Soap operas constitute the most popular form of daytime television. Students are a large portion of the soap opera audience. The reasons for high student interest are unclear, however. The present investigation uses expectancy-value theory to untangle student perceptions of soap opera viewing, and it weaves these perceptions into the broader fabric of social psychological forces behind viewing levels. Among other things, the study indicates that desires for learning and romantic fantasy play little role in determining student exposure levels, whereas anticipated entertainment and social interaction are powerful expectations. Affective and cognitive factors mediate the effects of these expectations, however. Self-concept also plays a major role in determining exposure levels.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ajzen, I.
, & Fishbein, M. (1973). Attitudinal and normative variables as predictors of specific behaviors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27, 41-57.
2.
Ajzen, I.
, & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
3.
Alexander, A.
(1985). Adolescents' soap opera viewing and relational perceptions. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 29, 295-308.
4.
Anderson, J. C.
, & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411-423.
5.
Babrow, A. S.
(1987). Student motives for watching soap operas. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 31, 309-321.
6.
Babrow, A. S.
(1988, September). Social creation of media entertainment: The integration of audience motives and the context, content, and form of soap operas. Paper presented at the meeting of the Speech Communication Association, New Orleans, LA.
7.
Babrow, A. S.
(1988). Theory and method in research on audience motives. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 32, 471-487.
8.
Babrow, A. S.
, & Swanson, D. L. (1988). Disentangling the antecedents of audience exposure levels: Extending expectancy-value analyses of gratifications sought from television news. Communication Monographs, 55, 1-21.
9.
Bagozzi, R. P.
(1982). A field investigation of causal relations among cognitions, affect, intentions, and behavior. Journal of Marketing Research, 19, 562-584.
10.
Bagozzi, R. P.
, & Burnkrant, R. E. (1979). Attitude organization and the attitude-behavior relationship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 913-919.
11.
Becker, L. B.
(1979). Measurement of gratifications. Communication Research, 6, 54-73.
12.
Bem, D. J.
(1967). Self-perceptions: An alternative interpretation of cognitive dissonance phenomena. Psychological Review, 74, 183-200.
13.
Berkowitz, L.
, & Rogers, K. H. (1986). A priming effect analysis of media influences. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Perspectives on media effects (pp. 57-81). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
14.
Blumler, J. G.
(1979). The role of theory in uses and gratifications studies. Communication Research, 6, 9-36.
15.
Blumler, J. G.
(1985). The social character of media gratifications. In K. Rosengren, L. Wenner, & P. Palmgreen (Eds.), Media gratifications research: Current perspectives (pp. 41-59). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
16.
Brinberg, D. L. (1979). The comparison of three attitude models for the prediction of blood donation behavior. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
17.
Cacioppo, J. T.
, & Petty, R. E. (1985). Central and peripheral routes to persuasion: The role of message repetition. In L. Alwitt & A. Mitchell (Eds.), Psychological processes and advertising effects: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 91-111). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
18.
Cantor, M. G.
, & Pingree, S. (1983). The soap opera. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
19.
Carey, J. W.
, & Kreiling, A. L. (1974). Popular culture and uses and gratifications: Notes toward an accommodation. In J. Blumler & E. Katz (Eds.), The uses of mass communication: Current perspectives on gratifications research (pp. 225-248). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
20.
Carveth, R.
, & Alexander, A. (1985). Soap opera viewing motivations and the cultivation process. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 29, 259-273.
21.
Chaiken, S.
(1987). The heuristic model of persuasion. In M. Zanna, J. Olson, & C. Herman (Eds.), Social influence: The Ontario symposium (Vol. 5, pp. 3-39). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
22.
Cialdini, R. B.
(1987). Compliance principles of compliance professionals: Psychologists of necessity. In M. Zanna, J. Olson, & C. Herman (Eds.), Social influence: The Ontario symposium (Vol. 5, pp. 165-184). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
23.
Cohen, J.
& Cohen, P. (1975). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
24.
Compesi, R.
(1980). Gratifications of daytime TV serial viewers. Journalism Quarterly, 57, 155-158.
25.
Cooper, J.
, & Croyle, R. T. (1984). Attitudes and attitude measurement. Annual Review of Psychology, 35, 395-426.
26.
Delia, J. G.
, O'Keefe, B. J., & O'Keefe, D. J. (1982). The constructivist approach to communication. In F. Dance (Ed.), Human communication theory: Comparative essays (pp. 147-191). New York: Harper & Row.
27.
Edwards, W.
(1954). The theory of decision making. Psychological Bulletin, 51, 380-417.
28.
Fishbein, M.
(1980). A theory of reasoned action: Some applications and implications. In H. Howe & M. Page (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation 1979: Beliefs, attitudes, and values (pp. 65-116). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
29.
Fishbein, M.
, & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
30.
Galloway, J. J.
, & Meek, F. L. (1981). Audience uses and gratifications: An expectancy model. Communication Research, 8, 435-450.
31.
Garfinkel, H.
(1967). Studies in ethnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
32.
Gerbner, G.
, Gross, L., Morgan, M., & Signorielli, N. (1986). Living with television: The dynamics of the cultivation process. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Perspectives on media effects. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
33.
Greenberg, B. S.
, Neuendorf, K., Buerkel-Rothfuss, N., & Henderson, L. (1982). The soaps: What's on and who cares. Journal of Broadcasting, 26, 519-535.
34.
Hunter, J. E.
, & Gerbing, D. W. (1982). Unidimensional measurement, second order factor analysis, and causal models. In L. Cummings & B. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 267-320). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
35.
Levy, M. R.
, & Windahl, S. (1984). Audience activity and gratifications: A conceptual clarification and exploration. Communication Research, 11, 51-78.
36.
Liska, A. E.
(1984). A critical examination of the causal structure of the Fishbein/Ajzen attitude-behavior model. Social Psychology Quarterly, 47, 61-74.
37.
Lometti, G. E.
, Reeves, B., & Bybee, C. R. (1977). Investigating the assumptions of uses and gratifications research. Communication Research, 4, 321-338.
38.
Lutz, R. J.
(1977). An experimental investigation of causal relations among cognitions, affect, and behavioral intention. Journal of Consumer Research, 3, 197-208.
39.
Markus, H.
, & Zajonc, R. B. (1985). The cognitive perspective in social psychology. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (Vol. 1, 3rd ed., pp. 137-230). New York: Random House.
40.
McLeod, J. M.
, & Becker, L. B. (1981). The uses and gratifications approach. In D. Nimmo & K. Sanders (Eds.), Handbook of political communication (pp. 67-99). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
41.
McPhee, R. D.
, & Babrow, A. S. (1987). Causal modeling in communication research: Use, misuse, and disuse. Communication Monographs, 54, 344-366.
42.
Messaris, P.
(1977). Biases of self-reported “functions” and “gratifications” of mass media use. Et Cetera, 34, 316-329.
43.
Nisbett, R. E.
, & Wilson, T. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84, 231-259.
44.
Palmgreen, P.
, & Rayburn, J. D. (1982). Gratifications sought and media exposure: An expectancy value model. Communication Research, 9, 561-580.
45.
Palmgreen, P.
, & Rayburn, J. D. (1985). An expectancy-value approach to media gratifications. In K. Rosengren, L. Wenner, & P. Palmgreen (Eds.), Media gratifications research: Current perspectives (pp. 61-72). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
46.
Perse, E. M.
(1986). Soap opera viewing patterns of college students and cultivation. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 30, 175-193.
47.
Rajecki, D. W.
(1982). Attitudes: Themes and advances. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer.
48.
Rubin, A. M.
(1985). Uses of daytime television soap operas by college students. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 29, 241-258.
49.
Rubin, A. M.
(1986). Uses, gratifications, and media effects research. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Perspectives on media effects (pp. 281-301). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
50.
Rubin, A. M.
, & Perse, E. M. (1987). Audience activity and television news gratifications. Communication Research, 14, 58-84.
51.
Schlegel, R. P.
, & DiTecco, D. (1982). Attitudinal structures and the attitude-behavior relation. In M. Zanna, E. Higgins, & C. Herman (Eds.), Consistency in social behavior (pp. 17-50). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
52.
Schutz, A.
(1967). The phenomenology of the social world (G. Walsh & F. Lehnert, Trans.). Chicago: Northwestern University Press.
53.
Seibold, D. R.
, & Roper, R. (1979). Psychosocial determinants of health care intentions: Test of the Fishbein and Triandis models. In D. Nimmo (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 3 (pp. 625-643). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
54.
Steinfatt, T. M.
(1977). Measurement, transformations, and the real world: Do the numbers represent the concept?Et Cetera, 34, 277-289.
55.
Sudman, S.
, & Bradburn, N. M. (1982). Asking questions: A practical guide to questionnaire design. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
56.
Swanson, D. L.
(1977). The uses and misuses of uses and gratifications research. Human Communication Research, 3, 214-221.
57.
Tolman, E. C.
(1932). Purposive behavior in animals and men. New York: Century.
58.
Triandis, H. C.
(1977). Interpersonal behavior. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
59.
Triandis, H. C.
(1980). Values, attitudes, and interpersonal behavior. In H. Howe & M. Page (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation 1979: Beliefs, attitudes, and values (pp. 195-259). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
60.
Webster, J. G.
, & Wakshlag, J. J. (1983). A theory of television program choice. Communication Research, 10, 430-446.
61.
Weibull, L.
(1985). Structural factors in gratifications research. In K. Rosengren, L. Wenner, & P. Palmgreen (Eds.), Media gratifications research: Current perspectives (pp. 123-147). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
62.
Zajonc, R. B.
(1968). Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 1-27.
63.
Zillmann, D.
(1985). The experimental exploration of gratifications from media entertainment. In K. Rosengren, L. Wenner, & P. Palmgreen (Eds.), Media gratifications research: Current perspectives (pp. 225-239). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
