second and sixth grades, are interviewed to measure the cognitive processes used to evaluate the credibility of television content. Additional goals include measuring the relationship between the use of these cognitive…

Examines types of adventure show content (violence, conflict, realism, and action) and viewer characteristics which may influence program liking. Findings suggest that the average viewer somewhat dislikes the typical violence portrayed in adventure shows; emotional conflict, however, seems to enhance liking for adventure shows. (PD)

Introduces a theoretical perspective on media viewing choices, grounded in social identity theory. Content analysis demonstrates that child, younger adult, and older adult television viewers show a preference for viewing characters of their own age. The experiment demonstrates that young adults' preference for viewing young adult characters exists…

Research literature relating to the power of dramatic television or movie entertainment for value, attitude, and behavior change is reviewed. Section 1 of this paper covers the research literature bearing on the effects of mass entertainment on adults, adolescents, and children. Section 2 briefly describes the research needs to be addressed by the…

An introduction by Jon Baggaley provides background information on this international conference and its participants, and introduces 10 papers which were presented. The papers are as follows: (1) "Teaching Production Research and Design: The Interface of Theory and Practice" (James M. Linton); (2) "The Impact of Television on…