Reality TV, materialism, and associated consequences: An exploration of the influences of enjoyment and social comparison on reality TV's cultivation effects

This study applied cultivation theory to examine the effects of reality TV on viewer materialism and the associated consequences of materialism. At first glance reality TV appeared to be the programming most strongly associated with materialism. However, the direct effect waned after introducing enj...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atlantic journal of communication 2016-08, Vol.24 (4), p.228-241
Main Authors: Lee, Shu-Yueh, Chen, Yen-Shen, Harmon, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:This study applied cultivation theory to examine the effects of reality TV on viewer materialism and the associated consequences of materialism. At first glance reality TV appeared to be the programming most strongly associated with materialism. However, the direct effect waned after introducing enjoyment and social comparison as mediators. In particular, the results showed that enjoyment fully mediated the cultivation effect of reality TV on materialism. This study demonstrated that media effects were not only mediated by individual differences in personalities but also determined by the viewing experiences.
ISSN:1545-6870
1545-6889
DOI:10.1080/15456870.2016.1208659