Year: 1992
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: For many years, parents and others have worried about \nchildren learning negative messages from television. Some \nresearch indicates television can "cultivate" stereotypes \namong viewers by repeating certain themes. A strong United \nStates television industry exports a great deal of programming \nto other countries. This has led to concerns about U.S. \ntelevision effects elsewhere. This study looked at ways \nAmerican television programs may change perceptions of young \npeople in Belize, Central America, where English is the \nofficial language. In January, 1992, 381 high school students \nin four Belizean towns filled out questionnaires asking them \nto rank a list of personal values according to importance. The \nstudents also ranked the importance of values they saw \nemphasized in the television programs they watched. Students \nwere asked about their media use and perceptions of the world \nas a threatening place. Responses \n"cultivation" effects from viewing \nfailed to indicate \nU.S. television. The \nstudents' responses did not show that viewing U.S. television \ncaused them to perceive the world as a more threatening place. \nIn addition, no general differences were found in the effects \nof U.S. television viewing as compared to television programs \nfrom Mexico, a next door neighbor to Belize. Although many \nBelizeans speak both English and Spanish, the high school \nstudents overwhelmingly preferred u.s. over Mexican \ntelevision.
Author: Larry S. Elliott
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2124669931