Seriously Entertained: Antecedents and Consequences of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Entertainment Experiences With Political Talk Shows on TV

Abstract

This study's purpose is twofold: to introduce a new format into existing political entertainment research (“serious” political talk shows) and to establish a more specific definition of entertainment in a political context. To do so, the authors rely on a two-process-model of entertainment experiences. A telephone survey (N = 230) was conducted to analyze the antecedents and consequences of eudaimonic and hedonic entertainment experiences and to look into politically relevant variables and their distribution among viewers and nonviewers of such talk shows. The results highlight the importance of introducing new entertainment concepts and their relations to other relevant political and motivational variables into the research of political entertainment. More specifically, the findings demonstrate how entertainment experiences contribute to viewers' feeling of being informed and point out several differences between viewers and nonviewers concerning their internal political efficacy and political interest. Finally, looking at political talk shows from an audience perspective extends previous content-based taxonomies.

Notes

¹This format is similar to Sunday morning talk shows in the United States (e.g., Face the Nation, This Week), Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and Japan. Other similar formats are for example Roda Viva (Brazil), Inside Brüssel (Austria), Capital Talk (Pakistan), and The Big Debate (South Africa).

Note. N = 105. Scores are standardized regression weights.

*p < .05. We used an alpha level of .05 for all statistical tests.

Note. N = 105. Scores are standardized regression weights.

*p < .05. We used an alpha level of .05 for all statistical tests.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Franziska S. Roth

Franziska S. Roth (M.A., Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz) is a Ph.D. student in the Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Mannheim. In her research, she focuses on the interactions between entertainment experiences and information processing.

Carina Weinmann

Carina Weinmann (M.A., University of Mannheim) is a Ph.D. student in the Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Mannheim. Her research interests concern political and health communication, with a specific focus on entertainment media.

Frank M. Schneider

Frank M. Schneider (Ph.D., University of Koblenz-Landau, 2012) is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at the University of Mannheim. His research interests include research methods, psychological assessment, and communication processes and effects.

Frederic R. Hopp

Frederic R. Hopp is an undergraduate student in the Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Mannheim. His research interests include media psychology, entertainment education, and political communication.

Peter Vorderer

Peter Vorderer (Ph.D., TU Berlin, Germany) has been a Professor of media and communication studies in the Institute for Media and Communication Studies (University of Mannheim) since 2010, with a special focus on media reception and media effects research, especially of new media. Since June 2014, he has served as President of the International Communication Association.