TELEVISION DRAMA PREFERENCE CHOICE

A BASIS FOR A GENERAL THEORY TO EXPLAIN PREFERENCES OF COMMERCIAL TELEVISION (TV) SHOWS WAS DEVELOPED. THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY WAS BASED ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF EDUCATIONAL LEVEL TO TV PREFERENCES, AND THE STUDY SAMPLE CONSISTED OF SEVENTH-GRADE THROUGH COLLEGE-LEVEL STUDENTS. FINDINGS SHOWED THAT AS EDUCATION INCREASES, DEMAND FOR CONTENT IN TV PRESENTATIONS MOVES FROM NONINFORMATIVE TO INFORMATIVE, FROM UNREALISTIC TO REALISTIC, AND FROM ACTION TO NONACTION. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND PREFERENCE, THEREFORE, WAS FOUND TO BE POSITIVE AND RECTILINEAR. THE POSSIBILITY OF A PLATEAU OR REGRESSION AT THE GRADE LEVEL OF 9 OR 10 WAS NOTED, HOWEVER. IN ADDITION TO THE THEORETICAL STUDY, OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE PROJECT INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF (1) A COMPREHENSIVE CONTENT ANALYTIC MODEL BY WHICH THE CONTENT OF TV SHOWS COULD BE EXAMINED OBJECTIVELY AND THOROUGHLY, AND (2) A RELIABLE PAPER-AND-PENCIL TEST BY WHICH INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN TV PREFERENCE CHOICE COULD BE MEASURED. (JH)