Those who scored
high in impulsivity are more likely to be interested
in
watching a physical competition, as well as are more likely to actually
watch a
physical competition. Since impulsive
individuals make decisions without thinking beforehand, a competition
where
individuals are forced to make decisions and act in a split second,
mid-competition, may be appealing. For the
impulsive individual, perhaps
watching people solely as they live, rather than engaging
in any kind of risk taking behavior is boring.The Bachelor (Fleiss, 2004)
also displays this to some extent.Much of the show is spent taping the bachelor on dates as well
as
watching the women talk about each other, they are not actually
involved in a
constant competition.Also, sinceThe Bachelor (Fleiss, 2004) is comprised
of many females vying for the affection of one man, there is not much
of an
impulsive factor to this show.The man
is the only one who makes any kind of decision regarding who will stay
and who
will be voted off, thus providing a premise that may not be
entertaining
enough for
the impulsive individual.
It is
surprising that there
was no significant correlation between watching physically competitive
programs
and
adventurous risk taking due to the nature of the competitions.One who
scores high in adventurous risk
taking is likely to seek out thrilling experiences, and because of
this, it was
expected that they would also be more likely to watch a program
involving
various physical competitions which challenge individuals physically
and
mentally.One explanation may be that
the clip used for this study did not show a competition that was
intriguing
enough for the adventure seeking individual or possibly because those
who score
high in adventurous risk taking would rather
actually engage in exciting behavior rather than watch it on television.It is not surprising that
there was no significant relationship between adventurous risk taking
and
watching real world reality television or a dating competition since
these shows do not contain thrilling experiences or any
physical activity.
The hypothesis that
personality factors are related to watching reality television also
appears to
be somewhat supported.Personality is
not necessarily related to whether or not someone watches reality TV,
but
rather what type of reality television one may choose to watch.It was also hypothesized that extraversion
would be related to liking reality television in general, which was not
supported. This could be
because one who is extraverted is more likely to want to meet people or
engage
in the behavior presented on the reality television shows and since they are more
likely to do this on
their own, they do not enjoy watching others experiencing things on
television.
There was, however,
a positive correlation between extraversion
and participants reporting that the 'characters' shown in the physical
competition were like themselves, meaning the more extraverted the
participants, the more likely they were to relate to those who were in
the
competition.In order to leave one's
life behind and live on an island with strangers for a certain period
of time
and engage in a series of
competitions, one would need to be an extraverted
individual.One who is introverted would
not be able to relate to someone who would put themselves in that
situation.
Individuals who are less
extraverted are also more likely to watch real world reality television
as
exemplified by The Real World (Murray,
2004).This could be because they are
less likely to experience something like this themselves.One would need to have an extraverted
personality in order to live with six strangers, in a new house, in an
unfamiliar city.Therefore, if one is
less extraverted, it is interesting and intriguing to watch this
experience on television rather than
put himself or herself in a similar type of situation.
This may also explain why individuals who
are less open are more interested in watching this type of reality
television. Perhaps people are more
attracted to programs which situations and behaviors opposite from how
they
would typically act.
Individuals
who reported
being more interested in real world reality television also scored
higher in
neuroticism.Most participants reported
the conflict and drama shown in The Real
World (Murray, 2004) was humorous, especially because they
believed it to
be edited that way for the purpose of the show.Because
of this, individuals who worry more may be inclined to
watch this show because it makes them laugh and helps take their minds
off of
situations which may worry them.The
participants in this group would fall into the "entertainment"
gratification category as identified above by McQuail (1984).This may also explain why participants high
in neuroticism are more likely to be interested in a dating
competition, as
well as more likely to actually watch one.
There was no
significant relationship
between neuroticism and watching a physical competition.This could be because the participants
reported being less interested in a physical competition in general.Since this show was not appealing to the
majority of the participants overall, it especially may not have
interested
someone who tends to worry.This could
also be because the tension during the competition may be too
intense for a
worrier to handle.For someone who
tends to worry, watching a competition and being nervous about who will
win and
who will get voted off the show may be more stressful rather then
enjoyable.
A negative
correlation was
found between openness and interest in watching a physical competition,
meaning
the more open to new experiences the participant is, the less
interested the
participant is in watching a physical competition.
An individual who is open to new experiences may be expected to
be interested in watching a physical competition such as Survivor:
Vanuatu-Islands of Fire (Burnett, 2004)
due to the nature
of going to different islands each season to compete, as well as
participating
in different challenges each day. This
may not be supported because they are open to actually doing new
experiences
rather than watching other individuals experience new things as
suspected of
individuals who engage in adventurous risk taking.
Also, since this is the ninth season of this show, the
participants may not be
open to it in the same way they may have been open to
the first season. Perhaps if they were
asked how interested they would be in watching this show when it first
began,
there would have been a positive correlation since it would have been
new and
different.Individuals
high in openness
may not be interested in real world shows or dating competitions for
the same
reason.The two shows used as examples
have been around for many seasons, as a result it is no longer new to
the
viewer.
Overall the
participants
reported being more interested in The
Real World (Murray, 2004) than the other reality shows they watched.This could be because the people on this
show were more reflective of themselves.They are all in their twenties and are living together and
working, some
of them college students, which is a lot easier for college students to
relate
to than people who are looking for a husband or wife or people on
an island
competing.This finding is consistent
with Harwood's (1999b) findings
above, showing people favor shows featuring
characters representative of their age and social identity.
After watching
The Bachelor (Fleiss, 2004), the
participants who had a higher score for conscientiousness reported
being less
interested in, and less likely to watch, the dating show.The clip that was shown revealed the women,
who were competing, mimicking the other girls and talking about each
other
secretly.This may have been
unappealing for people who are high in conscientiousness.For someone who is hardworking and careful
with everything he or she does, as well as in the relationships he or
she has,
competing for one's affection does not seem ideal.
There was no
significant relationship
between conscientiousness and watching a physical competition or
watching a
real world type show.There was also no
significant relationship between agreeableness and any of the three
reality
shows used as examples.These results
could be due the small sample size and the cohort used.
Although the
participants
reported liking reality television because of the portrayal of real
people, it
is interesting to note the most common reason for disliking this genre
is
because it is fake and does not accurately portray reality.Many of the participants noted feeling as
though the shows were edited in a way which distorted the reality of
the
situation.Also, when relating what
they like about their favorite
show, a majority of the participants noted that
they like sitcoms (the two most popular being Seinfeld and
Friends)
because of the humor.All of the thirty
eight participants reported watching sports events the most.This could be due to the fact that the Red
Sox were in the World Series for the first time since 1986.Had
this study been during a differentperiod
in time, perhaps the participants would not
have reported
watching sports the most, but rather a different genre.
Although all
the
participants reported watching sports the most, there was a gender
difference.The males watched sports
news and sports events more than the females.A significant gender difference was not found regarding the
other
genres.While the females may have been
also watching the baseball games, the males were likely watching other
sports
as well, in addition to watching the sports news channels.
There may not have been gender differences
watching the other genres because since both genders were so invested
in
watching sports, they did not watch other genres as often as they
normally
would have, resulting in equally low reports.
While this
research may be a
start in looking at reality television, these results are not
generalizable
because the participants represent a specific cohort.
A college student's life is very different in the sense that he
or she lives with a roommate and faces different constraints than other
life situations (Hawkins, et., al., 2001).Individuals
belonging to a
different age group, ethnic background, or socioeconomic status may
watch
different reality shows for different reasons due to their different
social and
age identity. Reality television is
relatively new, and in the future researchers may want to look at the
different
types of reality television in comparison to scripted television to see
if
there are differences in the way people perceive these two
genres.
Determining how the audience feels about
reality television in comparison to scripted television may help
determine what
needs are being addressed by watching one genre over the
other. Also more extensive research into the other categories of
reality
television is necessary since only three categories were addressed in
this
study.