Theory and method in research on audience motives

This essay reviews several conceptions of audience motives and offers an inte‐grative perspective based on the idea that exposure motives are rooted in interpretive structures or frameworks. The integrative perspective identifies several features of the content and structure of interpretive frameworks that are relevant to the nature of the mass communication experience and to self‐reflection on and self‐report of motives. The essay also discusses several relevant issues in measurement and analysis of self‐reported motives.