All the Children are Above Average: Parents' Perceptions of Education and Materialism as Media Effects on their Own and Other Children

Abstract

Recent research shows parents manifest parental third-person perceptions on behalf of their children; that is, they believe their children are less affected by media sex and violence than other children. This study (N = 171) found parental third-person perceptions for materialism effects of television and parental first-person perceptions for advanced educational effects of public television. Perceptions of materialism effects on one's own and other children predicted parental mediation, whereas perceptions of education effects predicted support for regulations requiring more educational television.

Notes

¹No relationship between perceived educational effects and support for marketing regulations was predicted, but perceived basic learning for one's own child was related to support for these regulations, pr(136) = .26, p < .01. This may be because many people who have their kids watch mostly public television (and thus perceive relatively greater educational effects on their kids) do so in part because they dislike the marketing on commercial television and use public television as an ad-free alternative. We thank an anonymous reviewer for suggesting this analysis.

²The second-person partial correlation coefficient includes the previously used controls (parent's sex, age, income, and race; children's TV exposure; and proportion of viewing that was public vs. commercial television) as well as the third-person perception difference score, using the logic of the diamond model (Neuwirth & Frederick, 2002).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Patrick C. Meirick

Patrick C. Meirick (Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2002) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma. His research interests include political communication and the predictors and consequences of perceived media effects.

Jeanetta D. Sims

Jeanetta D. Sims (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 2008) is Assistant Professor in the Marketing Department at the University of Central Oklahoma. She is accredited in public relations, and her program of research includes strategic communication in organizations, social influence and persuasion, and organizational diversity.

Eileen S. Gilchrist

Eileen S. Gilchrist (MA, University of Houston, 1997; Doctoral Candidate, University of Oklahoma) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of Wyoming. Her research interests include communication competence, social support, and relational maintenance strategies across selected health, family, and organizational contexts, focusing primarily on elderly populations.

Stephen M. Croucher

Stephen M. Croucher (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 2006) is Assistant Professor in the School of Communication Studies at Bowling Green State University. His primary area of specialization is in the social scientific analysis of the intersections between culture, religion and communication.