Examines the relationship between victimization of characters in television drama and susceptibility to the viewers' cultivation of a sense of personal risk in the real world. Found that viewers whose fictional counterparts are more likely to be shown as victims show stronger associations between viewing and perceived vulnerability. (PD)

Reports that heavy television viewers tend to describe their lives as "lousy." (FL)

A secondary analysis of four General Social Surveys was performed to determine television's role in reducing social differentiation in the United States. An investigation of the extent to which television is associated with reduction in geographic regional impact on social and political attitudes indicates heavy viewers have more homogeneous…