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Instant Gratification, Self-Control, and the Expansion of Media

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Instant Gratification, Self-Control, and the Expansion of Media Immediate Media: How Instant Gratification, Self-Control, and the Expansion of Media Choice Affect our Everyday Lives by Elliot Taylor Panek A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Communication) In The University of Michigan 2012 Doctoral Committee: Professor W. Russell Neuman, Chair Professor L. Rowell Huesmann Assistant Professor Emily B. Falk Assistant Research Professor Sara H. Konrath Acknowledgements There are many individuals with whom I have discussed the ideas presented in this dissertation. I would like to thank the attendees of the 2010 Medium to Medium Symposium at Northwestern University, in particular Fred Turner, for insightful feedback on a very early version of this work. I would also like to thank attendees of the 2011 Communication and Technology Division Doctoral Consortium at the International Communication Association’s annual conference, in particular Ron Rice and Mark Aakhus. Lively discussions with my classmates and mentors in the Decision Consortium at the University of Michigan, in particular Stephanie Preston and Frank Yates, helped shape this project. The members of my committee have offered invaluable feedback on many drafts of this dissertation. Also, I would like to thank my family for their support and Kathryn Drago for her support and for her insightful comments on this work. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ ii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................ vi List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Structure of the Dissertation ......................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2. Anytime, anywhere, anything: Understanding media selection in the immediate media choice environment ........................................................................................ 16 2.1. Uses and Gratifications .................................................................................................... 18 2.2. The Role of Affect in Media Selection ......................................................................... 19 2.3. Structural Factors in Media Selection ........................................................................ 21 2.4. Access and Abundance ..................................................................................................... 23 2.5. Decisions and Media Use ................................................................................................. 27 2.6. Implications of Increasing Temporal Proximity of Options for Media Selection ............................................................................................................................................. 29 2.7. Implications of Increased Number of Options for Media Selection ................ 31 2.8. Case study: The Remote Control’s Influence on Television Program Selection ............................................................................................................................................. 34 2.9. The Role of Self-control in Media Selection ............................................................. 37 2.10. Assessing the Effects of High Choice and Temporal Proximity of Options on Selection Behavior .................................................................................................................... 38 2.11. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 41 Chapter 3. Left to their own devices: College students’ ‘guilty pleasure’ media use and time management ....................................................................................................................... 44 3.1. Media Temptations and Self Control .......................................................................... 47 3.2. Media Selection and Self-Control ................................................................................. 48 3.3. Methods.................................................................................................................................. 53 3.3.1. Participants .................................................................................................................. 53 3.3.2. Measures ....................................................................................................................... 54 3.3.3. Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 56 3.4. Results .................................................................................................................................... 58 iii 3.4.1. Accounting for Motivation ..................................................................................... 59 3.4.2. Self-control, Guilt, Schoolwork, and Individual Media ................................ 60 3.5. Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 61 3.5.1. Anytime/anywhere Media and Self-Control ................................................... 62 3.5.2. Limitations ................................................................................................................... 63 3.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 65 Chapter 4. The influence of temporal proximity and high choice on media users’ selections: An experiment ................................................................................................................ 70 4.1. Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 72 4.1.1. Studies of Media Selection in High-Choice Environments ......................... 72 4.1.2. The Effects of the Number of Available Options on Selection of Immediately Gratifying Options ........................................................................................... 73 4.1.3. Temporal Proximity ................................................................................................. 75 4.1.4. Exploring the Interaction Between the Number of Available Options and Temporal Proximity ......................................................................................................... 77 4.1.5. The Moderating Effects of Self-Control ............................................................. 77 4.2. Method .................................................................................................................................... 79 4.2.1. Study Design ................................................................................................................ 79 4.2.2. Participants .................................................................................................................. 79 4.2.3. Materials and Measures .......................................................................................... 80 4.3. Procedure .............................................................................................................................. 86 4.4. Results .................................................................................................................................... 87 4.5. Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 89 4.5.1. A Brief Inductive Analysis of Selection Behavior Across Choice Conditions ..................................................................................................................................... 92 4.5.2. Limitations ................................................................................................................... 95 4.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 97 Chapter 5. Choosing when to choose: A field observational study of planned, unplanned, and ritual media selection ...................................................................................... 104 5.1. Planned and Unplanned Behavior ............................................................................. 107 5.2. Ritual Media Use in the Context of Planned-ness ................................................ 110 5.3. Method .................................................................................................................................. 112 5.3.1. Measures ..................................................................................................................... 112 5.3.2. Participants ................................................................................................................ 114 5.4. Procedure ............................................................................................................................ 115 iv 5.4.1. Information Session ...............................................................................................
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