Does Watching Court TV `Cultivate' People's Perceptions of Crime?

Abstract

In this study, we aim to determine people's motives for watching Court TV and whether this is related to their perceptions of crime. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 305 adults (18 plus) in the vicinities of Boston and New York. Inspired by Greenberg's and Rubin's television viewing motives scales, we developed a Court TV viewing motives scale. Using principal components analysis, five Court TV viewing motives were identified: voyeurism, boredom-avoidance, entertainment, relaxation and information. Our results showed that the entertainment motive is the most prominent viewing motive of Court TV, followed by the boredom-avoidance and voyeurism motives. As anticipated, respondents who more often watched Court TV tended to have more negative perceptions of crime in society. However, people who watched Court TV for its informative value in particular showed more negative perceptions of crime. The results are discussed in the light of cultivation theory and uses-and-gratifications theory.

Keywords

Court TV cultivation fear of crime perceptions of crime television television viewing motives

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