This study used a 2 x 2 x 2 design to examine the effects of warning labels, bleeping, and gender on viewers' perceptions and enjoyment of a docu-drama. We also examined the individual difference variable of verbal aggressiveness to test for possible interactions. Overall, the warning labels increased enjoyment of the program containing profanity among college students. Bleeping had no effect on either program liking or perceptions of realism; however, bleeping decreased perceptions of the program's offensiveness, and increased viewers' perceptions of profanity frequently estimates. Lastly, verbally aggressive participants perceived the program as more realistic, and the language as less offensive
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The Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandated that broadcasters in the United States adopt program age and content ratings in order to help viewers make program viewing decisions. Since then, not only have program ratings and warning labels become a more familiar sight on television programs, but the very content that viewers are being warned about (e.g., profanity) appears to be occurring more frequently (Bauder, 2002). Research has examined the effect of age and content ratings and warning labels on children's program liking and perceptions of content, and found that in some circumstances, warnings and ratings have effects opposite those intended by the legislators (see, for example, Cantor & Harrison, 1996). Considerably less research has examined the effect on adults' perceptions of content (however, see Bushman, 1997). Furthermore, a majority of the research examines the effects of ratings and warnings on violent content (e.g., Cantor & Harrison, 1996; Cantor, Harrison, & Nathanson, 1998; Herman & Leyens, 1977) or educational content (Krcmar & Albada, 2000). Little, if any research has examined the effect of ratings and warnings on attitudes toward, and perceptions of, other potentially objectionable material such as cursing. It may be interesting to ask, therefore, if assigning a warning label affects how adult viewers interpret and recall cursing when it appears in television programs.
In addition to the use of program warnings, there are increasing numbers of cable channels available to viewers which may have served to loosen some norms regarding appropriate standards for programming. For example, in a recent airing of A Sea...
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Pashler, H.E. (1999). The psychology of attention. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rohsenow, D. J., & Bachorowski, J. (1984). Effects of alcohol and expectancies on verbal aggression in men and women. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 418-432.
Triesman, A. (1964). The effect of irrelevant material on the efficiency of selective listening. American Journal of Psychology, 77, 533-546.
Underwood, G., & Murray, N. (1971). Shadowing and monitoring for selective attention. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 23, 284-295.
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Marina Krcmar (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include effect of violent television on children and the impact of media policy on families.
Steve H. Sohn is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Connecticut. His research interests include media effects on body image and media effects on consumers' advertising message process.
Thompson, Ethan, and Jason Mittell. How to Watch Television. New York (N.Y.): New York University, 2013. Print.
Baker, William F. “On the State of American Television.” Daedalus. Vol. 136 No. 2. (2007). 141-144.
Bushman, B. J., & Cooper, H. M. (1990). Effects of alcohol on human aggression: an intergrative research review. Psychological Bulletin, 107(3), 341-354.
Censorship in television is a very debatable topic in today’s media and social realms. Nowadays what is considered appropriate by many may actually be considered explicit or unsuitable by the people in charge. Some may wonder ‘who is deemed so highly that they can decide what is and is not appropriate to watch. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is ‘responsible for administratively enforcing the law that governs what is and is not appropriate. Within this article I will discuss how the FCC decides what the American viewers are allowed to see.
Movies are no longer the only form of entertainment that has volunteered a structured rating system. In recent years the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board, has created a rating system to help with the increasing number of TV channels and programs coming into homes each day.” TV-Y, is appropriate for all children; TV-Y7, is designed for children 7 and above who can distinguish between make-believe and reality; TV-Y7-FV, is
This essay concerns attention and theories that have been proposed for it. Although there is no widely accepted definition of attention there has been many attempts to explain it such as attention refers to selectively focusing on one stimulus and ignoring other aspects of the environment therefore being a limited resource of cognition (in Smith & Kossyln, 2007). Theories implemented into the nature of attention are many and varied and mainly derive from information processing theories. This essay will specifically examine focused attention approaches to attention. These models are particularly concerned with how we are able to selectively attend information yet reject others and irrelevant information (in Eysenck & Keane, 2005). Such theories of early selection will be discussed; Broadbent’s (1958 in Lachman & Buttersfield, 1979) filter model which has been of particular importance to psychologists and Triesman’s attenuation model which has also been widely recognised (in Smith & Kossyln, 2007). However, before we look in to this it is important that we identify with one of the famous pioneers in focused auditory attention whose work has received immense popularity.
Television is a vital source from which most Americans receive information. News and media delegates on television have abused theirs powers over society through the airing of appealing news shows that misinform the public. Through literary research and experimentation, it has been proven that people's perception of reality has been altered by the information they receive from such programs. Manipulation, misinterpretation, word arrangement, picture placement and timing are all factors and tricks that play a major role in the case. Research, experimentation, and actual media coverage has pinpointed actual methods used for deceptive advertising. Television influences society in many ways. People are easily swayed to accept a belief that they may not normally have unless expressed on television, since many people think that everything they hear on television is true. This, however, is not always the case. It has been observed that over the past twenty to thirty years, normal social behavior, even actual life roles of men and women and media, regulatory policies have all been altered (Browne 1998). Media has changed with time, along with quality and respectability. Many Americans receive and accept false information that is merely used as an attention grabber that better the show's ratings and popularity. Many magazines and Journal reviews have periodically discussed the "muckraking" that many tabloid shows rely on to draw in their viewers. This involves sensationalizing a story to make it more interesting, therefore increasing the interest of the audience. "Along the way, all sorts of scandalous substance and goofy tricks appear, but not much mystery in the logic," (Garnson 1997). People often know that these shows aim to deceive them, but still accept the information as truth. Many times, people have strong opinions on certain topics. Yet, when they are exposed to the other side of the argument, they may be likely to agree with the opposite view. As Leon Festinger said, "If I chose to do it (or say it), I must believe in it," (Myers 1997). This is an example of Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, which pertains to acting contrary to our beliefs. Television influences many people to change their original beliefs. It has the viewers think that the majority of other people hold the contrary idea. Once these views are presented, people have the option to hol...
Van der Molen, Juliette H. Walma. "Violence and suffering in television news: toward a broader conception of harmful television content for children." Pediatrics June 2004: 1771+. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Apr. 2014.
In fact, a main contributor to these negative effects on children are caused by parents. Some parents pay little to no attention to the ratings of television shows, or movies, or the amount of sex, and/or violence their child sees on television. Studies indicate as follows,"Many parents find the entertainment industry's media ratings systems difficult to use; 68% of the parents of 10 to 17 year olds do not use the television rating system at all (Anderson, Bushman 17)." This is an astounding amount of parents that cannot tell which shows, or movies are appropriate for their children's viewing. Ratings for television shows are determined by industry sponsored ratings boards, or the producers themselves(Anderson, Bushman 18).
Treisman, A., & Gelade, G. (1980). A feature-integration theory of attention. Cognitive Psychology, 12, 97-136.
Media has become a very powerful tool. The combination between television, internet and videogames and more have blended in with many of our life styles despite how different we are. But at the same time there are many exposures by the media that shouldn’t be out there, causing young people to behave negatively. Many younger kids get their influence from television programs, such as violent cartoons, music videos, and movies. The content and language used in these media categories can cause a child or teen to use the same kind of language against another teen, an elder, and event their parent. This can result in a children using foul language against their own parent. Therefore, media shown during the day time should be censored to minimize the exposure young kids have to explicated co...
In American culture, the effects of violence and the dangers of recreational sex have caused huge controversy especially in young people. It is the nature of people in modern society to believe that sex can just be done for fun and love is not required. Particularly sex presented in TV programs teaches children that they can have sex with as many partners as they want without consequences for the irresponsible behavior. The fact that STDs, sex education, and birth control are rarely mentioned in TV programs is very disappointing. Children and young adults need to be educated on certain issues and not be encouraged to behave carelessly, because they will be forced to suffer the consequences eventually (Yeghiazaryan 8). Likewise, television is a business and it thrives off of major themes involving violence and sex. The television companies strive to maximize their viewers by entertaining them, therefore, “The TV industry is not concerned with issues of quality of programs and social responsibilities. Violence on TV is used as a tool to generate large audiences that can be sold to advertisers” (Yeghiazaryan 9). Television producers believe that violent scenes with loud music hold the viewers’ attention and improve commercial value. This is why it is more ideal to have programs that consist of violent actions. As a matter
Vulgarity in TelevisionIn the early years of television people where much more sensitive to what was said and took offense to any form of obscene language. Even in the movies it was unacceptable. However, for many the standard for the use of vulgar language has expanded. In many shows on television vulgar words are used way to often. In many cases unnecessarily.
The regularity and asperity of media violence has dramatically increased over the years. The Media exists in almost every aspect of people’s lives and exposure to violence in the media is becoming a large concern. People are exposed violent acts in the media everyday between video games, movies, and television. Parents are distressed over the fact tha...
A. "Television, Kids, Indecency, Violence, and the Public Interest" Speech given at Duke University School of Law. 9 Feb, 1996. http://www.netreach.net/kaufman/Hundt.FCC.kids.html Kaufman, Ron. A. A. "How Television Images Affect Children" http://www.netreach.net/kaufman/children.html Mark, Alexandra. A. "Washington Turns Up the Debate on T.V. violence. Then there is the snare.