2012 Erin Cassidy Pinkston

RICH REALITY TV PERFORMERS AND MATERIALISM IN VIEWERS: CONNECTING PARASOCIAL INTERACTION AND CULTIVATION THEORY By ERIN CASSIDY PINKSTON A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MASS COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2012 1 © 2012 Erin Cassidy Pinkston 2 To my parents, David and Carol 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Johanna Cleary, Ph.D., Amy Jo Coffey, Ph.D., Wayne Wanta, Ph.D. and Jody Hedge for all of their assistance, advice and encouragement throughout this research process. This thesis would not exist without their guidance. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 8 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 9 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 12 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 16 Reality Television .................................................................................................... 16 History of Reality TV ......................................................................................... 17 Reality TV Today .............................................................................................. 18 Involvement/Engagement ....................................................................................... 22 Parasocial Relationships .................................................................................. 23 Parasocial Interaction Scale ............................................................................. 34 Cultivation Theory ................................................................................................... 35 Materialism and Wealth .......................................................................................... 39 Materialism and Wealth Today ......................................................................... 40 Material Values Scale ....................................................................................... 40 Basis for Study ........................................................................................................ 41 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 43 3 METHOD ................................................................................................................ 44 Sample .................................................................................................................... 44 Surveyed Reality Shows ......................................................................................... 45 Survey ..................................................................................................................... 48 Demographic Information ................................................................................. 49 Foil Questions .................................................................................................. 49 Amount of Exposure ......................................................................................... 49 Duration of Exposure ........................................................................................ 49 Parasocial Interaction Scale ............................................................................. 49 Material Values Scale ....................................................................................... 50 Experience with Wealth .................................................................................... 50 Optional Questions ........................................................................................... 50 Complications ......................................................................................................... 50 Data Collection ....................................................................................................... 51 5 4 RESULTS ............................................................................................................... 53 Respondent Demographics .................................................................................... 53 Scales ..................................................................................................................... 53 Parasocial Interaction Scale ............................................................................. 53 Material Values Scale ....................................................................................... 54 Experience with Wealth Scale .......................................................................... 54 Amount of Exposure ............................................................................................... 54 Duration of Exposure .............................................................................................. 55 Mean Parasocial Interaction Scale Scores by Show ............................................... 56 Mean Material Values Scale Scores by Show ........................................................ 56 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 56 Research Question 1 ........................................................................................ 56 Research Question 2 ........................................................................................ 57 Research Question 3 ........................................................................................ 57 Control Variables .............................................................................................. 58 Additional Findings ................................................................................................. 59 5 DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................... 74 Explanation ............................................................................................................. 75 Favorite Thing About the Show ............................................................................... 76 Favorite Thing About Favorite Character ................................................................ 80 Comparison of Optional Question Answers ............................................................ 84 Limitations ............................................................................................................... 85 Suggestions for Future Research ........................................................................... 86 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 88 APPENDIX A SURVEY FOR BASKETBALL WIVES FANS .......................................................... 90 B SURVEY FOR GIULIANA & BILL FANS ................................................................. 95 C SURVEY FOR REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY FANS .......................... 100 D SURVEY FOR DON’T BE TARDY FOR THE WEDDING FANS .......................... 105 E SURVEY FOR KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS FANS ........................ 110 F SURVEY FOR REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY FANS ..................... 115 G SURVEY FOR HOLLYWOOD EXES FANS ......................................................... 120 H SURVEY FOR KENDRA ON TOP FANS ............................................................. 125 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 130 6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................... 137 7 LIST OF TABLES Table page 3-1 Surveyed shows‟ season finale ratings. .............................................................. 52 3-2 Completed responses by show........................................................................... 52 4-1 Reported races of respondents. ......................................................................... 60 4-2 Reported income levels of respondents. ............................................................ 60 4-3 Reported education levels of respondents. ........................................................ 60 4-4 Mean parasocial interaction scale scores by show. ............................................ 61 4-5 Mean material values scale scores by show....................................................... 61 8 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 4-1 Distribution of parasocial interaction scale scores. ............................................. 62 4-2 Distribution of material values scale scores. ....................................................... 62 4-3 Distribution of experience with wealth scale scores. ........................................... 63 4-4 Distribution of amount of exposure responses. .................................................. 63 4-5 Distribution of duration of exposure responses. ................................................. 64 4-6 Regression analysis for amount of exposure predicting materialism score. ....... 64 4-7 Regression

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