Engaging the Female Audience: An Evolutionary Psychology Perspective on Gendered Responses to News Valence Frames

This experimental study presents an evolutionary psychology explanation for gender differences in responding to television news. It tests the idea that women are drawn to stimuli that are moderately arousing when they are framed positively and avoid negative ones, while men approach negatively frame...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of broadcasting & electronic media 2008-03, Vol.52 (1), p.33-51
Main Authors: Kamhawi, Rasha, Grabe, Maria Elizabeth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Audiences
Context effects (Psychology)
Demographic aspects
Experimental psychology
Females
Gender differences
Judgment
Services
Sex differences (Psychology)
Social evolution
Studies
Television broadcasting of news
Television news
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Summary:This experimental study presents an evolutionary psychology explanation for gender differences in responding to television news. It tests the idea that women are drawn to stimuli that are moderately arousing when they are framed positively and avoid negative ones, while men approach negatively framed stimuli more than positive ones. Men and women's affective and cognitive judgments of news messages in different valence frames (positive, negative, and ambiguous) were measured. The 2 groups exhibited different patterns in their reaction to the news message conditions in line with this hypothesis.
ISSN:0883-8151
1550-6878
DOI:10.1080/08838150701820783