Communication Research

This study adopts a broad approach to problems associated with confusion in the literature on media orientations and political processes. Three different dependent variables representing cognition, attitude and behavior are examined in relation to multiple measures of media dependence: time spent, reliance, exposure to content, level of attention and gratifications sought. Results suggest complex relationships between media use and the dependent variables and again confirm an integrative role for television that is often hidden in analyses based on simple exposure time.

Analysis of a three-wave panel study of parent-child pairs examined indicator reliability, longitudinal stability, and parent-child similarity of family communication patterns. Estimates of reliability and intergenerational similarity were obtained using a multiple indicator model (LISREL) that treats individual measures as indicators of an underlying latent construct. Analyses were performed for single items measured at three time points and for multiple items at single time points, both revealing considerable measurement error. With unreliability taken into account, there was substantial dissimilarity in the perceptions of parents and children within the same family. A reconceptualization of research on family communication patterns focusing on the antecedents of family norms and the dynamic character of family interaction was discussed.

Memory mediates the effects of mass media on the individual. The nature of memory is such that encoding, storage, and retrieval of episodic (context-dependent) information from mass media messages is often inhibited whereas semantic (thematic, procedural, structural) information retention is often promoted. Therefore, mass media effects are better defined in terms of structural information transmission than in terms of specific content transmission.

In mass media research there has been a repeated call for (1) abandoning simple two-variable stimulus-response models of television effects, and (2) efforts to integrate research from different fields. This article offers such a perspective, bringing together research on relationship-relevant television content, viewing effects and interpersonal relationships. A total of 51 couples participated in a study to determine if television viewing is related to discussions of the relationship-relevant issues between spouses. As hypothesized, the contingent condition of marital definitions held by spouses predicted the amount of discussion between marital partners about family and relational issues. Such a condition presupposes that the way individuals define their relationships affects how they process the information on interpersonal relationships portrayed on television. Specifically, those who are emotionally distant from their spouses were more likely to discuss relational and family issues as a consequence of television viewing.