Linking Adolescents’ Exposure to and Identification With Reality TV to Materialism, Narcissism, and Entitlement

According to previous research, there is a cross-sectional link between adolescents’ reality TV viewing on the one hand, and their level of materialism, narcissism, and entitlement on the other hand. The current study was set out to determine whether there is a longitudinal link, and whether the effect of reality TV viewing could potentially be attributed to adolescents’ identification with reality TV cast members. A twowave panel study was conducted among 392 adolescents. Importantly, the cross-sectional patterns from previous research could be replicated, but they did not stand the test of time: Reality TV viewing in Wave 1 was longitudinally related with materialism and identification, but not with narcissism and entitlement in Wave 2. Notably, the longitudinal relation between reality TV viewing on adolescents’ materialism disappeared once adolescents’ identification was controlled for. This demonstrates the importance of viewer experiences in assessing media effects. The difference in findings between materialism and entitlement and narcissism were explained by theorizing that reality TV mainly portrays negative consequences of entitled and narcissistic behavior, causing viewers to refrain from copying this behavior. Future research could test this hypothesis and investigate how consequences of certain behaviors are portrayed in reality TV and how these consequences are perceived by reality TV viewers.</p

Striking the Right Pose Successful Representations of Transgender Women of Color

Striking the Right Pose: Successful Representations of Transgender Women of Color Media portrayals, and research into the portrayals, of transgender people tend to be rare. This study focuses on the highly appraised and critically acclaimed TV series Pose. We compare two main characters using a recently introduced quantitative coding framework. The f indings show that Blanca and Elektra are similar in the portrayal of their psychological depth and resilience in the face of challenges, but contrast in personality traits and experiences. Blanca’s main trait is her kindness, and she is shown experiencing transphobic discrimination and struggling to be treated better by society. In contrast, Elektra’s main traits are her success and her hostility towards others. Her experiences are tied to her medical transition process and thus provide a more intimate tone. As our f indings exemplify, by choosing to feature multiple minority characters side by side, show writers can avoid putting the burden of representation on one character as well as an oversimplif ication of minorities’ experiences.</p

Validating the Material Values Scale for Children (MVS-c) for Use in Early Childhood

This study aims to validate the Material Values Scale for children (MVS-c) by Opree et al. (Personality and Individual Differences, 51(8), 963-968, 2011) among children in early childhood. The MVS-c was originally developed to assess materialism among children between the ages of eight to eleven, and consists of three subscales measuring material centrality, material happiness, and material success. We administered the MVS-c to a sample of 120 elementary school children between the ages of six to eight. The MVS-c was presented orally in a structured interview and with the aid of visual response options. We examined the factorial structure, reliability, and construct validity of the full-length 18-item scale as well as the shorter 6- and 3-item versions. Analyses using structural equation modeling showed that its factorial structure (i.e., with material centrality, material happiness and material success as first-order factors and overall material values as a second order factor) holds for younger children. Though the 3-item MVS-c cannot be used among six- to eight-year-olds, the 18-item MVS-c and the shorter 6-item version proved to be both reliable and valid in this age group. Hence, the MVS-c can be used to assess young children’s materialism, to examine differences in materialism across developmental phases, and to study developments in children’s materialism over time

Investigating the unintended effects of television advertising among children in former-Soviet Bulgaria

Extensive research has been carried out to examine the unintended effects of television advertising on children in Western Europe. Little, however, is known about effects in Eastern European settings. Eastern European countries were part of the former USSR and its Soviet regime, meaning that all forms of commercial advertising were prohibited. Current parents and educators experienced the shift to capitalism first-hand and are particularly critical of consumer culture. This study adds to the current body of literature by studying unintended effects on advertising on children in a new context (i.e., Sofia, Bulgaria) and exploring the moderating effects of children’s advertising literacy. We collected data among 273 8- to 11-year-olds and found that advertising exposure increases children’s materialism and consumer involvement. We also found that children’s conceptual advert

Recognizing the Similarities and Appreciating the Differences?:Content Choices and Perceived (Dis)similarity With TV Show Characters Among Youth

Original content on video-on-demand platforms is often globally available but reflects the diversity of the American population in terms of ethnicities, races, and sexual identities. According to previous research, exposure to media with diverse characters can improve viewers’ attitudes toward minorities. However, are the audiences in racially homogenous countries or in countries that are less accepting of homosexuality interested in shows with diverse characters? Moreover, how do people select content from the diverse offerings on global video-on-demand platforms? To explore these issues, we study the entertainment media diets of Polish teenagers, aged 15–18. Specifically, we examine three research questions. First, what kind of content does the Polish youth select on streaming platforms? Second, what is the role of (dis)similarity between the characters and the viewers for Polish youth in selecting their entertainment TV shows on streaming platforms? Third, how do Polish youth understand the possible effects of their streamed TV content on their attitudes toward others? Based on 20 one-hour-long semi-structured interviews, we found that viewers sought psychologically complex and attractive characters, irrespective of race or sexual orientation. Recognizing the similarities of life experiences with TV characters mattered in youth’s decision about streaming content. Viewers also appreciated characters different from themselves because they were able to learn about them. The results are discussed with the implications for media selection and effects studies.</p

Validating the Short Material Values Scale for Children for Use Across the Lifespan

Background: Materialism is a topic of interest for many scholars. Among children it is often measured with the Material Values Scale for children (MVS-c) (Opree et al. in Personal Individ Differ 51(8):963–968, 2011). Although the MVS-c was originally validated for use among 8- to 12-year-olds, its 6-item version is increasingly implemented among older populations (i.e., adolescents and emerging adults). Objective: The aim of the current study is to verify whether the 6-item MVS-c can be employed among older populations and used for the analysis of materialism across the lifespan. Method: The 6-item MVS-c is administered to children in middle childhood (ages 8–12; n = 2995), adolescents (ages 15–17; n = 267), emerging adults (ages 18–21; n = 267), and adult parents (ages 25 +; n = 2995). Its factorial structure, reliability, and validity are assessed and compared. Particular attention is paid to the scale’s metric and scalar invariance. Results: The results suggest that the 6-

Media generations and their advertising attitudes and avoidance

This cross-national survey (N = 5784) examined generational differences in media use, advertising attitudes and avoidance for five media (websites, social media, mobile phones, television, newspapers) in six countries (Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, France, and the Netherlands). The results showed that the net generation and the newspaper generation, but not the TV generation, were clearly distinct in the frequency of their media use in all six countries. For advertising attitudes, generational patterns were visible, however, neither for all media nor in all countries. When generational differences did occur, the net generation was on the positive end, whereas the newspaper generation was usually the most negative. For advertising avoidance, generational patterns were less present and consistent. The findings point out interesting directions for future research. Practical implications for advertisers and media planners are discussed