Mahrt Values of German Media Users

1986 - 2007
1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-3-531-92256-0
Verlag: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 148 Seiten, eBook

Values of German media users, 1986-2007 Values have been discussed in connection to the changes brought to the German TV landscape since the introduction of the dual system in 1984. Yet, on such occurrences arguments have rarely, if at all, been based on reliable information about differences in televised values. Nor have values of the audience of channels or genres been considered. This study offers a starting point for such an endeavor, focusing on the role values play for people's media choices. In a theoretical overview, values are situated in a framework of overlapping spheres that influence people in the adoption of values. Social learning is the main mechanism behind this process of socialization. Values define what is desirable or not and how one should behave in a given situation according to the rules of one's society. As stable basic traits close to an individual's personality, values play a part in the building of motives that finally result in behavior. With regard to media, a well-established gratification of media use is the reinforcement of one's own values and worldviews. Based on the finding that mediated value patterns differ across outlets and types of content, I assume that different values should lead people do prefer different media over others.

Merja Mahrt is a research associate at the Department of Social Sciences at Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf. Her research interests include social settings, functions and effects of mass communication.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mahrt, Merja

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgements;6
2;Summary Values of German media users, 1986-2007;8
3;Sammenfatting Waarden van Duitse mediagebruikers, 1986-2007;11
4;Contents;15
5;Figures;17
6;Tables;18
7;1 Introduction;19
8;2 What Are Values?;23
8.1;2.1 Values and Value Change in the Social Sciences;24
8.1.1;2.1.1 Definitions and Operationalizations;25
8.1.2;2.1.2 Factors Influencing Values and Their Change;29
8.1.3;2.1.3 Values as Products of Socialization;34
8.2;2.2 Values in Media Content;40
8.3;2.3 Values and Media Use;41
8.3.1;2.3.1 Values in TV Genres and Their Audiences;46
8.3.2;2.3.2 External Variables: Antecedents, Moderators, or Alternative Explanations?;47
8.4;2.4 A Model of Values and Media in Socialization;50
9;3 Aim and Scope of the Study;55
9.1;3.1 The Country under Study: Germany;57
9.1.1;3.1.1 Values in Germany;57
9.1.2;3.1.2 Media Offerings and Use in Germany;60
9.1.3;3.1.3 Values on German Media;64
9.2;3.2 Central Foci of the Current Study;72
9.3;3.3 Study Design;74
9.3.1;3.3.1 The Surveys;74
9.3.2;3.3.2 Measurement;75
9.3.2.1;Values;75
9.3.2.2;Media use;75
9.3.2.3;Demographics;76
9.4;3.4 Analytic Strategy;77
9.5;3.5 What this Study Explores;77
10;4 Audience Values and Media Use;80
10.1;4.1 Social Values and Media Use;82
10.2;4.2 Materialist Values and Media Use;85
10.3;4.3 Summary and Discussion;88
11;5 Values and Media Use among the Highly Educated;94
11.1;5.1 Method and Results;94
11.2;5.2 Summary and Discussion;95
12;6 Values and Genre Preferences;104
12.1;6.1 Method;106
12.2;6.2 Results;107
12.3;6.3 Summary and Discussion;112
13;7 Channel Loyalty and Genre Preferences;114
13.1;7.1 Method;117
13.2;7.2 Results;119
13.3;7.3 Summary and Discussion;121
14;8 Conclusion;124
15;References;129
16;Appendix A—Codebook for Values on Television (IFEM);141
17;Appendix B—Path analysis of values, genre preferencesand channel use;143

What Are Values?.- Aim and Scope of the Study.- Audience Values and Media Use.- Values and Media Use among the Highly Educated.- Values and Genre Preferences.- Channel Loyalty and Genre Preferences.- Conclusion.

Über Autor(innen)

Merja Mahrt is a research associate at the Department of Social Sciences at Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf. Her research interests include social settings, functions and effects of mass communication.