 Selection and Enjoyment of Media

 Selection and Enjoyment of Media Entertainment
In considering the myriad of ways that individuals interact with media entertainment, the vast majority of research has focused on two particular questions: (a) What variables predict viewers’ entertainment selections and preferences? and (b) What variables and concepts play pivotal roles in viewers’ enjoyment of entertainment?

ENTERTAINMENT USES, PREFERENCES, AND SELECTION
Uses and gratifications. Perhaps one of the most basic and widely used approaches to studying media entertainment is via uses and gratifications (see Rubin, Chapter 10, this volume). In brief, uses and gratifications (U&G) conceives of audience members as “active” media users, with individuals choosing to consume media on the basis of their felt needs and the degree to which the media can successfully address these needs (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1973). A wide variety of needs exist, including instrumental needs, such as information seeking; needs related to social connection; and needs related to social status, among others (Rubin, 2002). With the breadth of possible media gratifications in mind, however, this section focuses on gratifications related to media entertainment specifically.
Some of the earliest studies on entertainment specifically employed what might arguably be characterized as a U&G approach. For example, Herzog’s (1944) research on radio soap operas discussed listeners’ gratifications related to problem solving, escape, and emotional release. Likewise, Lazarsfeld’s (1940) analysis of a radio quiz show found that listeners enjoyed the program for testing self- knowledge, for engaging in competition, and for the perception that the shows were educational. Subsequently, Katz, Gurevirch, and Haas (1973) highlighted the importance of media for purposes of entertainment in their study in which approximately a quarter of their respondents reported that media consumption was better able than all other means to address needs relating to overcoming loneliness, escaping from reality of everyday life, killing time, and being entertained.
Since these earlier studies, a large body of research has examined the variety of uses and gratifications that individuals have for a diversity of entertainment forms. Some of these analyses have examined the uses of given mediums or channels of communication in general (e.g., why people use television, the Internet, or motion pictures overall). Here, the uses and gratifications of television viewing have arguably garnered the greatest amount of attention, with some of the more common uses (e.g., amusement, relaxation, passing the time) clearly pertinent to entertainment related behaviors (Rubin, 1983). Likewise, studies of the Internet per se reveal similar entertainment-like gratifications, including pleasure, amusement, and thrill, among others (Ferguson & Perse, 2000).
In addition to examining gratifications across different mediums, a large body of research has also examined specific entertainment genres or content characteristics. Typically, studies with this focus provide insights into the types of individual differences that may be useful predictors for variation in entertainment selection and gratifications. For example, research on consumption of media violence generally suggests such content is more frequently viewed by individuals higher on such traits as aggressiveness, sensation seeking, or psychoticism (Aluja-Fabregat & Torrubia Beltri, 1998; Zuckerman & Litle, 1986). Likewise, one study of horror films revealed gratifications such as thrill seeking and gore watching, with these motivations associated with higher levels of sensation seeking and lower levels of empathy, respectively (Johnston, 1995) Similar findings were also revealed in Reiss and Wiltz’s (2004) study of reality-show viewing, with higher levels of viewing more evident among individuals with greater needs for social status and for vengeance.
Clearly, U&G has been a fruitful avenue for many theorists interested in media entertainment. At the same time, though, this perspective has received a fair amount of criticism. For example, scholars have questioned the broad characterization of the audience as necessarily ‘active,” have suggested that the theory is more descriptive than predictive or explanatory, and have argued that U&G conceptualizations are often only vaguely defined (for an overview, see Ruggiero, 2000). In terms of methodology, scholars have also criticized U&G’s assumption that individuals are aware of or are willing to articulate their motivations for media consumption, thereby questioning the validity of the self-report measurements typically employed (Zillmann, 1985; Zillmann & Bryant, 1985). In part as a result of these criticisms, additional models of entertainment—namely mood management—have focused on more narrow and testable models that employ experimental methods and that make use of behavioral measures in addition to self-reports.
Mood management. As the name implies, mood management argues that one factor influencing entertainment selection is individuals’ tendencies to arrange their environment to manage their moods or affective states (Oliver, 2003; Zillmann, 1988, 2000). Insofar as this theory presumes that hedonistic concerns are important motivations for many behaviors, individuals are predicted to select media entertainment that is successful in prolonging or intensifying positive moods, and (perhaps more important) diminishing or terminating negative moods. Further, this theory does not assume that individuals are necessarily aware of the motivations for their behaviors, but rather that they act in accordance with behaviors that were successful in the past. Consequently, as mentioned previously, this theory has often been tested via experimental procedures in which positive and negative mood states (including boredom and stress) are first induced, and measures of media selection are then assessed.
There are a host of media characteristics that are thought to aid in individuals’ attempts to regulate their moods (Zillmann, 1988). For example, the arousing potential of media portrayals is predicted to assist individuals in avoiding unpleasant states of overarousal (stress) and underarousal (boredom). Likewise, individuals who are in negative moods are predicted to avoid content that has a negative hedonic valence (sad, negative content) or that is high in behavioral affinity (is similar to the context or reason for the individual’s state). At the same time, negative mood states may lead to greater attraction to media content high in its absorbing potential, as such content may successfully distract the individual from his or her negative mood.
Support for mood management’s basic assumptions has been obtained for a variety of content and in a diversity of settings. For example, in one earlier test of this theory, Bryant and Zillmann (1984) found that overaroused individuals ere less likely than underaroused individuals to choose “calming” content, such as nature shows and soothing musical concerts, over more exciting fare such as a sporting event or a game show playoff. Likewise, Meadowcroft and Zillmann (1987) found that women in the premenstrual phase of their menstrual cycles were more likely than women in other phases to report preferences for viewing comedies. More recently, mood management has been tested in the context of online musical selections (Knobloch & Zillmann, 2002), with individuals in negative moods more likely than individuals in positive moods to select upbeat and joyful music over more somber selections.
With these supportive studies in mind, though, refinements to mood management have been made to help accommodate some findings that appear at odds with the basic assumptions of the theory. For example, in one early study, Zillmann, Hezel, and Medoff (1980) found that contrary to expectations, individuals in negative moods actually avoided television comedies. However, a closer examination of the nature of the comedic presentations revealed that they focused on hostile humor—a characteristic that may have been too similar to the context of the participants’ bad moods (e.g., high on behavioral affinity). Likewise, other studies have often reported gender differences in entertainment selections as a function of mood, leading scholars to suggest that under some circumstances (e.g., when retaliation against the source of the negative mood is possible), individuals may opt to prolong rather than diminish their negative affect (Biswas, Riffe, & Ziflmann, 1994; Knobloch-Westerwick & Alter, 2006). indeed, Knobloch (2003) has expanded upon this idea to suggest that rather than using media to necessarily engage in mood management, individuals may use media as a means of adjusting their moods to be appropriate for the context or situation, even if those moods are not necessarily positive (see also Erber & Erber, 2000, for a similar argument). Likewise, Nabi, Finnerty, Domschke, and Hull (2006) recently argued that under some circumstances, individuals may select negatively valenced content that is high on behavioral affinity because it ultimately serves their coping needs.
These refinements and additions to mood management are important developments to a theory that has enjoyed a great deal of empirical support. At the same time, though, additional “counterevidence” has presented challenges that have yet to be fully resolved. Namely, a number of studies have reported that contrary to predictions, individuals in negative or sad affective states often appear to have a preference for somber or mournful entertainment, including both movies (Strizhakova & Krcmar, 2007) and music (Gibson, Aust, & Zillmann, 2000). A variety of different explanations have been suggested for these findings, including the idea that such preferences reflect information seeking, needs for feeling “understood” (Zillmann, 2000),

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 Seleksi dan kenikmatan Media hiburanDalam mempertimbangkan berbagai cara bahwa individu yang berinteraksi dengan media hiburan, sebagian besar penelitian telah difokuskan pada dua pertanyaan tertentu: () variabel apa memprediksi pemirsa pilihan hiburan dan preferensi? dan (b) apa variabel dan konsep memainkan peran penting dalam pemirsa kesenangan hiburan?MENGGUNAKAN HIBURAN, PREFERENSI DAN PILIHANPenggunaan dan pemenuhan kepuasan. Mungkin salah satu pendekatan yang paling mendasar dan banyak digunakan untuk mempelajari media hiburan adalah melalui penggunaan dan pemenuhan kepuasan (Lihat Rubin, Bab 10, buku ini). Secara singkat, penggunaan dan pemenuhan kepuasan (U & G) memahami penonton sebagai media "aktif" pengguna, dengan individu memilih untuk mengkonsumsi media berdasarkan kebutuhan mereka merasa dan gelar yang media dapat berhasil mengatasi kebutuhan ini (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1973). Berbagai macam kebutuhan ada, termasuk kebutuhan berperan, seperti mencari informasi; kebutuhan yang berhubungan dengan koneksi sosial; dan kebutuhan yang berhubungan dengan status sosial, antara lain (Rubin, 2002). Dengan luasnya mungkin media pemenuhan kepuasan dalam pikiran, namun, Bagian ini berfokus pada pemenuhan kepuasan yang berhubungan dengan media hiburan khusus.Beberapa kajian awal pada hiburan khusus bekerja apa mungkin bisa dibilang dicirikan sebagai pendekatan U & G. Sebagai contoh, penelitian (1944) München Herzog radio sinetron dibahas pemenuhan kepuasan pendengar yang berhubungan dengan pemecahan masalah, melarikan diri, dan pelepasan emosional. Demikian juga, Lazarsfeld's (tahun 1940) analisis acara kuis radio ditemukan bahwa pendengar menikmati program untuk menguji pengetahuan diri, untuk terlibat dalam kompetisi, dan untuk persepsi bahwa menunjukkan adalah pendidikan. Selanjutnya, Katz, Gurevirch dan Haas (1973) menyoroti pentingnya media untuk tujuan hiburan dalam studi mereka di mana kira-kira seperempat responden mereka melaporkan bahwa konsumsi media mampu lebih baik daripada semua cara lain untuk menjawab kebutuhan berkaitan dengan mengatasi kesepian, melarikan diri dari realitas kehidupan sehari-hari, membunuh waktu, dan dihibur.Sejak studi ini awal, tubuh besar penelitian telah meneliti berbagai penggunaan dan pemenuhan kepuasan yang memiliki individu untuk berbagai bentuk hiburan. Beberapa analisis ini telah memeriksa penggunaan diberikan media atau saluran komunikasi pada umumnya (misalnya, mengapa orang menggunakan televisi, Internet, atau gambar gerak keseluruhan). Di sini, penggunaan dan pemenuhan kepuasan dari menonton televisi bisa dibilang garnered jumlah terbesar dari perhatian, dengan beberapa penggunaan yang lebih umum (misalnya, hiburan, rekreasi, menghabiskan waktu) jelas berkaitan dengan hiburan terkait perilaku (Rubin, 1983). Demikian juga, studi Internet per se mengungkapkan serupa hiburan-seperti pemenuhan kepuasan, termasuk sensasi, antara lain (Ferguson & ia belajar, 2000), kesenangan, dan hiburan.Selain memeriksa pemenuhan kepuasan di media yang berbeda, tubuh besar penelitian juga telah dikaji genre tertentu hiburan atau karakteristik konten. Biasanya, studi dengan fokus ini memberikan wawasan ke dalam jenis perbedaan individu yang mungkin berguna prediksi untuk variasi dalam pilihan hiburan dan pemenuhan kepuasan. Sebagai contoh, penelitian pada konsumsi media kekerasan umumnya menunjukkan konten tersebut lebih sering dipandang oleh individu-individu yang lebih tinggi pada sifat-sifat tersebut sebagai agresivitas, mencari sensasi atau psychoticism (dari Dina-Fabregat & Torrubia Beltri, 1998; Zuckerman & Litle, 1986). Demikian pula, satu studi film horor mengungkapkan pemenuhan kepuasan seperti sensasi mencari dan gore dengan motivasi ini terkait dengan tingkat yang lebih tinggi mencari sensasi dan tingkat yang lebih rendah empati, masing-masing (Johnston, 1995) juga temuan serupa diungkapkan dalam studi (2004) Reiss dan Wiltz's reality-show melihat, dengan tingkat yang lebih tinggi dari melihat lebih jelas antara individu dengan kebutuhan yang lebih besar untuk status sosial dan untuk membalas dendam.Jelas, U & G telah menjadi jalan yang bermanfaat untuk banyak teori tertarik pada media hiburan. Pada saat yang sama, meskipun, perspektif ini telah menerima cukup banyak kritik. Misalnya, para sarjana telah mempertanyakan karakterisasi luas penonton sebagai selalu ' aktif, "telah menyarankan bahwa teori ini lebih deskriptif daripada prediktif atau penjelasan, dan berpendapat bahwa U & G conceptualizations sering hanya samar-samar didefinisikan (untuk Ikhtisar, lihat Ruggiero, 2000). Dalam hal metodologi, sarjana juga telah mengkritik U & G's asumsi bahwa individu sadar atau bersedia untuk mengartikulasikan motivasi mereka untuk konsumsi media, sehingga mempertanyakan keabsahan Self-laporan pengukuran biasanya digunakan (Zillmann, 1985; Zillmann & Bryant, 1985). Sebagian karena kritik-kritik ini, tambahan model hiburan — yaitu suasana manajemen — telah berfokus pada lebih sempit dan diuji model yang menggunakan metode eksperimental dan itu membuat penggunaan langkah-langkah perilaku selain diri laporan.Manajemen suasana hati. Seperti namanya, suasana manajemen berpendapat bahwa salah satu faktor yang mempengaruhi pilihan hiburan adalah individu kecenderungan untuk mengatur lingkungan mereka untuk mengelola suasana hati mereka atau afektif Serikat (Oliver, 2003; Zillmann, 1988, 2000). Sejauh teori ini mengandaikan bahwa hedonistik keprihatinan yang penting motivasi untuk banyak perilaku, individu diperkirakan Pilih media hiburan yang sukses dalam memperpanjang atau mengintensifkan suasana hati yang positif, dan (mungkin lebih penting) berkurang atau mengakhiri suasana hati yang negatif. Lebih lanjut, teori ini tidak menganggap bahwa individu harus menyadari motivasi untuk perilaku mereka, melainkan mereka bertindak sesuai dengan perilaku yang berhasil di masa lalu. Akibatnya, seperti disebutkan sebelumnya, teori ini telah sering diuji melalui prosedur eksperimen di mana suasana hati yang positif dan negatif Serikat (termasuk kebosanan dan stres) pertama dibujuk, dan langkah-langkah media seleksi kemudian dinilai.Ada sejumlah karakteristik media yang dianggap membantu individu upaya untuk mengatur suasana hati mereka (Zillmann, 1988). Sebagai contoh, menimbulkan potensi media penggambaran diperkirakan untuk membantu individu dalam menghindari tidak menyenangkan negara overarousal (stres) dan underarousal (kebosanan). Demikian juga, orang-orang yang berada dalam suasana hati yang negatif diprediksikan untuk menghindari konten yang memiliki valensi hedonic negatif (sedih, negatif konten) atau yang tinggi dalam perilaku afinitas (mirip dengan konteks atau alasan untuk negara individu). Pada saat yang sama, Serikat mood negatif dapat menyebabkan daya tarik besar konten tinggi dalam menyerap potensi, seperti konten dapat berhasil mengalihkan perhatian individu dari nya mood negatif media.Dukungan untuk suasana hati manajemen asumsi dasar telah diperoleh untuk berbagai konten dan dalam keragaman pengaturan. Misalnya, di salah satu ujian sebelumnya dari teori ini, Bryant dan Zillmann (1984) menemukan bahwa overaroused individu sebelum menunjukkan kurang mungkin dibandingkan underaroused individu untuk memilih "menenangkan" konten, seperti alam dan menenangkan konser musik, lebih menarik TARIF seperti acara olahraga atau acara permainan playoff. Demikian juga, Meadowcroft dan Zillmann (1987) menemukan bahwa wanita dalam fase pramenstruasi siklus menstruasi mereka lebih mungkin dibandingkan perempuan lain fase laporan preferensi untuk melihat komedi. Baru-baru ini, suasana manajemen telah diuji dalam konteks pilihan musik online (Knobloch & Zillmann, 2002), dengan individu dalam negatif suasana hati yang lebih mungkin daripada individu dalam suasana hati yang positif untuk memilih musik ceria dan gembira atas pilihan lebih muram.With these supportive studies in mind, though, refinements to mood management have been made to help accommodate some findings that appear at odds with the basic assumptions of the theory. For example, in one early study, Zillmann, Hezel, and Medoff (1980) found that contrary to expectations, individuals in negative moods actually avoided television comedies. However, a closer examination of the nature of the comedic presentations revealed that they focused on hostile humor—a characteristic that may have been too similar to the context of the participants’ bad moods (e.g., high on behavioral affinity). Likewise, other studies have often reported gender differences in entertainment selections as a function of mood, leading scholars to suggest that under some circumstances (e.g., when retaliation against the source of the negative mood is possible), individuals may opt to prolong rather than diminish their negative affect (Biswas, Riffe, & Ziflmann, 1994; Knobloch-Westerwick & Alter, 2006). indeed, Knobloch (2003) has expanded upon this idea to suggest that rather than using media to necessarily engage in mood management, individuals may use media as a means of adjusting their moods to be appropriate for the context or situation, even if those moods are not necessarily positive (see also Erber & Erber, 2000, for a similar argument). Likewise, Nabi, Finnerty, Domschke, and Hull (2006) recently argued that under some circumstances, individuals may select negatively valenced content that is high on behavioral affinity because it ultimately serves their coping needs.Penyempurnaan dan penambahan suasana manajemen ini adalah perkembangan yang penting kepada teori yang telah menikmati banyak dukungan empiris. Pada saat yang sama, meskipun, tambahan "counterevidence" telah disajikan tantangan yang belum diselesaikan sepenuhnya. Yaitu, sejumlah penelitian telah melaporkan bahwa bertentangan dengan prediksi, individu-individu di negatif atau sedih afektif Serikat sering muncul untuk memiliki preferensi untuk hiburan muram atau sedih, termasuk film (Strizhakova & Krcmar, 2007) dan musik (Gibson, Aust, & Zillmann, 2000). Berbagai penjelasan yang berbeda telah diusulkan untuk temuan ini, termasuk gagasan bahwa preferensi tersebut mencerminkan informasi yang mencari, kebutuhan untuk merasa "memahami" (Zillmann, 2000),