ERIC Number: ED122791
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1975-Sep
Pages: 30
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Mass Entertainment and Human Survival: Television's Potential for Prosocial Effects on Adults.
Loye, David
Psychosocial adaptations are sometimes affected by experiences that are ordinarily considered to be amusements. In 1974, a field study was undertaken by the Program on Psychosocial Adaptation and the Future to determine if it is possible to measure the effect of television on adult viewers. A sample of 260 couples, controlled for demographic characteristics and attitudes, was divided into five groups; each group was assigned to watch one of five diets of television programing; (1) high in helpful content; (2) high in hurtful content; (3) neutral; (4) mixed; and (5) self-selected. After 20 hours of viewing, subjects were given mood adjective checklist tests. Results suggest that some types of emotionally arousing programing may decrease aggressive manifestations. Results for hurtful programing were not conclusive. A tabular summary of the data is provided. (EMH)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: Lilly Endowment, Inc., Indianapolis, IN.
Authoring Institution: California Univ., Los Angeles. Dept. of Psychiatry.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A