Review of related literature samples

1. RESEARCH ON LEARNING FROM TELEVISION
Barbara Seels
University of Pittsburgh
Karen Fullerton
Celeron Consultants
Louis Berry
University of Pittsburgh
Laura J. Horn
12.1.1 Relevance to Instructional Technology
Research on learning from television encompasses more than formal
instruction. This body of research addresses learning in home as well as school
environments. Many of the findings are relevant to the instructional technologist;
for example, research on formal features* yields guidelines for message design.
Instructional technologists can both promote students‟ learning to regulate and
reinforce their own viewing* and educate parents and teachers about media
utilization.
In addition, instructional technologists are also responsible for
recommending and supporting policy that affects television utilization. The
literature provides support for policy positions related to (a) control of
advertising and violence, (b) parent and teacher training, (c) provision of special
programming, and (d) media literacy education.
Researchers in instructional technology can determine gaps in the theoretical
base by using reviews such as this. In the future, more research that relates
variables studied by psychologists to variables studied by educators will be
required in order to identify guidelines for interventions and programming.
12.2.1.2 Review Articles and Books
Despite such long-term efforts, much of the literature on television lacks
connection to other findings (Clark, 1983, 1994; Richey, 1986). The conceptual
theory necessary to explain the relationship among variables is still evolving.
Because of this, consumers of the literature are sometimes overwhelmed and
unable to make decisions related to interactions in the television viewing system
of programming, environment, and behavior. Comprehensive and specialized
reviews of the literature are helpful for synthesizing findings. Individual studies
contribute a point of view and define variables, but it takes a review to examine
each study in light of others. Fortunately, there have been many outstanding
reviews of the literature. For example, Reid and MacLennan (1967) and Chu and
Schramm (1968) did comprehensive reviews of learning from television that
included studies on utilization. Aletha Huston-Stein (1972) wrote a chapter for
the National Society for the Study of Education (NSSE) yearbook on Early
Childhood Education entitled Mass Media and Young Children‟s Development
which presented a conceptual framework for studying television‟s effects. In
1975, the Rand Corporation published three books by George Comstock that
reviewed pertinent scientific literature, key studies, and the state of research.
Jerome and Dorothy Singer reviewed the implications of research for children‟s
cognition, imagination, and emotion (Singer & Singer, 1983). In that article, they
described the trend toward studying cognitive processes and formal features. By
1989, the American Psychological Association had produced a synthesis of the
literature tided Big World, Small Screen.
Other reviews have concentrated on special areas like reading skills
(Williams, 1986); cognitive development (Anderson & Collins, 1988);
instructional television (Cambre, 1987); and violence (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988).
Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers offers a series of volumes edited by Dolf Zillmann
and Jennings Bryant on research and theory about television effects. Light and
Pillemer (1984) argue against the single decisive study approach and propose
reviews around a specific research question that starts by reporting the main
effects, then reports special circumstances that affect outcomes, and finishes by
reporting special effects on particular types of people. This integrated research
strategy is especially appropriate for reviews of research on television effects.
12.3.6 Current Issues
Contemporary research in the cognitive effects of the television medium has
generally continued along the same agendas as in previous decades. Additional
research into the nature of the television viewing act has further confirmed the
active theoretical approach. Recent researchers have explored the role of the
auditory message and reported findings that demonstrate the power of audio cues
in helping children identify critical information in the visual track which direct
their attention to comprehensible program content. Research has shown that the
relationship between attention and comprehension, previously identified, is a
complex and interactive process which relies on both visual and auditory
information as well as prior knowledge of content (Bickham, Wright, & Huston,

2. 2000). Researchers have also addressed the variable of comprehension in recent
research. Studies by Clifford, Gunter, and McAleer (1995) found that children
demonstrate different information processing and conceptualizing abilities than
do older individuals, and they caution that much of this area has received little
research attention. Further work by Kelly and Spear (1991) indicated that
comprehension could be improved by the addition of viewing aids such as
synopses, which are placed at strategic points in the program. Research involving
the use of closed captioning for deaf students demonstrated the critical nature of
the audio track in facilitating comprehension of television program content as
well as the beneficial effects of such captioning for all students ( Jelinek- Lewis
& Jackson, 2001).
TCC 2011 Proceedings
The Effect of Reality TV on Civic Behaviors
Fanning Elizabeth
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA, USA
[email protected]
Related Theory and Studies
Social Learning Theory
Social learning is a behavioral modelling technique that uses the context of a
social group or setting and the resulting group dynamics to teach social,
emotional, and practical competencies (Bandura, 1969, 1977). This group
dynamic encourages a similar reflexive quality in self-perception, and contributes
to the learner‟s sense of self-efficacy (Ibid, 1997). This developing self-efficacy
bolsters the learner‟s confidence and willingness to further explore and engage in
certain behaviors (Ibid), and to choose activities or behaviors in which the
learners feels they will be successful (Ormond, 1999).
Online social networks are rich with opportunities for social learning, with
the group dynamics of the discussion boards and blog postings driving and
setting the terms for acceptable attitudes and behaviors, along with participant
ratings providing immediate feedback. Similarly, if through participating in the
social networks surrounding the television show American Idol, people learn that
they can change the outcome of an episode through their opinions and voting,
their self-efficacy may translate to a stronger sense of their role as a civic
participant.
To watch or not to watch? That is the question.
Identifying the common characteristics of the reality television viewing audience.
Presented to the Faculty
Liberty University
School of Communication
In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the
Master of Arts
In Communication Studies
By
Laura M. Sipple
May 1, 2008
CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW Reality Show Viewers
Why are so many people tuning in to view these programs and who are the
people that continue to watch each season? While research relating to reality
television is relatively new, several studies have been conducted in relation to
viewer characteristics, media effects, realism and gratifications. However, due to
the popularity of fictional crime, detective dramas and police work, most of the
earliest research relied heavily on these types of series including shows such as
COPS and America‟s Most Wanted. (Oliver & Armstrong, 1; Andrejevic).
Previous research has briefly explored why viewers watch certain programs
but has been limited in their sampling sizes or program selections. In Oliver and
Armstrong‟s study, the data focused primarily on crime shows (COPS and
America‟s Most Wanted) and did not consider other types of reality programs for
their study. Random telephone surveys were conducted in Wisconsin and
Virginia in areas centered on large universities and only adults who were not full-
time students participated. Researchers sought to identify why viewers enjoyed
watching reality-based, fictional crime programs. (561)
Reiss & Wiltz‟s study utilized a questionnaire format and chose human
service workers and college students as participants. Five specific reality shows
were noted on the questionnaire and included Survivor, Big Brother, Temptation
Island, The Mole, and The Real World. Researchers chose these five shows
based on the “low level of morals found on the shows and the exploitation of the

3. participants as well as their appeal to a viewer‟s basic human quest for truth and
need for genuineness.” (370) Again, only a limited number of reality shows were
addressed in this study and two groups of participants were selected.
In the study conducted by Nabi, Biely, Morgan and Stitt, only Arizona
residents who were awaiting jury duty participated in the study. And most
recently, a study conducted in 2006 by Alice Hall addressed the audience‟s
understanding of the “nature, realism and gratifications” of reality show
programs. (191) the study participants included college students at an urban
Midwestern university, with an average age of twenty three. Here again, the
participants chosen were limited. While the results of these studies are useful to
further understand the nature of audiences, more diversity among participants
could have produced results that may be applied more universally in the field.
Some research, including work conducted by Katz, Blumer & Gurevitch,
takes a psychological perspective and utilizes the uses and gratification theory.
According to this theory, the audience is active and media is goal-directed. The
audience has specific expectations and these expectations motivate their choice
of media. Media is in competition with other sources for satisfaction and
individuals are aware of these needs and audience media selections and
subsequent gratifications are known and able to be effectively communicated.
(Grossberg, Wartella & Whitney 266-267)
This approach has been taken by Nabi, Biely, Morgan and Stitt in the study
of reality television -“what it is, how it differs from other types of programs and
who watches it and why.” (324) specifically, the study focused on the following
gratifications identified by Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch: “diversion,” “personal
relationships,” “personal identity” and “surveillance.” (312) Results indicated
that the gratification for regular viewers exceeded those of casual viewers and
regular viewers needed to be entertained versus casual viewers who watched in
hopes of “alleviating boredom.” (325).
While this theory has been accepted, cited repeatedly and has propelled other
theories, it has been criticized by other scholars. (O‟Guinn & Faber). Criticisms
included the lack of clarity, the nature of the audience, and reliance on the data,
specifically, reliance on self-reports. (Anderson &Meyer; Swanson; Sparks) In
response to these criticisms, R.B. Rubin identified the following six reasons why
children watched television: learning, habit, companionship, escape, arousal and
relaxation. This aided in addressing the problem of applying the research to other
areas (lack of clarity), and helped to address data validity. When questions such
as these arose, a shift in research was directed to what viewers do with media,
rather than what media does to people. (Klapper 27).
According to a recent article in the Journal of Consumer Research, “Reality
TV allows viewers to imagine themselves as actual participants.” (Rose & Wood)
The authors continue their discussion by assessing that viewer‟s blend fact with
fantasy, a term they have coined “hyper-authenticity.” In these cases, viewers
compare and contrast their lives to the participant's lives depicted onscreen.
Other research has shown viewers may have a voyeuristic nature (Johnson
56). However, this is a claim that Nabi, Biely, Morgan and Stitt refutes.
According to their study, voyeurism was not evident in the data. “Viewers
wanted to watch other people, but did not see something the characters didn‟t
want them to see.” (324) In this study, regular television programs as well as
seven specific reality-based programs -- Survivor, Real World, A Wedding Story,
Temptation Island, The Mole, Blind Date and COPS -- represented a variety of
sub-categories of the reality show genre. The results indicated that regular
viewers note that reality television programs are “novel,” “suspenseful” and
viewers enjoy their “unscripted nature” and “watch because they are entertained”
whereas casual viewers watch out of “curiosity and entertainment.” (320). In
addition, very few differences were found among participants in regard to race,
sex or age.
Reiss and Wiltz concurred with Nabi, Biely, Morgan and Stitt and took the
research a step further to locate unique motivations for each individual. Their
study was based on Reiss‟ theory of human behavior, more specifically “16 basic
desires.” Based on Aristotle‟s means and ends, and a variation of the “uses and
gratification” approach, Reiss expands the theory to include 16 fundamental
meanings of human life and suggests all goals in life can be categorized into one
of the following categories: “power, curiosity, independence, status, social
contact, vengeance, honor, idealism, physical exercise, romance, family, order,
eating, acceptance, tranquillity and saving.”
According to Reiss and Wiltz, “if we could identify the most basic or
fundamental motives of human life, we may be able to connect these motives to
desires to pay attention to various media experiences.” (364) Their results
showed that status was the main motivational factor in determining what program
to watch. “The more status-oriented people are, the more likely they are to view
reality television and report pleasure and enjoyment.” (373) They also found that
particular shows may appeal to different psychological needs. For example,

4. Survivor may appeal to those who are more competitive in nature, thus filling the
need for vengeance. (374).
Other studies focus on the personal connections that a viewer can potentially
make with a specific person being portrayed on television shows, not on the
reasons or motivations they may receive for watching a specific program. This
approach to the study of television audiences addresses the process known as
identification.
While no studies specifically mentioned the use of identification as an
audience response to reality programs in the United States, studies linking the
process of identification between audiences and television programs exist. Rubin
R.B. & McHugh (290) saw that the longer an audience member is exposed to a
character, the more likely they are able to imagine themselves as that character.
Some scholars contend that identification can occur after the viewing has
taken place. Resengren noted that “equally or even more important are those
relationships which extend beyond the moment of viewing ... „long term
identification‟ with one or more of the personae of the media world.” (349)
Early studies conducted on identification took on a psychological approach
and focused on a child‟s need for identification and how it related to the
formation of one‟s social identity (Freud; Erikson).
Kenneth Burke took the process a few steps further conducting extensive
research on the subject of identification and believed that the process of
identification occurs when “one individual shares the interests of another
individual or believes that he or she shares the interest of another.” (Burke 180).
Herbert Kelman accepted Burke‟s research but added the process of persuasion
and included that in identification as well. He claims that an individual goes
through a three-stage process of identification: 1) compliance, 2) identification,
and 3) internalization. During this three-stage process, identification can take on
one of two forms. The first form can be “classical - attempts to be like or actually
be the other person” (Kelman 63). Secondly, Kelman says the individual may
take the “recipricol role of identification - the roles of two parties are defined
with reference to one another.” (64).
Cohen has defined identification as “an imaginative process through which
an audience member assumes the identity, goals, and perspective of a character”
(Cohen 261). He continues by discussing an individual taking on a vicarious
experience. “Vicarious experience may take various forms: experiencing things
we cannot, or have not yet had the chance to, experience in person; trying on
alternative identities; or otherwise adopting the goals, feelings, or thoughts
imagined to be those of the target of our identification. Whether this vicarious
experience results in overt behavior or takes on a more purely imaginative form,
it is this vicarious experience that makes identification central.” (249).
In an attempt to measure identification, Cohen has developed the following
four dimensions of identification: “(1) empathy or sharing the feelings of the
character, (2) a cognitive aspect that is manifest in sharing the perspective of the
character, (3) motivational -- addresses the degree to which the audience member
internalizes and shares the goals of the character and (4) the absorption or the
degree to which self-awareness is lost during exposure to the text.” (256)
Hussmann, Lagerspetz & Eron, discovered that children who identified with
aggressive television characters increased their learning of aggressive behavior.
Many studies have been conducted to evaluate an audience‟s identification with
television characters (Chory-Assad Cicchirillo 154), fictional characters (Hoorn
& Konijn 255), and national identity (Creeber 31) however, only one study
specifically addressed the process of identification in relation to reality television
programs (Aslama & Pantti 52); and this was a study conducted in Finland.
Results indicated that the construction of national identity was intentional on the
part of the producers and that some details, perhaps unintentional, also
contributed to the formation of national identity.
REALITY TV AND INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP PERCEPTIONS
A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of
Missouri Columbia
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy
By KRISTIN L. CHERRY
Dr. Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, Dissertation Supervisor
MAY 2008
Literature Review Reality Television Research
Reality television programming has been around since the first broadcast of
Candid Camera in the late 1940‟s. It has not been until recently that these types
of shows have gained immense popularity. The debut of Survivor in 2000 has
been credited with beginning the infiltration of reality programming in the
current television landscape

5. (Rowen, 2000). Individuals are embracing this genre of television
programming as a relatively permanent fixture in television programming. In
2003 the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences added "Best Reality Show"
as an Emmy category (Rowen, 2000). This has led to the development of many
types of reality programming formats. While the research in this area is relatively
limited despite the recent surge in reality programming, in what follows I aim to
summarize previous research in this area.
The increase in reality programming is undoubtedly related to with the
increasing number of cable channels, which allows advertisers to reach niche
markets (Hiebert & Gibbons, 2000). The majority of reality television
programming is geared towards the individuals under twentyfive years old
(Frank, 2003). MTV has been presenting the Real World to this target younger
demographic for more than ten years. Frank (2003) suggests that younger
viewers are drawn to these shows because they depict characters and situations
that are relevant to their everyday lives. However, it was not until the debut of
Survivor in the year 2000 (Rowen, 2000), that reality television has gained a spot
on network primetime television, where the reality genre shows began to target
an older demographic (Rowen, 2000). There is a variety of shows that still target
the younger demographic, but now there are more shows that target a much wider
demographic. For example, network primetime shows such as The Apprentice
target the 1849 demographic (Rowen, 2000). Therefore, it is most likely that a
greater range of individuals are watching reality television today than in the past.
Nabi et al. (2003) examined the genre of reality television programming
itself. Multidimensional space analysis, of all television shows, indicates that
reality television is a genre that is distinct from all of the other pre-existing
genres; however, not all reality shows should be considered one cohesive genre
(Nabi et al., 2003). Two dimensions were found in the analysis, with the first one
presented as a continuum as to how suited the programs are for primetime
programming. The second dimension is fiction real. This is a continuum based on
whether the programs were portrayed as fictional or realistic based shows. Some
"reality" shows were listed as fictional because for some reason, the audience did
not perceive the show as realistic (Nabi et al., 2003).
Interestingly, not all reality shows were classified as "reality," and not all
fictional shows were classified as “fictional.” Some individuals included shows
that were not necessarily reality based in their definition of reality programming
because they perceived the shows as unrealistic (e.g., soap operas). Therefore,
when studying reality television it is important to examine the subcategories
within this genre. They include: romantic, talent, quiz, and game (Bailey &
Barbato, 2003). In this study, I will examine not only reality television viewing
as a whole, but also exposure to subgenres of reality television.
Some research has sought to discover why people watch reality television.
Reiss and Wiltz (2004) asked individuals to rate themselves on Reiss's 16 basic
life motives and also to report how much they viewed reality programs and how
much they enjoyed these shows. Results indicated that the appeal to reality
television programs was dependent on the amount of reality television watched.
The more reality programs an individual reported liking, the more status oriented
they were, they placed a higher value on vengeance, were more motivated by
social life, less motivated by honor, more focused on order, and more concerned
with romance. The reality television shows that people prefer to watch are those
that stimulate the motives people intrinsically value the most.
Hall (2006) conducted focus groups to understand why participants enjoy
watching reality TV programming. Participants enjoyed reality shows most
because of their humor and suspense. Reality programs were also found to found
to fulfill social functions for the viewers. Respondents reported watching with
friends and talking with friends about the reality shows they watched.
Participants indicated that their view of reality TV programming as realistic was
fluid. The criteria were different from show to show and changed as new shows
were broadcast. Therefore, perceived reality may be a difficult concept to
measure.
Papacharissi and Mendelson (2007) examine the gratifications sought from
reality TV. Concurrent with previous research, findings indicate that respondents
reported watching reality TV mainly to pass the time or for entertainment
purposes. The respondents who reported watching for entertainment were most
likely to perceive the shows as realistic. Barton (2006) examined reality TV
programming and gratifications obtained. Results indicated that the content of the
reality show influenced the gratifications obtained. A new gratification that has
not been studied was identified in this study, personal utility. This was one of the
strongest predictors of overall gratifications obtained. Personal utility refers to
the viewer gaining something personally useful from the program. This research
provides support for viewers genre specific programming selection is related to
the gratifications obtained. Therefore it is important to understand that the
viewers are watching for different reasons. These reasons may lead to differing
perception by viewers and thus differing effects.