Can watching television ruin our relationship?

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How many of you have watched movies like The Notebook, Say Anything, or P.S. I Love You and thought that love was supposed to be like the movies? I know that I have fallen victim to Ryan Gosling’s character in The Notebook thinking, if only I could find my Noah Calhoun my love life would be complete. Well what if I told you that researchers have found that the more we believe in the love that is portrayed in the movies, the more we destroy our real life relationships. I don’t mean to crush the dreams of all you hopeless romantics out there but if you keep believing in a “love like the movies” you really are making your chances of being in a successful relationship just that; hopeless. 

We spend a lot of time watching television, and if we are in a romantic relationship we also spend a lot of time being in that relationship. A researcher from Albion College wanted to see how cultivation theory speaks to the relationship between the two. Does the reality presented on television reflect the reality that is present in our relationships? This researcher wanted to answer that question and looked at the relationship between television viewing and marital satisfaction and commitment. To do this, 392 married individuals completed a survey, which included questions about relationship expectations, rewards (such as humor) and costs (overcoming challenges), commitment level, perceived quality of alternatives, television viewing, and belief in television portrayals. The findings indicated that the more we watch television or films that are romantic in genre and the greater our belief is in the portrayals of romantic relationships, the lower our commitment in our marriage will. 

Another correlation was found between the higher level of romantic themed content we watch and the higher we perceive the costs or challenges of our marriages. We also have more, “favorable perceptions of alternatives to one’s current relationships” the more we watch and believe in the portrayals of relationships on film and television. So what does this mean for us hopeless romantics? According to the research, my advice would be to take the genre of romance in film and television with a grain of salt. Maybe it’s fiction for a reason!

Another study also found a link between how watching television may be bad for your relationship. Researchers from three different universities studied how watching television shows where one is unfaithful in a relationship correlated to the level of regret felt by people that watch these shows and also were unfaithful in their real life relationships. So what does this exactly mean? Let’s break it down. These researchers found that for people that have cheated before in relationships, and felt a high amount of regret because of their infidelity were more likely to express a greater interest in television shows that had cheating-related storylines. Within these story lines researchers looked at two different portrayals of cheaters, the first a rationalization portrayal and the second was a self-blame portrayal. In other words characters that cheated on television either rationalized infidelity or blamed themselves for the infidelity. What the researchers found from these portrayals was that regretful cheaters preferred the rationalization portrayal to the self-blame portrayal. However, cheaters with little regret equally enjoyed both of the portrayals. For regretful cheaters programs that had a character that was cheating helped them reduce their regret. If you find your partner watching more shows that involve cheating story lines, BEWARE!

Based on the research we can see that love isn’t always like the movies, and maybe we don’t want it to be. Relying too much on television can ruin what we have right in front of us.

References:

Nabi, R., Finnerty, K., Domschke, T., & Hull, S. (2006). Does misery love company? Exploring the therapeutic effects of TV viewing on regretted experience. Journal of Communication, 56, 689-706.

 

--> Osborn, J. (2012). When TV and marriage meet: A social exchange analysis of the impact of television viewing on marital satisfaction and commitment. Mass Communication and Society, 15, 739-757. 

An answer to why we take the media so seriously.

 

The media is all around us and sometimes it seems inescapable. What I mean by that is the media is always sending us messages or ideas that are hard to get away from. We watch an episode of Dexter and all of a sudden we start having anxiety attacks and have an abrupt fear of serial killers. We watch Disney movies and have an idea on what beauty and true love is, and how to achieve it.

 The media gives us ideas on what is normal, how to act, and what to expect in our society. But where does this idea come from? Well, theorists and researchers in the communication field have been thinking the same thing for years, and this community of academics has come up with one possible answer, cultivation theory. 

Developed by George Gerbner in the 1960s and according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, cultivation theory is the assumption or hypothesis that "those who spend more time watching television are more likely to perceive the real world in ways that reflect the most common and recurrent messages of the world of fictional television." This means that what we see on TV can reflect how we act and think in the real world. The media assists us in creating our own social reality. 

According to both researchers there are different ways in which cultivation theory has been studied and current developments that are utilized to examine different media phenomenon. The first is genre-specific cultivation, which states that different genres of television can affect us in different ways. One of the most recent genres that have been studied using cultivation theory are talk shows.

The second, and most well known way in which cultivation theory has been used as a lens to study media is with media violence and fear of crime. Many scholars study how crime or violence in the media reflects viewers’ outlook on crime, violence, and social trust in reality.

Recently other research using cognitive theory has also sprung up. Researchers have studied the portrayal of drug abuse, mental health, body image, homosexuality, gender, family, relationships, sexual stereotypes, the environment, and race perceptions. The future for cultivation theory seems strong with both researchers saying that, “as long as there are popular storytelling systems and purveyors of widely shared messages, Gerbner’s main ideas are likely to persist.”

So know that we know the basics of cultivation theory you might be wondering how it is applied, and how researchers study it. Let’s bring it back to Grey’s Anatomy and see how a researcher from Texas A&M University studied how watching Grey’s Anatomy effected perceptions on the relationship created between doctors and patients. With what we now know about cultivation theory we can assume that heavy viewers of Grey’s will, “maintain perceptions of doctors that are consistent with depictions of television doctors on Grey’s.” The researcher wanted to study how the perceived credibility of Grey’s Anatomy is positively associated with the perceived courageousness of real-world doctors. To study this effect students filled out surveys on their perceptions of doctors and then their viewing habits and credibility of Grey’s Anatomy. Audience viewings of Grey’s Anatomy were also utilized with surveys relating to credibility and perceptions of doctors given afterward.

What the researcher found is that the more people watch the show the more realistic they perceived the show. This finding can shape our assumptions on reality. Using this information the researcher also found a positive association between the perceived courageousness of real-world doctors and patient satisfactions. Just like in Grey’s Anatomy patients want doctors that are willing to do risky procedures to save patient’s lives and make them better.

We have only scratched the surface of cultivation theory and the potential ways in which we can use it as a lens to study television effects. In the upcoming weeks I hope to use cultivation theory as a theoretical framework to examine how entertainment media, especially film and television, can shape our expectations of relationships.

Morgan, M., & Shanahan, J. (2010). The state of cultivation. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 54, 337-355.

Quick, B. L. (2009). The effects of viewing Grey's Anatomy on perceptions of doctors and patient satisfaction. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 53, 38-55.

What reality TV really teaches us about relationships

Reality TV. You either love it or you hate it. Personally, I find shows like The Jersey Shore, Extreme Makeover, and 16 and Pregnant interesting. Without these shows I would never have a perspective on what it is like to live in Jersey for the summer, put my body through a complete transformation, or be a young pregnant woman. Reality shows can give us an interesting look at different people and situations. But I have to wonder, can reality shows give us a "false" view on reality? A researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh wanted to know the same thing. This researcher wanted to know how images of beauty were portrayed in reality shows based on plastic surgery. In today's world a thin body with full breasts is the "ideal" body. Although throughout history the standards of beauty have changed the pressure for women to fit into the standard have not. This is why reality shows on plastic surgery are made. Remember back to 2002 when shows such as Extreme Makeover, The Swan, Dr. 90210, and I Want A Famous Face took America by storm. All of these shows take "ugly ducklings" and turn them into beautiful "swans.

 By studying these shows the researcher found that the participants on these shows valued flat stomachs, big(ger) breasts, tight buns, and full hips. One cast member on The Swan valued having bigger breasts. Her husband later stated that she would talk to him about her breast size more then tell him she loved him! By emphasizing body image in these shows the researcher claims that it reinforces and refines the norms of body image. So what does this mean for relationships? Well, according to the research by catering to the "idea" body image men will find women more desirable. The research found this to be half true. First off, most men on these shows stood neutral to their partners decisions. They stated that they thought their partners were beautiful inside and out. However, when the surgery was complete their attitudes changed and they were happy and excited about the transformation. So what does this all mean for us? According to the research these shows pose a problem for women and relationships. It reinforces a body image that is only attainable through elective surgery, giving women and men a skewed idea of beauty. In turn this can lead women to not feel beautiful in their current relationships and leave men wanting a fantasy that is next to impossible to attain.