Social Isolation and Social Support as Correlates of Television Viewing Motivations
- 1 April 1988
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Communication Research
- Vol. 15 (2), 135-158
- https://doi.org/10.1177/009365088015002002
Abstract
Data from three computer-administered panel studies at the University of North Carolina were analyzed to explore relationships between motivations for television viewing and six individual-differences measures, including shyness, loneliness, self-esteem, and three measures of social support. Viewing motivations were supposed to be related to needs arising from two distinct sources: (a) social compensation, which included companionship, pass time, habit, and escape motivations, and (b) mood management, which included relaxation, entertainment, arousal, and information motivations. The results based on a sample of 290 undergraduates revealed that self-esteem and the three other social-support variables correlated positively with the mood-management viewing motive and negatively with the social-compensation viewing motive. Also as hypothesized, shyness and loneliness correlated positively with the social-compensation viewing motive.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- Social and psychological origins of media use: A lifestyle analysisJournal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 1987
- Audience Activity and Television News GratificationsCommunication Research, 1987
- VISUAL FORM COMPLEXITY AND TV NEWSCommunication Research, 1986
- The role of factor analysis in the development and evaluation of personality scalesJournal of Personality, 1986
- PROGRAM SELECTION WITH ABUNDANCE OF CHOICEHuman Communication Research, 1985
- Some Computer-Based Developments in SociologyScience, 1985
- The Role of Theory in Uses and Gratifications StudiesCommunication Research, 1979
- Social and Personal Stress and Escape Television ViewingPublic Opinion Quarterly, 1959
- Construct validity in psychological tests.Psychological Bulletin, 1955
- Drives and the C. N. S. (conceptual nervous system).Psychological Review, 1955