ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH
Labovitz School of Business & Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth, 11 E. Superior Street, Suite 210, Duluth, MN 55802
Exploring the Relationship Between Types of Tv Programs, Advertising, and Materialism: a Cultivation Theory Perspective
Eda Gurel-Atay, University of Oregon, USA
Lynn Kahle, University of Oregon, USA
Karen Ring, Universal McCann, USA
This research examines, by using a US national sample, the cultivation effect of certain types of TV programs (such as awards shows,
films/movies, news, and sports programs) related to materialism. The mediating effect of paying attention to advertising on the
relationship between materialistic TV viewing and materialism is also revealed.
[to cite]:
Eda Gurel-Atay, Lynn Kahle, and Karen Ring (2011) ,"Exploring the Relationship Between Types of Tv Programs, Advertising,
and Materialism: a Cultivation Theory Perspective", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 38, eds. Darren W. Dahl,
Gita V. Johar, and Stijn M.J. van Osselaer, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research.
[url]:
http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/16286/volumes/v38/NA-38
[copyright notice]:
This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in
part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/.
Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 38) / 913
References
Belk, Russell W. (1984), “Three Scales to Measure Constructs Related to Materialism: Reliability, Validity, and Relationships
to Measures of Happiness,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 11, ed. T. Kinnear, Provo, UT: Associate for Consumer
Research, 291-97.
Belk, Russell W. (1985), “Materialism: Trait Aspects of Living in the Material World,” Journal of Consumer Research,
12(December), 265-280.
Belk, Russell W. (1987), “Material Values in the Comics: A Content Analysis of Comic Books Featuring Themes of Wealth,” Journal
of Consumer Research, 14(June), 26-42.
Churchill Jr., Gilbert A., and George P. Moschis (1979), “Television and Interpersonal Influences on Adolescent Consumer Learning,”
Journal of Consumer Research, 6(June), 23-35.
Dittmar, Helga, and Lucy Pepper (1992), “Materialistic Values, Relative Wealth and Person Perception: Social Psychological Belief
System of Adolescents from Different Socio-Economic Backgrounds,” in Meaning, Measure and Morality of Materialism, ed. F.
Rudmin and M. Richins, Provo, UT: Associate for Consumer Research, 40-45.
Faber, Ronald J., Thomas C. O’Guinn, and John A. McCarty (1987), “Ethnicity, Acculturation, and the Importance of Product
Attributes,” Psychology & Marketing, 4(Summer), 121-134.
Flouri, Eirini (1999), “An Integrated Model of Consumer Materialism: Can Economic Socialization and Maternal Values Predict
Materialistic Attitudes in Adolescents?” Journal of Socio-Economics, 28(6), 707-24.
Lipset, Seymour Martin (1963), The Value Patterns of Democracy: a Case Study in Comparative Analysis, University of California,
Berkeley.
Klein, Naomi (2007) The Shock Doctrine, Henry Holt and Company, New York.
Mehta, Raj, and Russell W. Belk (1991), “Artifacts, Identity, and Transition: Favorite Possessions of Indians and Indian Immigrants to
the United States,” Journal of Consumer Research, 17(March), 398-411.
Parsons, Talcott (1964), The Social System, The Free Press, New York.
Richins, Marsha L. (1994), “Special Possessions and the Expression of Material Values,” Journal of Consumer Research,
21(December), 522-531.
Richins, Marsha L. (1999), “Possessions, Materialism, and Other-directedness in the Expression of Self,” in Consumer Value: A
Framework for Analysis and Research, ed. Morris B. Holbrook, London: Routledge, 85-104.
Richins, Marsha L. (2004), “The Material Values Scale: Measurement Properties and Development of a Short Form,” Journal of
Consumer Research, 31(June), 209-19.
Richins, Marsha L., and Scott Dawson (1992), “Materialism as a Consumer Value: Measure Development and Validation,” Journal of
Consumer Research, 19(December), 303-317.
Rindfleisch, Aric, James E. Burroughs and Frank Denton (1997), “Family Structure, Materialism, and Compulsive Consumption,”
Journal of Consumer Research, 23(March), 312-25.
Shrum, L.J., Burroughs, J.E., and Rindfleisch, A. (2005), “Television’s Cultivation of Material Values,” Journal of Consumer
Research, 32(December), 473-479.
Exploring the Relationship between Types of TV Programs, Advertising, and Materialism:
A Cultivation Theory Perspective
Eda Gurel-Atay, University of Oregon, USA
Lynn Kahle, University of Oregon, USA
Karen Ring, Universal McCann, USA
Extended Abstract
Because materialism has important negative consequences, it is important to understand what causes materialism. Television
viewership is one of the most examined antecedents of materialism. Cultivation theory (Gerbner et al. 1977) suggests that television
programs present a distorted reality and heavy exposure to that distorted reality makes people believe that the real world is similar to
what they see on television. For instance, television programs tend to portray a more affluent (O’Guinn and Shrum 1997) and violent
(Gerbner et al. 1980b) world full of with doctors and lawyers (Lichter, Lichter, and Rothman 1994).
Many television programs also portray a luxurious lifestyle, making heavy viewers have higher estimates of ownership of luxury
products by average people (O’Guinn and Shrum 1997). Moreover, those programs show how people in those programs are happy
with their expensive clothes, large homes, luxury cars, and other expensive possessions. Because materialism is a belief that acquiring
possessions brings happiness and signals status and success (Belk 1984; Richins 2004) and because TV programs portray people with
many possessions as being happy and successful, heavy viewers of TV tend to be more materialistic.
According to the cultivation theory, TV viewing leads to distorted perceptions of reality regardless of the TV program types (Shrum,
Burroughs, and Rindfleisch 2004). However, it is also suggested that the cultivation effect might be program-specific (Gunter 1994).
For instance, crime-related reality programs might affect people’s perceptions of crime rates while family dramas might affect people’s
perceptions of family relationships. Therefore, in order to examine the cultivation effect of TV viewing, it is important to consider the
differences between TV program types (Weimann, Broisus, and Wober 1992).
914 / Working Papers
This research proposes that different kinds of TV programs have different effects on materialism. As suggested by Holt (1995, pg.
13), “materialism can be conceptualized as the consumption style that results when consumers perceive that value inheres in consumption
objects rather than in experiences or in other people.” Accordingly, it can be argued that TV programs that emphasize acquiring objects
over sharing experiences and portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle will be more associated to materialism: (H1a) People who
generally watch TV programs that portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle will be more materialistic than people who do not generally
watch those TV programs; (H1b) People who generally watch TV programs that do not portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle will
not differ from people who do not watch those TV programs in terms of materialism.
It can also be argued that different specials of a certain TV program type are more related to materialism than others. For instance,
some sports specials, such as golf or tennis tournaments, might be associated with materialism because those sports are more related
to affluent people, thereby implying a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle. However, we believe that a broader definition of a TV program
type will be a better determinant of materialism because specials still reflect the nature of certain TV program types: (H2a) People who
watch TV specials related to genres that portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle will be more materialistic than people who do not
watch those TV specials; (H2b) People who watch TV specials related to genres that do not portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle
will not differ from people who do not watch those TV specials in terms of materialism.
It is also possible that people who watch certain types of programs might report higher levels of materialism because of the commercials
that air in those programs. TV commercials might make people believe that possession of products promoted in advertisements is important
to obtain desired qualities, such as happiness, beauty, uniqueness, and success (Pollay 1986). Impact of advertising on materialism is also
expected to be stronger when people pay more attention to commercials. Accordingly, paying more attention to commercials aired in
favorite TV programs might mediate the relationship between TV viewing and materialism. However, this mediation effect will hold only
for the TV programs that portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle (H3a). Because one of the conditions of mediation (i.e., a significant
relationship between the independent variable and dependent variable; Baron and Kenny 1986) is not satisfied for TV programs that do
not portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle, there will be no relationship to be mediated by paying attention to commercials (H3b).
To test the proposed hypotheses, data from a national survey conducted by Universal McCann-Ericson in 2005 were used. The
survey was completed by 5,508 adults aged 18 and over in 2005.
The results of independent samples t-tests showed that people who generally watch TV programs that portray a luxurious,
materialistic lifestyle (i.e., awards shows, celebrity interviews, films/movies, financial/stock market analysis, and reality programs) are
more materialistic compared to people who do not generally watch those TV programs. In contrast, there is no significant difference
between the materialism level of people who generally watch TV programs that do not portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle (i.e.,
biographies, documentary/nature, do-it-yourself shows, history, news, and sports) and the materialism level of people who do not generally
watch those TV programs. Both H1a and H1b were confirmed.
Two different TV specials were used to test for H2a and H2b: one portraying a luxurious lifestyle (i.e., awards specials), and one
not portraying a luxurious lifestyle (i.e., sports specials). The results demonstrated that people who watched awards specials on TV are
more likely to be materialistic than people who did not watch awards specials, regardless of the type of the awards special, supporting
H2a. In contrast to what was proposed in H2b, however, significant differences were found for two sports specials. People who watched
March Madness basketball and people who watched the US Open Tennis Tournament on TV are more materialistic compared to people
who did not watch those specials. Therefore, H2b was partially supported.
To test the mediating effect of paying attention to commercials (“attention”), blocked multiple regression analyses were conducted
for each of the independent variables: Watching TV programs that portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle (i.e., materialistic TV
viewing), and watching TV programs that do not portray a luxurious, materialistic lifestyle (i.e., nonmaterialistic TV viewing). In each
of the analyses, TV viewing was entered in the first step and attention was entered in the second step. The results showed that paying
attention to commercials in favorite TV programs partially mediates the relationship between materialistic TV viewing and materialism.
H3a and H3b were confirmed.
This study, to our knowledge, is the first attempt to reveal the TV program types that are more related to materialism. However,
our findings do not contradict with the cultivation theory. Instead, they emphasize that not all TV programs present the same message
and heavy viewing of different TV programs or TV specials might lead to different distorted realities. In fact, focusing on program
types (as opposed to total amount of time spent in TV viewing) might increase the effectiveness and validity of the cultivation theory
by providing more concrete results.
References
Baron, Reuben M. and David A. Kenny (1986), “The Moderator-Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research:
Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51 (6), 1173–1182.
Belk, Russell W. (1984), “Three Scales to Measure Constructs Related to Materialism: Reliability, Validity, and Relationships to
Measures of Happiness,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 11, T. Kinnear, ed., Provo, UT: Association for Consumer
Research, 291-97.
Gerbner, George, Larry Gross, Michael F. Eleey, Marilyn Jackson-Beeck, Suzanne Jeffries-Fox, and Nancy Sigronielli (1977), “TV
Violence Profile No. 8: The Highlights,” Journal of Communication, 27 (June), 171-180.
Gerbner, George, Larry Gross, Michael Morgan, and Nancy Sigronielli (1980b), “The Main Streaming of America: Violence Profile
No. 11,” Journal of Communication, 30 (Summer), 10-29.
Gunter, B. (1994), “The Question of Media Violence,” in Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research, eds. J. Bryant and D.
Zilhnann, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 163-211.
Holt, Douglas B. (1995), “How Consumers Consume: A Typology of Consumption Practices,” Journal of Consumer Research, 22
(June), 1-16.
Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 38) / 915
Lichter, S. R., L. S. Lichter, and S. Rothman (1994), Prime Time: How TV Portrays American Culture, Washington DC: Regnery
Publishing.
O’Guinn, Thomas C. and L. J. Shrum (1997), “The Role of Television in the Construct of Social Reality,” Journal of Consumer
Research, 23 (4), 278-94.
Pollay, R.W. (1986), “The Distorted Mirror: Reflections on the Unintended Consequences of Advertising,” Journal of Marketing, 50
(2), 18-36.
Richins, Martha L. (2004), “The Material Values Scale: Measurement Properties and Development of a Short Form,” Journal of
Consumer Research, 31 (1), 209-19.
Shrum, L. J., James E. Burroughs, and Aric Rindfleisch (2004), “A Process Model of Consumer Cultivation: The Role of Television Is
a Function of the Type of Judgment,” in The Psychology of Entertainment Media: Blurring the Lines Between Entertainment and
Persuasion, ed. L. J. Shrum, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, 177-192.
Weimann, Gabriel, H. B. Buisus, and M. Wobel (1992), “TV Diets: Toward a Typology of TV Viewership,” European Journal of
Communication, 7, 491-515.
Exploring the Antecedents and Consequences of Physical Appearance Concern
Eda Gurel-Atay, University of Oregon, USA
Leslie Koppenhafer, University of Oregon, USA
Jae-Gu Yu, University of Oregon, USA
Lynn Kahle, University of Oregon, USA
Karen Ring, Universal McCann, USA
Extended Abstract
In today’s Westernized and competitive environment, both women and men experience increasing pressures of physical appearance.
For most people, the discrepancy between ideal body image and actual body image enlarges as the media continually endorses “thinner”
and “sexier” bodies. For instance, previous studies demonstrated that heavy TV viewers are more likely to perceive unrealistic thin female
bodies as a standard (Hendriks 2002) and have biased perceptions of body images (Eisend and Moller 2006).
The idealized images conveyed by media vehicles also create a sense of displeasure in consumers with their current personal
appearance (Hirschman and Thompson 1997), which in turn affects their consumption behaviors. For instance, as people become more
concerned with their physical appearances, they become more interested in clothes and apparels (Burton, Netemeyer, and Lichtenstein
1994), their likelihood of purchasing apparels online decreases (Rosa, Garbarino, and Malter 2006), their attitudes toward cosmetic
surgery becomes more positive (Burton, Netemeyer, and Lichtenstein 1994), their usage of cosmetics increases (Netemeyer, Burton,
and Lichtenstein 1995), and their usage of tanning salons increases (Burton, Netemeyer, and Lichtenstein 1994).
Physical appearance concern can also affect health-related behaviors. For instance, excessive physical appearance concern might
lead to excessive exercise (Tiggemann and Lynch 2001) or unhealthy eating behaviors (Armstrong and Mallory 1992). However, it
can also be argued that some types of healthful behaviors are practiced because people are concerned with their appearance as much
as their health (Hayes and Ross 1987). Moreover, people who are highly concerned with their concern might want to be look healthy.
In this study, we explore the relationship between media consumption, physical appearance concern, cloths/apparel consumption,
and health-related behaviors. It is hypothesized that people who read certain magazines (e.g. InStyle, People, and Vogue) and watch
particular types of TV programs (e.g., awards shows, celebrity interviews, and news magazine shows) will be more likely to be concerned
with their physical appearance (H1). High physical appearance concern, on the other hand, will be associated with both negative
outcomes (related to cloths/apparel consumption–H2: amount of money spent on clothes, apparel, and luxury items; and frequency of
cloth/apparel shopping) and positive outcomes (health-related behaviors–H3: healthy food consumption; consumption of foods that help
weight-management; and frequency of exercising).
To test the proposed hypotheses, data from a national survey conducted by Universal McCann-Ericson in 2005 were used. The survey,
called Media in Mind, is conducted each year and focuses on lifestyles, media consumption, and other consumption related attitudes and
opinions. Of 4,990 adults who completed the survey, 40% were male, 50% were older than 50-years-old, 83.5% were White, and 65%
were married. Measures related to media consumption (TV programs that portray thin and sexy body images, and favorite magazines
that are related to fashion and celebrities), physical appearance concern, amount of money spent on clothes/apparels and luxury items,
frequency of cloth/apparel shopping, and consumption of healthy food, consumption of food that help weight-management, and frequency
of exercising were used to test proposed hypotheses. Also, because there is a significant difference between men (Mean=3.36) and
women (Mean=3.65; t=-12.830, p<.001) in terms of physical appearance concern, gender was treated as a control variable in all analyses.
To test for the impact of media consumption on physical appearance concern, a blocked multiple regression analysis was conducted
by entering gender in the first step and entering media consumption variables in the second step. The inclusion of media consumption
variables in the regression model resulted in a significant F change (Fincrement=190.503; df=2, 4983; p<.001; ∆R2=.07). The predictors
explained 10% of the variance in physical appearance concern in the second step (F=186.044; df =3,4983; MSres=.561; p<.001; R2=.101;
adjusted R2=.100). Both media consumption variables have positive and significant effects on physical appearance concern, meaning that
as people watched more TV programs that portray thin and sexy bodies (β=.184, t=12.593, p<.001) and as people read more fashionrelated magazines (β=.138, t=9.480, p<.001), they become more concerned with their physical appearances. Therefore, H1 was confirmed.