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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CERTAIN
READING AND TELEVISION.
VIEWING VARIABLES

Thesis for the Degree of M. A.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CHARLES GLEN DOE

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ABSTRACT

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CERTAIN READING AND
TELEVISION VIEWING VARIABLES

BY

Charles Glen Doe

In the last thirty years, television has grown to occupy a
large part of our environment. McLuhan1 theorizes that, as television
changes the environment, it will change the perceptions, and therefore,
the thought process of the inhabitants of our culture in a way which ’
may make reading a secondary, less important activity. Learning to
read could be more difficult, perhaps not as necessary, and people
may be less interested in reading. The process has already begun.

Some aspects of McLuhan's theory are observable in the environment.
However, most aspects have not been studied in a systematic fashion and
remain theory. Due to the implications of the theory for reading,
several hypotheses were created and tested to derive some limited
implications concerning the theory's validity. If the situation exists
as McLuhan theorizes, for the reasons he theorizes, a better under-
standing of it may provide some methods to cope with the problems
implied for reading.

The writer hypothesized that the more children watch television
and expresses a favorable attitude, the less they will read, the poorer

their attitude towards reading will be, and the lower their reading

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Charles Glen Doe

skill level will be. To obtain the date necessary for testing the
hypotheses, the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test and a combined survey
and attitude inventory were administered to a group of tenth grade
students. A variety of question styles and types were used to obtain
data concerning six television viewing and reading variables.
Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample of a hundred
students who were divided into five groups of twenty, by reading level.
The sample was drawn from a primarily white, blue collar, upper-lower
socio-economic class population. Correlational and variance analysis
were conducted with all data except the survey infbrmation which was
compiled and presented in percent and means. All statistical decisions
were made at the .05 level of significance.

The conclusions were as follows:

1. The more time most high school students spend watching
television, the less time they are likely to spend reading,
the poorer their attitude towards reading is likely to be,
and the poorer their reading level is likely to be.

2. The more a high school student likes television viewing, the
less likely he is to spend time reading, to have a good
attitude towards reading, and to have a higher reading level.

3. The amount of time a student chooses to read as opposed to
assigned reading time does not appear to be connected to
television viewing time and television viewing attitude.

Negative correlation coefficients for six of the eight hypotheses,
which are included in statements one and two above, were significient
at the .05 level. Analysis of mean variance of each variable by
reading level reinforced the conclusions as did some of the demographic
data compiled from the survey section of the inventory. However, the

coefficients were generally not strong enough to establish a strong

relationship. Coefficients of alienation and others indicated that

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Charles Glen Doe

the degree of relationship was relatively weak in some cases. There-
fore, the results of this study indicate that the relationships appear
to exist but provide no implications for causative factors. Further-
more, the results do imply that McLuhan's theory has some basis and
that television may be a factor in reading problems. However, further

research is needed to fully test the theory.

 

1Marshal McLuhan, Understanding Media (New York: New American

Library, 1964).

 

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CERTAIN READING AND

TELEVISION VIEWING VARIABLES

BY

Charles Glen Doe

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
fer the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Elementary and Special Education

1976

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Dr. Lois Bader for her advice and
patience. I also thank Mrs. Barbara Horning and Mrs. Gladys Youngs
fOr their help in administering the instruments used in this study.

I would also like to express my special thanks to my wife, Mrs. Carol

Doe, for her help in conducting the Study and preparing the manuscript.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . .

LIST OF FIGLJRES. O O O O I O O O O 0

Chapter

I.

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . .

Purpose . . . . . . .
Limitations of the Study. . . .

II. THEORY . . . . . . . . . . .

Fabun's Model . . . . . . . .
Technologies and Environmental Change
The Gutenberg Galaxy . . . . . .
The Electronic Environment . . . .
Effects of the Electronic Environment

Education and the Electronic Environment

Reading and Television . . . . .
Reading and the Semantic Environment.
Hypotheses . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . .

III. REVIEW OF LITERATURE. . . . . . .

Patterns of Use. . . .
Television and Aggression
Television and Opinion .
Television and Education.
Television and Reading .
Discussion . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . .

IV. DESIGN OF THE STUDY . . . . . . .

POpulation . . . . . . . .
Sampling Techniques . . . . . .
Instrumentation. . . . . . . .

iii

Page

vi

11
13
17
18
20
21
24
26
28

29

29
31
38
39
42
43
45

46
46

SO
51

Chapter
Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hypotheses. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AnaIYSis O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O 0
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
V. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . .
Analysis of Results. . . . . . . . . .

Analysis of Mean Variance . . . . . . . .
Demographic Data . . . . . . . . . . .

Interpretation of Results. . . . . . . . .
smary O O O O O O O O O O I O O O 0

VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Discussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Implications for Future Research . . . . . .

Fm'I'NOTES O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0
APPENDIX: TELEVISION AND READING USE AND ATTITUDE INVENTORY

BIBLIOGWW O O I O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

iv

Page
53
54
55
56
57
58

60
62

63
66

68
69
70
71
73
77

80

LIST OF TABLES

Correlations Between Variables . .
Score Means by Variable and Group .

Parents' Education and Job Status .

Mean Home Reading Materials and Television

Specific Media Attitudes and Habits
Degree of Relationship. . . . .

Summary of Null Hypotheses Tested .

Page
58
60
61
61
62
65

67

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Fabun's Interaction Model . . . . . . . . . . . 8

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In various writings, Marshall McLuhan discusses two environ-
ments, the Gutenberg or print and the electronic, which he believes are
currently in conflict in our culture. The theorized conflict is
between the forms of the two environments and the affect these forms
have on our culture, not between their contents. He further discusses
the implications of this conflict considering our perceptions, thoughts
and worldview. While much of McLuhan's work is theoretical and based
on his and others‘ observations of our culture rather than concrete
research, his theory seems reasonable and logical, thereby meriting
further attention. If the implications of McLuhan's theory fer
education in general and reading instruction in particular are even
partly correct, a need for further study exists because his theory
indicates the possibility of a decline in the importance of reading
and the print media in our culture. This decline may come about
because educators are products of print culture and are using the
methods of the print culture to teach reading to children whose per-
ceptions, thought processes, and attitudes may have changed too
radically for the old methods to be effective any longer. Research in

directions indicated by McLuhan's theory may provide understandings and

methods for effectively teaching reading in a greatly changed environ-
ment.

McLuhan's theory becomes more believable and the need to
researCh it becomes more apparent because of the large place television
now occupies in our environment. Ninety-five percent of the over sixty
million homes in the United States have televisions in them and
25 percent have two or more sets. The television is on for five hours
and fbrty-five minutes per day in the average home. From the age of
two to sixty-five, the average male viewer watches almost nine full
years of television, some three thousand days. When the average child
enters kindergarten, he or she has spent more time watdhing and learning
about the world from television than the time he or she will Spend

1 These statistics indicate that

getting a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
television is so omnipresent that it very probably does affect us in
some fashion.

Personal experience lends more credence to McLuhan's theory.
Many high school students seem to resent a half hour reading assign-
ment, even if they like the material. However, most students will
joyfully watch a two hour television movie, apparently unconcerned
about the time lost. Excited, animated classroom discussions seem
easier to start if the discussion is based on a television program
rather than a book, even if the book is one most participating
students enjoy. Most parents with whom I am acquainted bless tele-
vision, even if with reservations, as an effective way to keep children,
from age one up, quiet and busy.

On the basis of his theory, McLuhan predicted in the early

sixties two events which, apparently, have since occurred.2 The first

is that the number of high school drop-outs has continued to grow.

The second event has become apparent over a several year period. Verbal
scores on the SAT tests have been steadily declining, dropping ten
points between 1974 and 1975 and thirty-two points since 1966. Many
colleges are complaining that students are no longer learning to write
as well as they once were.3 However, the section of the verbal tests

4 McLuhan

shows that the largest drop is in reading comprehension.
would view the drop in SAT scores and the increasing number of drop-outs
as an expected consequence of the coming of age of the electronic
environment.

As will be discussed in Chapter three, McLuhan's theory becomes
somewhat more believable in an indirect fashion, as a result of the
enormous amount of research which has been conducted to determine the
effects of television on children. The effects of television violence
on childrens' actions and emotions have been studied the most. Studies
of television as a general opinion, attitude, and values shapes are a
close second. Various researchers have also studied television as a
socialization mechanism and have studied television's educational
potential. The body of research concerning television's educational
potential also supports McLuhan's theory in that some research has
indicated that it may be a more effective medium of instruction than
many of the older print culture methods such as lecture and reading
textbooks. However, McLuhan believes that it is the form of the medium
rather than its contents, i.e., television itself rather than programs
and advertising, which has the greatest affect. Very little research
has been conducted from this point of view. Furthermore, very few

studies which attempt to correlate television with reading in any

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fashion or which attempt to determine the affects of television on
reading have been conducted. Therefbre, chapter three will be a
general review of some of the studies which have been conducted and a
discussion of them in relation to McLuhan's theory and the hypotheses

of this study.

Purpose

On one level, the purpose of this study is to derive some
implications concerning the validity of McLuhan's theory by developing
appropriate hypotheses from theory and testing them. As was stated
earlier, the need for doing this exists because, if McLuhan's theory
is completely or partially correct, determining its validity may
explain and lead to alternative methods of instruction which could slow
down or halt an already demonstrated decline in the cultural value and
function of reading. A small beginning in determining whether McLuhan's
theory and its implications for reading are factural or not will be
made by attempting to establish that a relationship does exist between
television and reading and that, to some degree, they are mutually
exclusive activities. In broad terms, the hypotheses of this study
are that the more a student watches television, enjoys it, and is
interested in it, the less entertaining and enjoyable he will find
reading, the less he will read, and the poorer his reading skills will
be. In other words, an inverse relationship exists between television
viewing, reading level, and attitude.

As will be discussed in greater detail in chapter four, the
hypotheses will be tested through the administration of a combined

survey and attitude inventory and a reading test to a representative

sample. The survey and attitude inventory will be constructed
relative to McLuhan's theory of the importance of form as opposed to
content, including questions which inventory the place of reading and
television in student's lives. The inventory will also include some
questions concerning viewing and reading preferences in view of
Hayakawa's discussion of the semantic environment and the supportive
information this could provide. As this is basically a predictive
study, these instruments will provide data fOr a limited correlational
and statistical analysis. The term predictive can be misleading as
television use and attitudes could only be a clumsy predictor of
reading levels. However, if television can be a predictor in this
fashion, it may have implications for the theory. The results will be
discussed and analyzed in chapter five in terms of McLuhan's theoretical

framework.

Limitations _o_f_ the Study

 

At this point, it is necessary to state that the results will
be far from conclusive in any sense. As the interaction between child
and television is not thoroughly understood or even clearly defined,
and as the reading process itself is not clearly understood, factors
not yet defined will not be included in the inventory and will
undoubtedly affect the results, making them uneven or somewhat
inaccurate. Second, the theory is far too broad in its discussion of
and implications fer human interaction with the environment to be
covered in one research project. Furthermore, the implications for
reading and education in general are too broad to be explored in one

project. Therefore, this project is intended as a fairly detailed,

accurate as possible, preliminary to further and more detailed research
which will probably have to be done over the space of many years by
many people. The purpose of this study is, then, to derive data which
may have implications for the theory and future research, not prove
the theory.

As can be seen in the earlier discussion, McLuhan's broad,
far-reaching theory occupies a central position in this project.
Therefore, a separate chapter is devoted to its discussion. In order
to more clearly relate his theory to the reading process, it will be
discussed in terms of Fabun's simple communications model of human
interaction with the environment. Because of the simplicity, yet
accuracy, of this particular model, it was chosen over more complicated
models of communication or interaction with the environment. The
model's simplicity will make it a more accurate tool for the purposes
of this project. Some of the more obvious problems or apparent

inaccuracies of’McLuhan's theory will also be discussed in chapter two.

CHAPTER II

THEORY

As Marshal McLuhan's theory of the Gutenberg and electronic
environments plays a major role in this project, it will be discussed
in some depth in this chapter. Don Fabun's model of communication and
human interaction with the environment will be discussed to clarify
the implications of McLuhan's theory for reading. After the theory
is discussed in terms of the model, the hypotheses will be derived and
several problems of the theory will be discussed, one of which is

indicated by Hayakawa's theory of the semantic environment.

Fabun's Model

 

Febun's model5 indicates that a person perceives his
environment, internalizes it, and then reacts to it. By perceives,
Fabun means that the sensory receptors receive various light waves,
sound waves, oders, and other sensory stimuli. Using the eye as an
example, light waves are received by the eye and a chain of chemical-
neuro impulses begin which lead to the brain. The brain receives
the impulses, recognizes them and names them according to past experi-
ence. The impulses are then stored or, they may trigger another
series of impulses which will travel to the appropriate place and

instruct the muscles to act in some way. This constitutes a reaction

to the stimuli. This very brief description is represented by the
simplified model in Figure. Figure 1 contains the basic "steps" of

Fabun's version of the process of human interaction with the environ-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ment.
Environmental Process
Motion, etc. Waves, etc.
Reaction Storage Receivers
Nerve Impulses
Comprehension :( Translator

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure l. Fabun's Interaction Model.

 

Fabun defines the environment as a process, constantly in flux
in one way or another, even though we often think we have perceived
a single "thing." A part of the environmental process becomes an
"event" which implies a single, separate happening, only after we
internalize it. The events we perceive are never actually static,
single things. Therefbre, the use of words like "event" are mis-
leading. Even the word "environment" is misleading as it implies a
static thing. The phrase "environmental process" is better, although
cumbersome, because it implies motion. The environment box actually
represents what we are immersed in, something which always totally
surrounds us and never stops, though we may be aware of greater or

smaller portions of it with varying degrees of awareness. Second,

when we react to something, we are not necessarily reacting to it as

it exists in the environment; we are reacting to what is assembled in
what is represented by the comprehension box in Figure 1. In other
words, we react to the internal experience which results from receiving
the impulses and classifying them. We always react to what is inside
us, not what is outside. We react to an internalized experience of
the environment.

The nature of the internalized experience is affected or
Changed by three factors which are either totally independent of the
external experience or a result of past experience. The first general
category of conditions which affect our perceptions of external
experiences is represented by the receptors box in Figure l and con-
sists of our time, location, and direction of observation when the
experience occurs. For example, a person inside an office building
looking through a window at the street below will experience a car
accident in a different fashion than a person on the street, somebody
involved in the accident, or somebody looking through the same window
at a later time.

The second category is also largely represented by the
receptors box in Figure 1 and consists of the physical condition of
the receptors, the nerves and the brain. In the first place, our
receptors have a limited capacity in that we cannot possibly perceive
all of the activity around us. We cannot perceive events on a micro-
scopic level and many ferms or colors of light waves. A blind person
for example, will experience events in an entirely different fashion
than will a deaf person or a person with normal receptors. Even a

partial hearing or eye impairment will change the nature of experiencing.

10

Furthermore, the uses to which we put our receptors, or our upbringing,
or the nature of our environment, train our receptors to perceive
certain things in certain ways. A person from the Amazon jungle can
probably smell far better than a person from the United States.
Finally, as the nerves carry the impulses and the brain receives them,
their physical state would effect the impulses. Age deteriorates the
brain and nerves physically which changes the nature of experience.
Also, researchers have discovered that the chemical balance of the body
can affect perception in that the messages are carried by electro-
chemical impulses. The experiments with LDS are an excellent example
of that.

The third set of conditions is represented by the translator
box in Figure 1. These conditions can be called our world view or
mental set and are a framework of learning through which we view the
environment. The learning consists of information we regard as fact
(presuppositions), attitudes developed through past experience, and
emotional outlook. If we have been trained to believe that certain
events cannot occur, we very well might not see the event if it occurred
in front of us. Prejudice is a series of attitudes about how certain
types of people act. Prejudiced people have difficulty perceiving
these types of people acting any differently. If we have never
experienced events and therefore have never learned about them, initial
perceptions are often puzzling and inaccurate. Witness the many
examples in literature of primitive people experiencing a modern
mechanism of some sort. An example in our own culture is walking into
a car factory with little or no previous experience with factories.

The maze of machinery, pipes, beams, belts and so on, are extremely

11

difficult to perceive, to separate out of what initially appears to be
an almost solid mass of light and shadow, of corners and lines of
metal. A person who has never learned to make the distinctions cannot
do so the first time confronted with the factory. Finally, included
in the category of the mental framework which affects perception, is
the purpose with which events are viewed and the emotional state at
the time of viewing. Through these and other mechanisms, what is
represented by the translator box codefies in terms of recognizable
past experience and filters neural impulses.

When the three sets of conditions are combined, the infinite
number of degrees, types, and combinations of conditions which makes
every person's experience of the environment different is stunning.

In view of this, it is not surprising that different people's accounts
of complicated events always differ somewhat. This is especially true
since the human being's first abstraction from the environment occurs
when his eyes or ears perceive an event. Every step along the way to
full conprehension can change whatever actually occurs in the environ-
ment. Realizing this complexity makes the development of language and
the phonetic alphabet an even more incredible occurrence. Fabun says
that we agree on the meanings of these and other symbols through
repeated, similar experiences of similar processes. Yet, any symbol

is a generalization of many events and is, to that extent, inaccurate.6

Technologies and Environmental Change_
McLuhan defines the phonetic alphabet as the beginning of the
older environment which is now in conflict with the newer, electronic
environment. With the word environment, McLuhan also refers to active

processes rather than a static or passive wrapping for our existence,

12

and we are a part of that process since we interact with the environment
constantly. Each new technology, whether the phonetic alphabet or
television, adds itself to the old and, in that sense, creates a new
environment. As Fabun theorized, the environment shapes the per-
ceptions, therefore the thought processes, therefore the mental outlook
of the people who live in it. McLuhan adds that the creation of a new
environment interacts with the old to reshape perceptions.

An example of this is that if a person moves from an equitorial
country to Alaska, the new parts of’his environment, snow and cold, will
reshape his perceptions, thoughts and outlook of himself in relation to
the environment to insure his survival. In the same way that the
introduction of snow and cold into that man's environment changed him
and his life, the creation of a new environment by introducing a new
technology will change the lives of those who live in the environment.

McLuhan defines technology as an extension of the senses and
anything that extends the senses in any way, from clothes to money to
telescopes, is a new technology. Furthermore, the form of the tech-
nology ". . . shapes and controls the scale and form of human association
and action,"7 not the content. In other words, print itself, not what
print says, or television itself, not what television broadcasts,
changes perception. The content is usually already present in one way
or another in the environment; therefore, McLuhan dismisses the content.
As will be discussed later, the content may give a new emphasis or
bring events to peopleLs attention in new ways. At any rate, since the
forms of technologies are extensions of the senses, one technology will
emphasize one sense over another. For example, the microscope extends

the eye and, if a person became dependent on it in his interaction with

13

the environment, the microscope would change him in a different fashion
than would a technology which extended the ear only. McLuhan refers

to this as altering "sense ratios" or "patterns of perception."
Carpenter refers to it as changing the "synchronization of the senses."
These terms refer to the degree to which people relie on any one sense
more than the others in experiencing their environment, the degree to
which one sense dominantes. As Fabun pointed out in the example of a
blind man experiencing his environment differently than a sighted
person, altering sense ratios changes the way in which man interacts
with his environment. Altering sense ratios changes the way he per-
ceives, therefore how he thinks and reacts. As this change occurs at
the perceptual level first rather than the level of opinions and con-
cepts, the change occurs without people being aware of it or being

able to do anything about it. In another sense, McLuhan is theorizing
that the environment does to our perceptions and our thinking what many
semanticists say language does to our thinking . . . shapes. In
relation to Fabun's model, the introduction of a major new technology
into the environment creates new impulses which eventually create new
experiences, emotions, and thereby shapes mental sets, so that a new
configuration of chemical-neuro impulses are translatable or recogni-
zable. New and different internal experiences are developed with new

ways of experiencing.

The Gutenberg Galaxy

 

McLuhan theorizes that one of the major environmental changes
in history was brought about by the invention of the Gutenberg printing

press. This "Gutenberg Galaxy" or print environment actually began‘

14

with the invention of the phonetic alphabet which consists of semanti-
cally meaningless letters corresponding with semantically meaningless
sounds. The invention of the Gutenberg printing press made its effects
faster and more powerful. As the eyes are used to perceive print, the
print environment extends sight and deemphasizes hearing and the other
senses. In other words, print has theoretically changed our environ-
ment so that we are even more dependent upon our eyes. As has been
stated, a change in the sense ratio will probably produce changes in
perceptions. Carpenter describes the physical affect of an eye
emphasis in this fashion: "When used in isolation, it [the eye] per-
ceives a flat continuous world without intervals. Yet, it also favors
only one thing at a time: it focuses on a particular and abstracts it

from a total situation."8

Furthermore, the natural tendency of the eye
is reinforced in that it is trained in a special way to perceive the
unusual experience of print; the eyes are trained to perceive something
which they would be unable to perceive without the training. The words
would be almost invisible as the individual machines in the factory
were in the earlier discussion. The eyes are trained to receive
reflected light rays from print symbols to cause chemical-neuro impules
which the brain learns to recognize. The eyes learn to focus on the
individual symbols which are disassociated with the rest of the
environment even more than the eye would usually disassociate an event
in the process of perceiving the event.

The changes in perception of the environment as described above
have a parallel and natural effect on man's thinking. These changes in

perception brought about by the then new print environment trained

people to think in a manner which seems to be ". . . one word after the

15

other, one sentence after another, one paragraph after another, one
page after another; one thing at a time in a logical, connected line."9
Therefore, sight emphasis gives rise to fragmented, logical, sequential
thinking. Further, perception and reaction are separated more by a
greater detachment of thought and emotion. Sight has a "natural bias"
towards detachment or, perhaps, assumes detachment, and creates the
detached observer. Not only is this a natural tendency of sight, but
silent reading is described as ". . . thinking deserted by emotion. It
leads to a high degree of separation of mental concepts from the

plurality of the concrete."10

McLuhan adds that as the phonetic
alphabet fragments experience, divides sight and sound, separates visual
code and semantic meaning, and abstracts meaning from sound, it lends
itself to the separation of emotion from thought and action. Indeed,
the phonetic culture in general gives man the means of repressing
emotions while in action. Print is static and words are isolated and
impersonal, having less emotional connotation than heard words.

In another sense, the phonetic alphabet affects man, in that it
separates him from environmental processes a second time after he has
been separated from it the first time by the act of perceiving the
processes. To produce print, a man must perceive a process, that is
recognize an internal experience, already different from the way the
experience as it occurred in the environment. He must reduce it further
so that a language symbol or symbols may be chosen, select a print
symbol for the experience and writ the symbol. This entire process of

separation and fragmentation leads to McLuhan's statement that

schizophrenia may be a result of literacy.

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Cultural effects of the print environment are as pervasive and
far reaching as effects on individuals. The phonetic alphabet
"detribalized" those who used it. The phonetic alphabet made them more
concerned with themselves, the fragment, rather than the tribe or the
whole. As a result, our culture is pointed towards social fragmentation,
specialism, and emphasis on individualism. In another sense, the
phonetic alphabet gives our culture a social confOrmity or cohesion
which is insured because a print culture gives its members more of a
sense of inner direction then does a tribal culture. In general, the
print environment has extended patterns of visual uniformity and con-
tinuity by fragmenting experience, meaning, and perceptions so they can
be expressed via the phonetic alphabet. The print environment then
refbrms fragmented experience into linear, sequential, patterns, such
as the story line. "[Western] civilization is built on literacy
because literacy is a uniform processing of a culture by a visual sense

11 The American culture's

extended in space and time by the alphabet."
investment in literacy is expressed in the linear method in which our
goods are massed produced, the linear structure of our government, the
high or low, up or down, structure of social mobility, and fragmented,
logical, piece by piece, linear progression with which education is
approached, and so on. Many of the accomplishments of the Western
civilization in general are a result of the print environment and the
way it shapes our thinking. Carpenter sums this all up by saying that
"Western culture was organized around one sense: the eye; expressed in

one medium: language; and structured according to one model: the

book."12

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The Electronic Environment

 

According to McLuhan, the print environment is changing as a
result of a newer, major technology, the electronic; its newest major
representative is television. The electronic environment is a new
technological extension of man's senses, extending them with more
power and speed then ever before. The electronic environment alters
sense ratios, deemphasizing sight, emphasizing hearing and the tactile
which allows for a more total use of all the senses. In the same
sense that different conditions of the senses alter perceptions from
one person to the next, this new environment alters the old manners of
perception and thinking. Hearing cannot be focused on a single event
to the degree that sight can and therefore does not fragment and
separate as a means of controlling the environment. As separation and
fragmentation do not occur to the same degree in hearing cultures,
linear thinking does not occur. As hearing does not fragment experi-
ence, hearing does not separate emotion from experience and this lends
itself to more involvement with experience. Hearing does not separate
experience from context of experience in the same sense that print
does. When hearing, one can also sense intonation, facial expression,
body language, or the sight of the sky when it thunders and so on.

Edmund Carpenter states that "sound surrounds, involves-—one
steps into it. . . . Non-literates merge with music. Far from being
detached [as are literate people] they become involved participants,

13 McLuhan states that television is

merging themselves totally in it."
more tactile than print. Both state that tactility changes the flat,
linear world of sight into a three dimensional world. Hearing and

tactility combine to provide a more complete, in depth experience, a

18

mosaic experience in which more events are perceived at greater depth,
with little or no separation. Referring to Fabun's model, the hearing
emphasis sense ratio is not as limiting, since this ratio admits more
of the environmental process or stimuli and necessarily trains the mind
to recognize and think about them in a different fashion. The hearing
sense ratio admits more of the world and different portions of the
world. The world of hearing cultures, whether pre- or post-literate,
are kaleidoscopic in the depth of perceived experience and involvement
with experience. Since there is more involvement with experience,
thought, action, and emotion are not separated. People from hearing
cultures act and react quicker and with more emotion than do people
from print cultures.

Furthermore, people from hearing cultures depend more on the
heard word for information. This has two implications; hearing words
is more emotional than reading words because the experience is more
complete and voices carry more emotion. The heard word is therefore
more personal. The second implication is that, since the heard word is
more emotional and personal, and since people must depend on other
people for the heard word, hearing cultures are more tribal. The
emphasis on the individual is replaced with an emphasis on the group

and the closer, deeper ties whidh go with that.

Effects g£_the Electronic Environment
As a result of the advent of the electronic media, especially
television, this appears to be what is happening in the United States.
Our culture is becoming tribal again. This is especially true of people

who have been exposed to television all their lives. Their thoughts

19

and perceptions were shaped by television first and reading second.

The hearing sense appears to be growing dominant again in that people
are getting their infbrmation fromtthe telephone, the radio, television
and so on. For that matter, today's young people seem to merge with
the music sold to that group, as would tribal people. Be that as it
may, radio and the telephone are obviously hearing media, but the
television is less so, as it seems to emphasize the visual.

However, according to McLuhan, the television has a very low
visual definition, in the sense that less visual information is
provided. Television is fuzzy around the edges, a two-dimensional
picture like a cartoon instead of a three dimensional movie. In other
words, the mosaic form of the television image demands participation
and involvement by the whole being, thereby involving all the senses.
Using all his senses, the viewer fills in the spaces to complete the
mosaic image, providing what is missing as he would with a cartoon.
Studies have shown that children do not look at the whole picture as a
literate adult would, but scan the picture constantly, apparently
looking for details. The viewer is more involved with television.
This is actually a form of participation, an in depth involvement so
great that it is almost touching. This quality of television promotes
the hearing culture, the tribal. Indeed, television is far closer to
the non-television part of the environment than reading is, therefore
far more involving.

According to McLuhan, the introduction of the electronic media,
especially television, into our print environment has produced far
reaching changes at every level of our culture. "The American stake

in literacy as a technology or uniformity applied to every level of

20

education, government, industry and social life is totally threatened

by the electronic technology."14 Children of the electronic culture no
longer perceive things in a fragmented, linear, one thing at a time
fashion, nor are they detached or impersonal as most members of our
culture once were. Rather, they perceive more than one thing at a time,
living in a mosaic, kaleidoscopic world. They experience things more
completely, are highly emotional and become deeply involved in experi-
ence. They are more personal, less individual and, as McLuhan might say,
less schizophrenic in many senses. They are hearing people in the world

of the deaf. They are impatient with many aspects of our print culture.

Education and the Electronic Environment

 

The implications of this assessment may be important for edu-
cation in general and reading in particular. The public education
systems are a product of the print environment. Learning has been
fragmented, broken into sections called math, history, and so on. Each
section has been broken into levels through which children must progress
in a linear, step-by—step fashion. If they successfully complete one
step or collection of steps, they may progress to the next. Each
individual, year long fragment is further broken into linear fragments.
Even some of our over-all goals are either products of the print culture
such as critical thinking whiCh is linear and sequential, or vehicles
of the print culture. Generally, teachers and administrators are
products of the print culture. This approach no longer makes sense to
children according to McLuhan.

Furthermore, when the television child begins public education,

he is asked to do something so different from his television trained

21

perception and thought processes that he or she may be basically an
underprivileged cripple, no matter what social level he may be from.
Hearing, tactile children, who are used to learning by pattern recogni-
tion and hearing, are asked to learn by methods foreign to them.
Schools are too impersonal for them and emphasize individual achieve-
ment too much. They are natives in a way, walking into a factory for
the first time. The entire school environment seems so foreign to them
that McLuhan predicts an ever increasing dropout problem until schools
recognize the changes and adapt. He describes the problem this way:
The students today like mythically and in depth. At school,
however, he encounters a situation organized by means of classi-
fied information. The subjects are unrelated. They are visually
conceived in terms of a blueprint. The student can find no
possible means of involvement for himself, nor can he discover
how the education scene relates to the "mythic" world of
electronically processed data and experience that he takes for
granted.15
In other words, today's children have "other conditioned" perceptions
or are "extra environmental" in our Guttenberg society and schools.
In every sense of the word, a child suffers culture shock upon
entering school and has great difficulty adapting even partially.
Carpenter says that children once came to school to be filled with
infbrmation and now come filled to overflowing. In a world of "media
crop-dusting" the classroom is a fallout shelter. Indeed through this
conflict, school is no longer relevant to the lives of children and

this may account, in part, for the rash of educators, children, and

people from other professions, who are critical of schools.

Reading_and Television

 

The implications for the teaching of reading may be very

important. Children apparently approach learning to read and reading

22

with skills and attitudes they learned watching television. They are
no longer the same as children were thirty years ago. Indeed, they
seem so much more like the members of pre—literate cultures that
perhaps much could be learned about teaching reading to them through
study of Carpenter's accounts of the introduction of print into
primitive cultures. In terms of Fabun's model, they have apparently
been trained to use all of their receptors in interacting with the
environment. To read, they are asked to use only one. Their brains
have learned to recognize inner experiences composed of a greater,
more varied, number of impulses. To read, they must reduce those
impulses, filtering many out. McLuhan states that television children
get extremely close to the printed page to read it in an effort to
involve all their senses; they apparently try to involve themselves in
depth by reading slowly, by probing. Print is not conducive to this
manner as print requires an "isolated and stripped down visual faculty."16
This may slow many children in learning to read and may prevent them from
enjoying it. The print emphasis on vision as opposed to the television
emphasis on hearing and touch could be extremely important in ways that
are not yet understood.

Strang repeatedly refers to children's preschool development
of visual perception, discrimination and memory, in learning to read.
Yet, according to McLuhan, children are not developing visual skills
in the same way pre-television children did. Many educators believe
that television may be a positive aid in helping children develop these
skills, yet little or no research supports this position. However,
even if this were so, television could very well develop visual skills

in a different direction then the specific type of focusing and

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following sequentially necessary for reading. In a sense, Strang
indirectly reinforces this idea with her definition of perception as

"a cognitive process by which visual impressions become meaningful in
the light of the individual's past experience and present needs. It
[reading] involves understanding, comprehending and organizing."17 The
definition appears limited in that it defines perception in terms of
the visual, yet this may be significant because it indicates the eye
emphasis sense ratio necessary to reading. If the perceptions of
television children are different, the thought processes based on them
may be different also.

Another step in reading development as discussed by Strang is
learning to focus on individualized sounds, print letters, and words.
According to McLuhan this will be quite difficult for a television
child as he is used to perceiving things as a while and more than one
thing at a time. Strang does say that one perceptual style necessary
to good reading is to see words as wholes; yet, in many senses words
themselves are fragments.

Strang refers to the importance of developing a good attitude
towards reading in both pre-reading children and children who are
learning to read. Before attending school, it is necessary for children
to at least partially develop a desire to read and one of the ways
they do this is by watching parents read. Yet, what if they spend more
time watching their parents view television and viewing it themselves?
Furthermore, it could be very difficult for television children to
develop favorable attitudes towards reading if they experience the
conflicts with the print environment discussed earlier. A further

difficulty in developing a favorable attitude may be presented by the

 

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possibility that television children are used to learning from the
direct experience of the eyes, ears and other senses as discussed
earlier. Television children may find reading a less complete experi-
ence, which may contribute to a distinctly unfavorable attitude towards
reading. McLuhan believes that television is a quicker, more satisfying
way of obtaining information then reading to the television child.
Furthermore, through watching television, children grow dependent on
its two-dimensional picture to supply part of the meaning of the words
they hear. Not only do print words not provide the voice intonations
he depends on for meaning, print obviously supplies none of the images.
This may create further barriers to a good reading attitude and the
difficulty in surmounting them may make reading even more unpleasant to

the television child.

Reading and the Semantic Environment

 

 

Television may contribute to the development of a poor attitude
towards reading in ways totally ignored by McLuhan, the content.
Disregarding the content seems to be the only major flaw in the theory
in that anything repeated as often as television programs and advertise-
ments seemingly must convey the attitudes implicit in them. In
discussing some of the possible effects of television, S. I. Hayakawa18
refers to the semantic environment which is defined as that part of the
environment which cannot be shared with animals. The semantic environ-
ment is a product of the interacting forms of communication called
civilization. The semantic environment is slightly different for
everyone and has been created for children during most of human history

by parents and close relatives or friends. During his first few years,

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the child has learned the parents' world view, value systems, and
standards of behavior. This includes the parent's attitude towards
reading. Thus, there is a continuity of sorts from one generation to
the next. The continuity has apparently been broken by the content of
television which now comprises a major portion of the child's semantic
environment. Not only do children spend up to half of their waking
hours watching television, or over fifty-four hours a week according
to another source, television is by far the most interesting, exciting
portion of the semantic environment. In an analogy, Hayakawa calls
television a powerful sorcer, who plays enchanting music, tells
wonderful stories, teaches songs, makes laughter, suggests wonderful
things to eat and new toys and so on. This continues day after day,
year after year.

The important thing is what the children might learn from this
constant interaction with television. Advertising appears to be one
of the most important teachers on television in this sense. The most
significant learnings may be attitudes and the one that concerns this
study is that there are easier ways to do things than read books. In
the first place, many activities are portrayed on television, but
reading is rarely one oE\them. Furthermore, reading is rarely portrayed
as part of the active youth and sports oriented life style portrayed on
television. Secondly, television teaChes that there is probably an
instant and simple solution to all problems and books do not provide
instant or simple solutions to problems. Third, television usually
portrays a life style that is at least middle class, if not higher.
Television does not show the hard work and study often necessary to

obtain this life style. Television apparently does not teach that

26

reading is a valuable and necessary activity and could indirectly
teach that it is a boring and unnecessary activity. All of television
is educational in this sense and reinforces the message with pictures

and music which are repeated over and over.

Hypotheses

 

To prove that television has changed children's perceptions,
thinking, and attitude towards reading, from what they were before
television to what they are now is beyond the scope of this study.
Indeed, proving this change may be impossible as there is no obvious
way of establishing the nature of children's perceptions and thinking
in the American culture before television was introduced. At this
stage in the understanding of human behavior, it may even be impossible
to separat all the variables of interacting with the environment and
thinking. However, if McLuhan's theory is correct, a relationship
could exist between the amount of time spent reading and the amount of
time spent watching television. Furthermore, the theory does not state
that the obstacles imposed by the electronic environment are impossible
to overcome; they may make learning to read more difficult. Among the
many factors which determine that some children learn to read better
than others is the amount of time spent watching television. These two
factors would at least be connected although it could be a question of
which came first. A further possible conclusion is that students with
a lower reading level may find television more entertaining and more
interesting than reading and may spend more time watching it than

reading. This could be a function of poor reading level forcing

children to choose other activities. However, if McLuhan's theory is

27

correct, a significant number of student's from all reading levels will
have the above attitudes and preferences, which would imply that
preferring television is not entirely a function of being forced to
choose other activities than reading.

The earlier discussion of the possible effects of television
on reading can be expressed as six variables. The effects could, and
probably should, be expressed as more variables. However, due to the
limitations of this study, the variables will be limited to six;
television viewing time, television attitude, total reading time,
reading attitude, reading level, and personal choice reading time.
Personal choice reading time is the amount of time, a student spends
reading because he enjoys reading and wants to read as opposed to the
amount of time he may spend reading to do his school work. The null
hypotheses of this study concern the relationship of the television
variables to the reading variables and are broadly formulated as
follows:

1. Time spent viewing television is not inversely related to
time spent reading.

2. Student attitude towards television viewing is not inversely
related to student time spent reading.

3. Student time spent viewing television is not inversely
related to student attitude towards reading.

4. Student attitude towards television viewing is not inversely
related to reading attitude.

5. Student time spent viewing television is not inversely related
to student reading level.

6. Student attitude towards television viewing is not inversely
related to reading level.

28
7. Student television viewing time is not inversely related to
student personal choice reading time.
8. Student attitude towards television is not inversely related
to student personal choice reading time.
Summary

A communications model of human interaction with the environ-
ment, as developed by Fabin, was discussed with an emphasis on Fabin's
belief that the environmental process shapes the manner of perceptions
and perceptions shapes thinking to some extent. Marshal McLuhan's
theory of the existence of an environment shaped by print which is
being changed by the creationof the electronic environment, especially
television, was then presented and discussed in relation to Fabin's
model. The changed environment appears to have affected the sense
ratios which have in turn changed the nature of our thinking and may be
having a significant cultural impact. Another aspect of this change
is the affect the content of television has on viewers. The cumulative
implications for reading are that, as a result of our changed environ-
ment, changed perceptions, thinking and attitudes, reading may no longer
be as important as it used to be and may not have the same affect on
our culture as it once did. From these theories, the hypothesis of an
inverse relationship between television and reading was derived which
stated basically that children who watched more television preferred it

to reading and did not read as well as those who watched less.

CHAPTER III

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Research concerning the effects of television varies greatly in
quality and nature. Very little has been done which directly supports
the hypothesis of this project. However, a great deal which indirectly
supports the thesis of this paper has been conducted. Therefore, this
chapter will be a survey of indirectly related research, rather than an
in depth analysis of particular studies. Research, usually surveys,
concerning patterns of use of television and reflecting the pervasive
nature of television in our society will be presented first. A large
amount of research concerning the effects of television violence has
been conducted. Some of these studies will be discussed as an indicator
of the effects of content along with studies of television as it affects
other attitudes. Television may very well be a more effective means of
teaching than print media; some studies concerning this aspect of
television will be discussed. The chapter will end with a general

discussion section and summary.

Patterns of Use

 

Most recent surveys are in near agreement concerning the
statistics describing the place of television in the daily life of

people in the United States. Ninety-six percent of the homes in the

29

30

United States have television and 40 to 50 percent have color sets, all
of which are on for an average of six hours and eighteen minutes a day.
The average individual watches approximately thirty-three hours a week,
although this varies greatly. Generally, girls watch more hours than
boys, elementary school children watch more than high school children,
blue collar workers watch more than white collar workers, and blacks
view more than whites. Education and intelligence do not affect
viewing habits as much as might be expected. They do, however, exert
some influence in the variety of programs watched. Teenagers usually
view most of prime time television and, if the parents are heavy viewers,
the children are likely to be also.19 Before they are old enough to go

to school, 80 percent of all children are viewing television.20

Lyle and Hoffman21

assert that heavy or light viewing of
television is not an effective predictor of mental ability, social
class, parental conflict, or social isolation. Differences in attitude
towards television and manner of use seem to be the more important
factors predicting the time spent viewing. There is some disagreement
among researchers concerning the role of intelligence in television
viewing. At the elementary level, according to some researchers,
intelligent children are watching more television than less intelligent
children, just as they do more of everything. By high school age, more
intelligent children are devoting more time to other activities and
less to television.22

What these statistics do demonstrate is that television may
occupy a major place in our environment. In reporting the results of

a survey of children's viewing habits in Australia, the researchers

speculated that television is such a major part of children's lives

31

now, that it has taken the place of parents, church, and school as a
values shaper.23 A study recently conducted in Europe concluded that
television was addictive. One hundred eighty-four constant viewers
were paid to st0p viewing television for one year. None of the people
gave it up for more than five months.24 Klapper25 cites evidence that
television may be addictive to those who use it as a means of escape.

While the conclusions of both studies may be based on inadequate

evidence, they do indicate how important television has become.

Television and Aggression

 

A factor which occupies such a large part of the environment
probably affects those who live in the environment. Researchers are
finding relationships between television and a number of factors. In
general, however, research does not agree on the strength of these
relationships or whether or not television is a causative factor of any
of the behaviors studied. Research concerning the relationship between
television and aggression will be discussed in detail as reasonably
representative of the research of many of the relationships between
television and other factors. Research is finding increasing evidence
that television violence and viewer behavior are related.

Various studies have thoroughly documented that a large amount
of violence is broadcast on television. An 83.5 percent of all tele-
vision programs contain violence as do 83.2 percent of all television
broadcast hours. In 1969, television networks broadcast 5.2 violent
acts per program and 8.8 violent acts per hour. These statistics may
have changed somewhat in the past six years as considerably more family

situation comedies, relatively low in the type of violence surveyed,

32

are now being broadcast. A 66.3 percent of the programs show major
characters involved in violence while 48.5 percent show the major
characters committing violence. Interestingly enough, cartoons are
cited as the most violent with 98.1 percent containing violent acts at
an average rate of 30.4 per hour.26 The comparison of cartoons with
detective and other more realistic violent shows seems to be a major
fault of many of the surveys available. Cartoons are less visually
defined than most television in McLuhan's terms, less associable with
reality and, therefore, would.have less of an effect. A further
problem with the above statistics is that they lump all violent actions
together. Different acts do have different degrees of violence which
could.have different cummulative effects. An oversimplification exists
in the definition of violence used as the concept of violence includes
acts or use of power which do not include overt physical acts, such as
strength of feeling, language, anger, and so on. While this over-
simplification was probably necessary fbr the study, it excludes a type
of violence which could be more prevalent and subtle in effect. These
statistics do, however, establish the existence of violence in tele-
vision broadcasting.

Most studies are fairly consistent in that a positive corre-
lation does exist between television violence and aggressiveness in

youth. The five volumes of Television and Social Behavior, published
27

 

by HEW, contain many studies of the effect of television violence on
children. In general, most studies contained in the five volumes
consistantly found a positive correlation between viewing television

violence and subsequent aggressive behavior and approval of aggression

in one fashion or another. Some evidence exists which implies that a

33

directional, causal link may exist between viewing television violence
and the observer's subsequent behavior. However, the connection is a
moderate one and is one of many factors in the environment of children
which produces violent behavior. Television violence is estimated to
cause approximately 10 percent of the total variance in measures of
adolescent aggressiveness.28

Klapper29 reviewed studies of the effects of television violence
published as of 1960 and drew the similar conclusion that viewing
televised violence is not a "prime mover" of aggressive behavior.
Rather, he concluded that such viewing probably reinforced the already
existing tendencies of individual viewers. One aspect of the problem
suggested by this statement but not answered is whether or not tele-
vision could draw out violent tendencies which would have remained
latent. Klapper further assumes that the tendencies were in existence
before viewing began which might not be the case. Therefore, how might
television interact with the environment in the creation of personality
traits, if it does at all?

30 . . . . . .
drew Similar conclu51ons in his reV1ew

In 1961, Wilbur Schramm
of the literature for all effects of television. He believes that
children use television in search of fulfillment of certain needs and
that it is what the children bring to the use of television which make
certain effects possible and accounts fer differences of effect.

Three specific studies, which generally support the beliefs and
findings reported by Schramm, Klapper and others, were conducted by
Dominick and Greenberg,31 Baran,32 and Greenberg and Gordon.33 All

three studies found significant correlations between television violence

and one measure of aggression or another; however, all three studies

34

also found or used other variables whiCh had significant implications
for the degree of affect television violence had.

Dominick and Greenberg hypothesized that exposure to television
violence socializes children into norms, attitudes and values for
violence as shown on television. Furthermore, the degree of socializa-
tion increased with the degree of exposure to television violence, the
degree of stereotyping of violence on television, and the degree to
which other socializing influences such as parents, lost influence to
television. They noted that violence is presented on television as a
highly successful means of goal achievement and that violence is the
predominent means of conflict resolution in television drama. Findings
were that a significant positive correlation existed between the use
of violence in a conflict situation and perceived success of violent
solution in conflict situation. They further noted that the corre—
lation existed for all groups but it increased when the family had
ambiguous or non-existent attitudes towards violence and with lower
socio-economic status.

Baran isolated the factor of self-esteem and studied its
relationship to the effects of television viewing as manifested in
modeling behavior. He gave a twenty item self-esteem inventory to 120
second and third grade children. He then selected sixty students and
divided them into low and high self-esteem groups and male and female
groups. Some viewed ten minute video-taped television segments and
some did not. After viewing, all children played with toys. Among
other results, he found the high self-esteem boys were more likely to
exhibit anti—social behavior and low self-esteem boys and girls were

more likely to exhibit low self-esteem behavior after viewing the

35

television segment which contained both types of behavior. Inspite of
an exceptionally small sample in each group, results are fairly signi-
ficant.

In a relatively recent study, Greenberg and Gordon cited
results which support earlier conclusions. They showed specific
violent scenes of varying types to different groups of children and
compared the children's self-expressed measures of bw violent the
programs were, how acceptable they were, and how well they enjoyed
watching them. They found that older children liked watching violence
more than younger children and black children enjoyed viewing violence
more than whites, presumably because more violence exists in the every
day lives of the black children in the groups. There was little or no
difference by class or income group except that high income group
children perceived the scenes as less violent and low income children
perceived them as more humorous. In one sense, these findings support
Klapper and Schram's statements because of the findings that the
children who could be experiencing the most violence in their personal
lives were the most insensitive to television violence.

In another sense however, this study has the same fault that
most studies of the effects of television do and which Klapper, Schram
and the others seem to ignore in their conclusions. These studies
measure short term response to an immediate event in the child's
environment, but in no way measure the cumulative effect of an integral
part of the child's environment since early childhood. As was stated
in the Dominick and Greenberg hypothesis, television seems to have a
socializing affect of some sort concerning all values and attitudes.

The socialization would not produce the same effects or degree of

36

effect over a long period of time as are measured in the short term
experiments. A second problem with these studies is that they are
conducted in institutional settings, generally schools, which could
modify the results somewhat.

While poor studies which show results on both sides of this
issue have been conducted, two of the most poorly conducted studies
reviewed negate the findings stated earlier. These two studies seem
fairly typical of studies which find that television either does not
affect or quell aggressive impulses. One example is the Feshback and
Singer34 study published in 1971 which reports results indicating that
viewing aggressive television programs "reduces rather than stimulates"
aggressive tendencies in some boys. They do say that this effect is
more pronounced in children with certain personality and social
characteristics. They found the reduction of physical aggression after
television viewing in only one part of their sample. They fbund that
viewing television violence reduced the amount of violence present in
boys' fantasies in all samples. The basic design of the experiment was
to limit the viewing of two groups, an experimental and a control, to
either a list of specified violent programs or a list of specified non-
aggressive programs. The groups had to watch a certain amount of
television per week fOr six weeks. During that time aggressive behavior
was scored by observers and fantasy was measured for violent content.
The sample was taken from seven different schools, five in California
and two in the New York City area.

The initial reason for questioning the validity of this study
is that some of the schools were private boys' academies, some were

army or navy schools and one was a juvenile home:where boys were placed

37

because of inadequate home care or because of their social malajust-
ment. Furthermore, while girls were present at some of the schools,
no girls were included in the study. No public schools were included.
While the authors are quite clear about their reasons for limiting
their sample in this fashion, by so doing, they seriously limited the
generalizability of their conclusions due to the unique conditions
whidh prevail at private schools, especially those in which the
children live in dormitories. Furthermore, only 63 percent of the boys
who took the initial measures also completed the post measures. Some
boys participated on a voluntary basis and others did so on a com-
pulsory basis. While various inventories were administered before the
study, no effort was made to assess violent behavior previous to the
study. The violent behavior of each child or lack of it during the
study period could have been normal and could have had nothing to do
with the television viewed.

Furthermore, the control and experimental groups were con-
taminated because some violent television shows were on the non-
aggressive list such as a large number of cartoons, a western, and
several adventure shows in which violence towards animals is frequent.
Comedy shows which include aggressive behavior such as Batman were
included on the non-violent list. No study has proven that comic
violence has no effects. In general, the results of this study are
extremely inconclusive since the sampling techniques were poor, the
sample was not representative of the population, the control and
experimental groups were contaminated and so on.

Milgram and Shotland35 published an elaborate field experiment

in which they found no significant connection between television viewing

38

and subsequent anti—social behavior. These results are not particu-
larily significant due to invalid assumptions and poor research
techniques. Basically, people were shown an hour television program
which contains a single act of violent destructiveness and then given
an opportunity to commit an anti-social act, generally theft, in what
they thought was privacy. The assumption of this design is that peOple
will view one example of a specific type of antisocial behavior which
will generalize to any type of antisocial behavior. This does not seem
to be a valid assumption. Sampling techniques did not guarantee a
random sample and could have insured a biased sample. A newspaper
advertisement promised a free radio to men who watched a new television
prOgram and gave their opinion of it. In the following replication of
the initial experiment, a letter with the same proposition was sent to
people selected from a credit card company's list of customers.
Finally, the initial experiment was "replicated" several times, but
eaCh time the design of the experiment was changed in one way or

another.

Television and Opinion

 

In general then, studies considered valid for the purposes of
this investigation reported significant results which show a relation-
ship between television violence and viewer aggression and aggressive
feelings. However, the degree of effect varies according to such
factors as socio-economic status, sex, and age. Television cannot be
considered a strong causative factor of violence. Rather, it apparently
can emphasize behavior already present in or possible in the viewer.

Research concerning the effects of television and other factors tend

39

to confirm this. For example, television is an effective direct
persuader. Klapper36 notes that television is an excellent reinforcer
of already existing opinions and can bring about "minor change" quite
readily. Television is very successful in creating opinions about a
subject when a pre—existing opinion is unlikely to exist. Television
can convert people from one Opinion to another, but this is considerably
more difficult.

The fact that television is an effective persuader is not
questioned by the television advertisers who pay for an average of
sixteen minutes of advertisements, as many as ninety commercials, per
hour of broadcast time. In 1972, more than four billion was spent on

television advertising, 189 million by one company alone.37 One

hundred thousand commercials are aired a day by over 770 stations.38
Bogart refers to television as a powerful medium for advertising with
a "unique capacity to capture and hold the viewer's attention and
interest."39 Research he cites indicates that other mediums can be
nearly as effective depending on the individual advertisement and

whether or not the unique characteristics of each medium are considered

in making the advertisement.

Television and Education

 

McLuhan4O cited a study conducted in Toronto which compared the
teaching effectiveness of four mediums. Four randomized groups of
students were given the same information, one by radio, one by tele-
vision one by lecture and one by reading. The unique characteristics
of each medium were ignored in one section of the experiment and

utilized in another. Both times, the group which had watched

40

television scored significantly higher on a content quiz administered
immediately afterwards. This study and television's success as an
advertising medium indicate that television can be a very effective
means of education. This may be true inspite of Educational Tele-
vision's inability to attract a large audience. As of 1966, only
10 percent of the people in areas covered by ETV watched it at all
during the average week. Individual program audiences are even smaller.
These small audiences may be a result of people preferring to be
entertained rather than educated when they have a choice.41
At this point, it may be helpful to use Corder's42 distinction
between what he calls television as an "educational medium" and tele-
vision as a "vehicle of instruction." As an educational medium,
television is a persuader and carrier of general information. This is
the Way in whidh advertising teaches and in which violence and other
types of behavior may be taught. Other than acting as a persuader,
many researchers feel that television as an educational medium may
broaden children intellectually. It may provide a broader background
of experience which will help them in school. Schram43 cites evidence
whidh indicates that television is neither a particular help or
hinderance in this respect. However, some of his assumptions may be
unfounded. Children who watch a great deal of television are usually
about a year ahead of children who do not in speaking vocabulary
development. If children select "reality" programs, television may
provide a broader background of information, but this evidence is
inconclusive. Television may stimulate intellectual and creative
activity in areas in which a child is already interested. In general,

Schram concludes that television neither helps nor hinders a child's

41

school performance. However, he did not investigate or cite research
which had studied television along the lines indicated by McLuhan's
theory. Furthermore, even if Schramm's conclusion is correct, children
may be learning a great deal which is not specifically connected with
school subject matter.

As a vehicle of instruction, television teaches specific skills
and knowledge. This is the aspect of television's educational
potential which ETV utilizes and which was studied in the Toronto
experiment. Corder cites the following advantages of television
instruction: accessibility, immediacy (also cited by Bogart as one of
its advantages for advertising), contact with the best teachers, visual
aids, low cost of audience coverage, and economy of the use of film
material. However, the research he cites is in no way conclusive.4

Many studies have, however, been published which show that
people of all ages can learn specific knowledge and skills from tele-
vision. Freidrich and Stein45 published the significant results of a
relatively small scale study which indicated that children do learn the
prosocial content of television programs and do generalize the learning
to real-life behavior. They showed second grade children programs
with prosocial or neutral material. They followed the viewing with a
test of the child's knowledge of the program content and lessons were
taught using varying techniques. Some of the lessons were relevant to
the program and some were totally irrelevant. The group which had
viewed the prosocial television material showed significantly higher
learning and generalization of the learning than those who had not.

In a study conducted in 1961, Head and Phillips46 cited

evidence which indicates that television classes can attract pre-college

42

students to take classes to achieve a head start on college classes.
Results indicated that enough students wanted to take the courses to
make them financially feasible. Furthermore, students who took the
television classes did significantly better in the classes than
students with comparable skills who took the courses on campus in the
normal fashion. Students who took the televised courses also developed
a more favorable attitude towards the course content than those who did
not.

Hunt47 studied the effects of viewing a television program
which demonstrated classroom reading instruction methods on teachers'
classroom performance, attitudes towards the methods broadcast,
teachers use of the methods, and parents' attitudes towards reading
instruction methods. His results were significant and indicate that
the television programs were very effective in changing methods and

attitudes of teachers and attitudes of parents.

Television and Reading_

 

In general, research indicates that television can be an
extremely effective medium of instruction. Further, students apparently
have a more favorable attitude toward it than towards print methods.
However, while the research discussed indicated that television might
be a more effective means of instruction than reading, results were
not conclusive. A few studies which directly discuss the effects of
television on reading have been published, but are also inconclusive.
Bailyn48 reports that the amount of children's reading may be associated
with time spent watching television. Schramm49 reports that tele-

vision helps develop and stimulate reading vocabulary, but that

43

differences in vocabulary development disappear by the sixth grade.

Parker50

reported that as an area becomes saturated with television,
library cirulcation decreases. However, over a subsequent ten year
period, circulation became considerably greater among juveniles than
adults. Some authors have pointed out that use of all print material
has increased in the United States since the advent of television.
However there is no research proof of a connection. In general, very

little research has been conducted which studies the effects of tele-

vision on reading. The little that has been conducted is inconclusive.

Discussion

 

No research was found or reviewed which directly supports the
theory discussed in chapter two. The closest direct support was
Bailyn's studyvhich indicated that children's reading time may be
associated with television viewing time. The television-reading time
question is included in this study. Parker's report of decline in
library use as television increases also would provide some fairly
direct support of the theory of indications could be found that tele-
vision use was a factor. The final study which seemingly has some
fairly direct implications for the theory is Schram's report that
children who view large amounts of television have higher vocabularies
upon beginning school than those who do not.

The greatest support for the theory came indirectly from the
reviews of the studies of the effects of television violence, of
television as a persuader, and of television's potential as an edu-
cational medium. Various statistics discussed did seem to varify that

television is as large a part of the environment as McLuhan theorized.

44

The aggression and education discussions did indicate that television
is apparently having an effect on us. The effect is, however, one
predicted by Hayakawa's "semantic environment" and discarded as un-
important compared to the form of television itself by McLuhan.
Nevertheless, if the content has effects on those in the environment,
the implications are that the form does as well. The closest to direct
evidence that the form is having an effect is provided by the
television-education studies which indicate that television may be a
more effective inStructional medium than print or print environment
techniques such as the lecture.

This investigation moves one step further than many of the
studies discussed in that a direct comparison of television-reading
time and attitudes as a function of the other and student reading level
is undertaken. Furthermore, in this investigation the content of the
two mediums is not the major consideration. As this is a correlational
study rather than an experiment, results may have implications for the
long term effects of television. However, several techniques and
directions were indicated by the studies reviewed. The techniques of
stating and emphasizing the null hypotheses rather than the alternate
as was done by Hunt and recommended by Guilford51 and others was
adapted as it emphasizes that the object of this study is to derive
implications for the existence of theorized relationships while
recognizing that the results of this study will not provide final
proof of the relationships. If the study of the theorized relationships
result in statistics which enable a reasonably accurate rejection of
the null hypotheses, stronger implications will be provided for the

alternate than if the alternate hypotheses were rejected due to impure

45

variables or attitude measures and demographic surveys of low
reliability.

The research reviewed also indicates that the results of this
study are not generalizable to the entire population as race, socio-
economic status and age are significant variables in the effects of
television viewing. The instruments used in some of the studies and
the factors isolated as variables provided needed directions concerning

items to include in the attitude inventories used in this study.

Summary

Available statistics indicate that television occupies a large
place in the American environment. Studies concerning the relationship
between television and violence discussed indicated that such a
relationship does exist although other variables have a strong influ-
ence on the effects. Television is also an excellent persuader and has
a great deal of potential as an educational medium. The few studies
available which studied the relationShips between television and reading
were discussed, but the results were inconclusive. The implications of
all studies tended to indirectly support McLuhan's theory discussed in
chapter two. Various techniques and directions used in various studies

were discussed in terms of this study.

GMWERIV

DESIGN OF THE STUDY

The mechanisms and design of the study will be discussed in
detail in this chapter. While the population consists of all children
in one sense, generalizations will have to be made to high school
children due to the difference age makes in patterns of viewing. A
further limitation may be that only tenth graders were samples.
Furthermore, specific factors concerning the local population may
further limit generalizability of the conclusions, therefore the local
population from which the sample was drawn will be discussed in detail
along with sampling techniques. Two instruments were used in conducting
this study. These and their reliability will be discussed. The basic
design is predictive in a limited sense. Operational procedures will
be discussed, the hypotheses will be stated in testable form, and the

model used to test the hypotheses will be presented.

Population

 

This study was conducted at Hastings High School in Hastings,
Michigan. Hastings is a rural community with a population of approxi-
mately 6,000 people. It is the county seat of Barry County and the
public school system serves a rural and town community estimated to

number 14,000. Hastings is approximately 160 years old and is not

46

47

characterized by the transience which can be found in many small
communities around large factory cities such as Flint on the eastern
side of the state. Therefore, factors such as population growth,
economic growth and social structure are relatively stable. One of the
major factors in social stratification of the community, besides
wealth, is the length of time a particular family has been in Hastings.
This may be indicative of a factor whiCh may very indirectly effect the
generizability of the study's conclusions in that many of the school
teachers and administrators have been born and raised in the community
and are keenly aware of the social hierarchy. This does seem to effect
treatment and expectations of students at times.

Besides the usual retail businesses, Hastings has eleven small
factories which employ from 25 to 850 workers apiece. Hastings is
centrally located between Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and
Lansing; many members of the community work in one or another of these
cities. Approximately 51 percent of the rural community served by the
public schools are farmers. Approximately 65 percent of the community
labor force consists of blue collar workers. The 1970 census indicated
that 17.3 percent of the families living in Hastings live below the
poverty level. This percent is higher for Barry County and considerably
”higher than the state average. The number of people living in Hastings
and the surrounding area who are at the upper end of the salary range
is considerably lower than the state average. Therefore, the general
economic status of the community served by the public schools is lower
middle class or upper lower class.

The racial composition of the community is approximately

99 percent white and American born. In the last five years, a very,

48

very few black and oriental families have moved into the school district
but not into the town. Until approximately five years ago, Hastings
had city ordinances which prevented orientals or blacks from sleeping
overnight in town.

Generally, Hastings is a politically conservative community
which is consistent with the large rural population. Another factor
which contributes to the conservative nature of the community is the
existence of twenty-nine churches, twenty-two of which can be classified
as being among the more conservative denominations. The churches
exercise considerable influence in the school and community. A final
contributing factor is that the number of people over age seventy living
in Barry County is twice the state average.52

The community attitude towards education is extremely good.

A spacious, new high school was constructed five years ago. The public
schools have all the money needed, as a millage issue has never been
defeated. This fact combined with an unusually good relationship
between the board of education and the local education association has
combined to produce teacher salaries which compare favorably to the
larger city pay scales in the state, the first five year teacher con-
tract in the state, and a teacher pupil ratio of one to twenty-five

in the high school. These and other factors have combined to produce

a very small rate of personnel turnover which indicates that the
teachers are fairly contented.

The high school itself was built to hold 1,600 students, but has
had a stable student body of approximately 1,250 for the last ten years.
As of 1973, the student population was approximately 53 percent male,

and was slightly lower than the national average in I.Q. test scores.

49

Approximately 7.4 percent of the students dropped out of school.
This figure has been rising for the past six years. Some doubt exists
as to its accuracy. Approximately 41 percent of the students who
graduate attempt further education and approximately 24 percent obtain
bachelor's degrees. Approximately 13.8 percent of the students'
parents are college graduates and another 17 percent have attended one
year of college or some other type of post high school training.
Approximately 25 percent of the parents have not completed high
school.53

Students at Hastings High School are divided into from two to
five tracks depending on the department. The English department is
divided into two major tracks with a third track at the ninth and
tenth grade levels which deals with approximately 50 percent of the
poorest readers. Students are tracked by teachers based on classroom
performance at the eighth grade level. "A" track is for students who
are going to college and "B" track is for those who are not. Students
may change tracks at any time if they wish. At the tenth grade level,
from one-third to one half of the A track students drop into B track.
Many of them seem to do so at their own volition as a result of the
reputation for harshness and extreme amounts of work of the single A
track teacher who has been teaching for approximately twenty-five
years. Even if this reputation is untrue, many students have this
teacher also removes ten to twenty students from her classes a week
after the beginning of the year. Approximately half of all students
who dropped from A track return to it in their junior year.

Because of the various factors discussed in the preceeding

paragraphs, generalizations drawn from this study may not be accurate

50

if applied to communities of a more typical racial composition or with
a higher socio-economic status. The study is further limited by a
relatively low level of parent's education, the lower then average
college attendance figures of the graduating classes, and perhaps by
the slightly lower mean I.Q. scores for the student body. Various
studies have indicated that all of these factors have some relationship
to both the effects of television viewing and the reading skills
attained by the students. Finally, the tracking system and teacher
described could have unknown affects on the results especially in
influencing attitudes towards reading to the degree that they are

affected by the student's views toward education.

Sampling Techniques

 

 

All students in the tenth grade were given the inventory and
test to prevent giving the idea, as much as possible, that this study
was anything out of the ordinary as would have happened if they were
administered to a few of the students. The test and inventory were
given in September. The attitude survey was refined and given two
weeks later. The students were given the impression, as much as
possible, that the two instruments were always given at the first of
the tenth grade year. The reading tests were then scored, students
were divided into two groups according to sex and then five groups
according to reading level. Ten members of each sex were selected at
random from each reading and sex group to insure an even representation
of“both:sexes and all reading levels. This helped insure the validity
of the correlational study and statistical analysis for both sexes at

all reading levels. Randomization within each sex and reading group

51

was insured by numbering the survey of each student in the group and
choosing every second or third survey, depending on the number of
surveys in the group. Thus a form of stratified-random sampling was

used to select a sample totaling one hundred.

Instrumentation

 

Two instruments were used in this study. The first, the Gates-
McGinitie Reading Test, Survey E, Form 1, was used both to determine
reading levels for use in the correlations and to insure all reading
levels were represented in an even fashion. Survey E is for seventh
through ninth graders but was used to provide a more accurate picture
of reading ability as, in diagnosis, a test equivalent to the student's
reading level should be used for a more sensitive measure. A second
reason for using this is that tenth graders in September would be
reading at approximately the same level they were in the previous May,
which is one of the norm levels used in scoring the test. Third, what
was most important was a fairly accurate picture of the students'
reading level in comparison to each other. A national level comparison
was not important. Form two of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test was
administered one week later to approximately half of the tenth grade
class in an effort to determine the test's reliability in that group.
Alternate form reliability was determined to be .80 for the compre-
hension section. For the sample tested, the test has an alternate form
reliability of .76.

The second instrument used was developed to compile certain
demographic data, to measure amounts of time spent viewing television

and reading books, and to measure attitudes and preferences in reading

52

and television viewing. A combination of styles, types and wordings
were used in the questions. Questions were asked which had little
direct relevance to the survey to obscure its point. Questions con-
cerning demographic data were either multiple choice or very short
answer. As two of the variables under study were time spent watching
television and time spent reading, both multiple choice questions and
short answer questions were asked concerning time use. Two questions
were asked for television viewing and three were asked concerning book
reading as it seemed necessary to separate assigned reading from
pleasure reading. Research has indicated that questions of this type
concerning television viewing time are very inaccurate as people tend
to overstate their actual viewing time.54
The two remaining variables are a combination of attitude,
preference (choice), value, and use variables. Students were asked
twenty-two agree-disagree, multiple choice, and very short answer
questions for each of the two variables. Some questions asked
preferences of television or reading in specific subject areas. Some
questions asked which a student preferred to "forget his or her
prOblems," or to learn from or to be entertained. Some questions
directly asked preferences and some asked indirectly. Nearly all
questions had possible responses other than those indicating a tele-
vision or reading preference. The questions concerning reading were
derived from Strang's55 explanation of why children read and the
questions about television were derived from Schramm's56 discussion of
the role television plays in childrens' lives. An item, total score
correlation was then conducted on the data from the second and fourth

groups. The six items for each attitude variable with the lowest

53

intercorrelation were not used on the second survey. The average
correlation for the sixteen items used to determine reading attitude
was .61. The average correlation for the sixteen items used to deter-
mine television attitude was .53. The second survey was then
administered and the split-half reliability coefficient was determined
being sure that the two halves were as alike as possible. The split
half coeffient was .52 and .68 when adjusted with the Spearman-Brown
correction for length. Television preference scores were derived by
scoring 0 for a non-television preference and l for a television
perference or favorable attitude. The reading preference score was

scaled in the same fashion.

Design

Six variables were derived from the theory discussed in
chapter two. One instrument was chosen to measure reading level and
one was designed to measure selected demographic data and attitude
variables. Stratified random sampling was used to choose five groups
of twenty students on varying reading levels and with equal numbers of
each sex. Three reading level groups were determined in relationship
to range of scores. The scores of the final sample would, if graphed,
be an approximately bell shaped curve with a slight positive skew. The
reason for adopting this procedure was to facilitate the variance
analysis in relation to reading at all levels. This would not have
been possible in a totally random sample as the reading scores for
the entire grade have a pronounced negative skew. The result would
have been too few students at the upper reading level to make accurate

statements about the variables.

54

This study is predictive in that the hypothesis concerns
certain reading variables which can be predicted from certain tele-
vision variables. However, the relationships themselves are important
to this study, not the predictability of one variable from the other.
The existence of the relationship will have some implications for the ’
theory discussed in chapter two. A correlational analysis and a
limited variance analysis were conducted to arrive at these statements.
As part of the function of this study is to determine some patterns of
television and print use, it is therefore partly descriptive.

This design is based on several assumptions. The first is that
the various relationhips for which correlations are determined are
linear and not curvilinear. This may not be the case. The second is
that although the attitude variables are contaminated because not
enough is known to pinpoint them, the relationships will still be
strong enough to show a significant correlation, if they exist. The
third assumption is that through stratified random sampling, a sample
with a fairly normal distribution was achieved. The overall reading
test did indicate that the entire tenth grade at Hastings has a strong
negative skew in terms of reading levels. However, by controlling the
reading level of the sample, a normal distribution was achieved. This

validates the fermulas used in some of the statistical analysis.

Hypotheses

 

The hypotheses stated in testable form are combinations of the
six variables under study. These are time spent viewing television (x),
attitude towards viewing television (x1), total time spent reading (y),

attitude towards reading (yl), reading level (yz), and personal choice

55

reading time (ys). Personal choice reading time is defined as the

amount of time a student spends reading because he enjoys reading and

wants to read as Opposed to the amount of time he may spend reading to

do his school work.

of these variables are:

1.

Time spent viewing television does not have a negative corre-
lation to all time spent reading.

Student attitude towards viewing television as measured by
the attitude inventory has no negative correlatioanth total
student time spent reading.

Student time spent viewing television does not have a negative
correlation to a positive attitude towards reading as measured
by the reading inventory.

Student attitude towards television viewing as measured by the
television attitude inventory does not have a negative corre-
lation with student attitude towards reading as measured by
the reading attitude inventory.

Student time spent viewing television does not have a negative
correlation to student reading level as determined by the
Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test.

Student attitude towards television viewing as measured by the
attitude inventory does not have a negative correlation to
student reading level as measured by the Gates-MacGinitie
Reading Test.

Student time spent viewing television does not have a negative
correlation to student personal choice reading time.

Student attitude towards television viewing as measured by the

attitude inventory does not have a negative correlation to
student personal choice reading time.

Analxsis

The level of significance for all statistical decisions

regarding these hypotheses will be .05. Student's t will be used to

determine whether or not correlations meet the .05 level of significance.

As a further aid in decision making, confidence intervals will be

The hypotheses concerning the possible relationships

S6

determined for each correlation through the standard error of Fisher's Z
coefficient. The strength of the relationships will be determined
through coefficients of alienation (K), determination, (lOOrz), and
non-determination (K2).

Group means will be determined for each variable and standard
deviations will be determined for each grand mean. F ratios will be
computed to determine if variation significant at the .05 level exists
between each group mean for each variable. Percentages will be computed
for the demographic information; however, as the survey or descriptive
information is not the primary focus of this study, it will not be

statistically analyzed further.

Summapy

The sample is drawn from a primarily white, blue collar, upper-
low socio-economic class population and consists of 100 small town,
rural students. The 50 percent male sample consists of tenth graders
with a mean age of fifteen. Stratified random sampling was used to
select the sample group. The basic research design was predictive and
descriptive. The Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Survey E, Form 1 was
administered to determine approximate relative reading levels. A
combination reading and television attitude inventory and survey was
administered. A variety of question styles and types were used to
obtain data concerning the six television and reading use and attitude
variables. Correlational and variance analysis will be conducted with
all data except the survey information. All statistical decisions will

be made at the .05 level of significance.

CHAPTER V

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

The basic analysis of the results were Pearson correlations of
the six variables under consideration in eight combinations or
relationships. The .05 level of significance was used and determined
for the coefficients through t ratios. Confidence intervals were
computed using the standard error of Fisher's Z coefficient. Coeffi-
cients of alienation, determination and non-determination were then
computed to indicate the degree of relationship. The six variables
were time spent watching television (x), attitude towards watching
television (x1), total time spent reading (y), attitude towards
reading (yl), reading level (yz), and personal choice reading time
(y3). The eight pertinent relationships are (xy), (xyl), (xyzl. (XY3),
(xly), (xlyl), (xlyz), and (xlys). Seven more relationships between
the six variables were possible, but were excluded'as they are not
specifically relevant to the hypotheses.

The results were further analyzed by determining the mean for
each variable for each of the sample groups by reading level. Variances
were analyzed at the .05 level using F ratios. No further variance
analysis was conducted as it was not necessary to specify which group

means varied the most, simply that they did to a significant level.

57

58

Demographic information was presented in percentages by group and total

or means by group and total where applicable.

Analysis pf_Results

1. Time spent viewing television does not have a negative
correlation to all time spent reading. (rxy §_-.20)

2. Student attitude towards viewing television as measured by the
television attitude inventory has no negative correlation to
student time spent reading. (rxly §_-.20)

As computed by t ratios, correlations above plus or minus .20
are significant at the .05 level. The r of relationship (xy) and (xly),
-.56 and -.31 respectively, are significantly higher than -.20. Both
null hypotheses are therefore rejected. The alternate hypotheses that
a negative correlation does exist between reading time and viewing time
are accepted. As can be seen in Table l, the lower confidence limit of
rx y extends below the level of significance and so hypothesis two is

1
accepted with considerably more caution.

Table l.--Correlations Between Variables.

 

 

Relationships r Confidence Intervals
1. xy -.56 -.41; -.68 p<.05
2. xly -.31 -.ll; -.48 p<.05
3. xy1 -.44 -.26; -.58 p<.05
4.; xlyl -.84 —.77; -.89 p<.05
5. xy2 -.49 -.33; -.63 p<.05
6. xly2 -.42 -.25; -.57 p<.05
7. xy3 -.21 —.01; -.39 p<.05
8. xly3 -.26 -.06; -.43 p<.05

 

S9

3. Student time spent viewing television does not have a negative
correlation to a positive attitude towards reading as measured
by the reading attitude inventory. (rxy f_-.20)

l

4. Student attitude towards television viewing as measured by the
television attitude inventory does not have a negative corre-
lation with attitude towards reading as measured by the reading
attitude inventory. (r < -.20)

"1‘1 "

The r for hypotheses three is -.44 and is above the .05 level

of significance. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected and its
alternate, that a negative correlation does exist, is accepted. The
relationship hypothesized in four has the most significantly negative r
of all of the hypotheses, -.84, and is therefore rejected. The
alternate hypothesis is accepted.

5. Student time spent viewing television does not have a negative
correlation to student reading level as determined by the
Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test. f_-.20)

2

6. Student attitude towards television viewing as measured by the
attitude inventory does not have a negative correlation with
student reading level as measured by the Gates-MacGinitie
Reading Test. (r < -.20)

xlyz ‘
As can be seen on Table l, the two hypothesized relationships

(TX),

have significant negative correlations of -.49 and -.42 respectively.
Therefore, both hypotheses are rejected and their alternates are
accepted. The alternate hypothesis of number five is that a negative
correlation does exist to reflect an inverse relationship between
television viewing time and reading level. The alternate of hypothesis
six is that an inverse relationship does exist between television
viewing attitude and reading level.
7. Student time spent viewing television does not have a negative
correlation to student personal choice reading time.
(r < —.20)
xy3 —-
8. Student attitude towards television viewing as measured by the
attitude inventory does not have a negative correlation to

student personal choice reading time. (rx y §_-.20)
l 3

60

These two hypothesized relationships have the lowest corre-
lations, r = -.21 and r = -.26 respectively, of all hypothesized
relationships. They are just significant at the .05 level. However,
when the confidence intervals are considered, the lower confidence
level of both is well below significance. Therefore, when all possible
error is considered, neither correlation is high enough to justify

rejection of these two null hypotheses. Therefore, they are accepted.

Table 2.--Score Means by Variable and Group.

 

 

 

Variables
Group
x x1 y y1 y3
(low) 1 4.9 18.8 1.15 6.05 .325
2 4.0 16.25 1.43 8.15 .50
3 3.97 16.0 1.68 9.8 .55
4 2.93 14.45 2.20 12.85 .875
(high)5 2.22 12.8 2.80 15.85 1.25
Grand mean 3.62 15.88 1.85 10.56 .70
SD 1.74 4.38 1.01 5.8 .61
SE of SD .12 .31 .07 .41 .04
SE of Mean .17 .44 .10 .58 .06
F ratios 8.93 2.73 3.57 3.11 2.61

(p<.05=F>2.46)

 

Analysis of Mean Variance

 

The data presented in Table 2 consists of the mean of each
variable by group and the grand mean for each variable. The mean
reading scores are not included as these are represented by the groups.
Group one consists of the students with the lowest reading scores and
group five consists of the students with the highest. While there are

no hypotheses concerning variance or means as such, this table does

61

present data in a fashion which shows the other five variables as a
function of reading level. Table 2 indicates that as reading level
increases, amount of time spent watching television decreases. The F
(4.95) = 8.93, p<.05 indicates that the mean variance is highly
significant. The F (4.95) = 2.73, p<.05 of the television attitude
variable is not as strong but does include a significant amount of mean
variance by reading group. This lends considerable strength to all
hypotheses involving relationships of television variables and reading

level.

Table 3.--Parents' Education and Job Status.

 

 

Group Blue Collar White Collar College Education
1 86% 14% 4%
2 75 25 13
3 64 36 19
4 66 34 13
5 62 38 35
Total 72% 28% 15%

 

Table 4.--Mean Home Reading Materials and Television.

 

 

Group T.V.s Books Magazines Newspapers
1 2.04 77 2.18 1.27
2 2.19 59 2.85 1.49
3 2.34 96 2.90 1.39
4 2.56 84 2.66 1.32
5 2.06 102 3.27 1.58

Total 2.15 87 2.72 1.36

 

62

Demographic Data

 

Tables 3 and 4 contain data which was obtained from the com-
bination survey and attitude inventory for the purpose of learning more
about the sample. This information is not in direct support of any of
the hypotheses. Table 3 contains a gross measure of parents' education
and job status. The college education column indicates the percentage
of parents by group who have some education beyond high school.

Table 4 contains the mean number of television, books, newspapers, and
magazines by group. The number of white collar working parents,

parents with some college education, and the number of books, magazines
and.newspapers in the home increase with reading level. The number of
televisions in the home also increases by reading level except in group
five. All of these statistics do vary by group, but not as consistently

as do some of the variables under direct study.

Table 5.--Specific Media Attitudes and Habits.

 

Attitudes and Habits

 

 

Group 1 2 3 4 S 6
l 75% 75% 85% 75% 4.07 80%
2 65 85 75 65 4.97 60
3 55 55 95 55 5.86 70
4 50 50 60 50 6.12 55
5 20 30 35 20 8.45 35

Total 53% 59% 70% 53% 5.85 60%

 

Table 5 contains the number or responses by group in percents
on questions which asked specific television versus books preferences

except columns five and six. Column five contains the mean number of

63

complete books read by group in the past year. Column six contains the
number in percents of students who preferred listening to the radio to
reading. Column one shows the number of Students who felt television
viewing was more important to them than reading. Column two shows the
number of students who preferred to learn from television rather than
books. Column three indicates the number of students who preferred
television to reading for entertainment. Column four indicates the
number of students who never read for entertainment. Generally, the
number of students who preferred television to reading, radio to reading,
and.never read for pleasure decreases by reading level. The average
number of complete books read during the past year increased by reading

level.

Interpretation.p£_Resu1ts

 

The results strongly imply that a relationship does exist
between five of the six variables under study and that, to some degree,
television viewing and reading tend to be mutually exclusive activities.
The attitude correlation (x1,y1) of r = 0.84, p<.05 is the strongest
indication of this relationship. However, the other relationships had
a strong enough correlation to have implications for the hypothesized
general reading-television inverse relationship. The more a student
reads, the less time he spends watching television. The more tele-
vision a student watches, the less he likes to read and the lower his
reading level is likely to be. The more positive a student's attitude
towards television viewing, the less time he is likely to spend reading,
the less likely he is to have a favorable attitude towards reading, and

the lower his reading level is likely to be.

64

The implications of the correlations are reinforced by the data
presented in Table 2. This table indicates that as reading level and
other reading variables decrease, television viewing time and attitude
increase. The mean of the television viewing variable varies signifi-
cantly by reading group as does the attitude variable. The inclusion
of the y variables and their F ratios is not directly relevant to the
hypotheses. However, they do indicate, in a side by side comparison,
that television attitude and viewing time varies in much the same
fashion as do other reading variables by reading level. Note, however,
that the mean television viewing time and the mean television attitude
do remain relatively high even in the high reading level groups. These
students do apparently, to some degree, prefer television to reading.

Tables 3, 4, and 5 give demographic data and some specific
attitude and habit data in percents and means by group. No further
statistical analysis was performed with them. Therefore, they are
weak measures. They do however, provide further implications for the
hypothesized relationships. As shown in Table 5, more than 50 percent
of all groups except five preferred television to reading in every
sense questioned and seldom read for pleasure. In spite of the
weakness of these figures, they do indicate that television may be a
very strong competitor of reading for the attentions of all but very
high reading level students. A further indication of student media
preferences is derived from the sixth column which indicates the
number of students who preferred listening to the radio to reading.

In all but group five, more than 50 percent preferred the radio.
All of this information, especially the correlations, have very

strong implications for the alternate hypotheses and therefore, the

6S

theory. However, the correlations were not perfect and the F ratios
were not as high as was desirable, some being barely above significance.
Therefore, while the implications are strong, and the hypothesized
relationships are probable, all that can be stated is that to some
extent, the relationships do exist. How strong they are is another
matter. The weakness of the correlations is best demonstrated in
Table 6 which contains the coefficients of alienation (K), the
coefficients of determination (100r2), and the coefficients of non-

determination (K2) for each of the correlated relationships.

Table 6.--Degree of Relationship.

 

 

Relationship r 100r2 K K2
xy -.56 31 .835 .69
xy1 -.44 19 .898 .81
xy2 -.49 24 .872 .76
xly -.31 10 .951 .90
xly1 -.84 73 ‘ .524 .27
xly2 -.42 18 .907 .82
xy3 -.21 4 .978 .96
xly3 -.26 7 .965 .93

 

The 100r2 column gives the percent of variance in y that is
associated with, determined by, or accounted for by variance in x and
so on. As can be seen, the only r which can be associated with a large
part of the variance is again the xly1 relationship. The rest account
for 31 percent or less of the variance. The K2 column gives the

corresponding amount of variance that is unaccounted for in the

relationships. The K coefficients indicate that all hypothesized

66

relationships are more unrelated than related. The only relationship

which approaches .50 is the x The r of the two accepted null

1Y1 '
hypotheses have the highest Ks of all relationships, .91 and .98
respectively.

The reasons for these relatively weak correlations were
expected. To begin, the attitude inventories did not have particularly
high reliabilities and were, admittedly, trying to encompass several
things which could be considered a "positive attitude" towards tele-
vision or reading. The attitude variables then were not pure. Second,
the attitude inventories were blunt and perhaps did not sensitively
measure or define differences in attitude. In view of both of these

factors, the high r of the x variables is somewhat surprising.

1Y1
The third probable cause of the low correlations is that the
existence of a single reason why a student may not spend much time
reading, such as preferring television, is highly unlikely. A student
may, for example, thoroughly enjoy reading but likes outdoor sports so
well that he does not have much time for reading. This study and these
statistics measure only a small part of why a student may or may not
read or watch television. This may account for the acceptance of null

hypotheses seven and eight. The y variables could also be correlated

more with attitude towards school work than with x or x1.

Summary

As can be seen in Table 7, null hypotheses seven and eight were
accepted. Hypotheses one through six were rejected and their alternates
accepted. Therefore an inverse relationship probably does exist between

television viewing and reading. These results were reinforced by an

67

Table 7.--Summary of Null Hypotheses Tested.

 

 

Ho r Significance
l. rxy §_-.20 -.56 p < .05 rejected
2. rxly §_-.20 -.31 p < .05 rejected
3. rxyl §_.20 -.44 p < .05 rejected
4. rxlyl f_-.20 -.84 p < .05 rejected
5. rxyz f -.20 -.49 p < .05 rejected
6. rxlyz §_-.20 -.42 p < .05 rejected
7. rxys §_-.20 -.21 p < .05 accepted
8. rxlys §_-.20 -.26 p < .05 accepted

 

analysis of variance of the group means of variables x and x1 which+

had F(4.95) = 8.93, p < .05 and F(4.95) = 2.73, P < .05. The hypothe-
ses was further reinfbrced, although weakly, by certain demographic
data. However, relatively low correlations and analysis of the corre-
lations coefficients of determination, non-determination, and alienation
indicated that the relationships were fairly weak and that all that
could be said of the relationships is that they did exist. No causative

statements could be made from this data.

CHAPTER VI

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

McLuhan's theory as expressed in various writings was intro-
duced and briefly discussed in relation to Fabun's model of human
interaction with the environment and Hayakawa's theory of the semantic
environment. Combined, these state that human's are shaped by the
contents of the environment and their interaction with it. McLuhan
believes that major technologies can shape environments and in turn
shape people. The technologies are forms, not thecontents. The
Gutenberg environment was shaped by the phonetic alphabet and the
printing press. Because of this, people in it act and think in certain
fashion's predictable from knowledge of the environment. The Gutenberg
environment is currently in conflict with a new environment created by
television and other electronic media. The environment is changing
and, as a result, people are changing in thoughts and actions. This
change has major implications for education and reading as both are
products of the print environment. They may be in conflict with
perceptual style and thought processes currently in development in the
electronic environment which could create difficulties in the learning
and teaching of reading. McLuhan discards Hayakawa's semantic

environment entirely as it is the content of the media, not the

68

69

media's form. As television content probably has an effect some
discussion of the semantic environment was included.

A general hypothesis was derived which would have implications
fer McLuhan's theory if proven or disproved. In null form, it was
that an inverse relationship does not exist between various television
variables and reading variables. Very little research has investigated
this relationship in relation to McLuhan's theory, that is, investigated
the affects of media ferms. The reserach which has been conducted is
inconclusive. Most support of the theory in previous research was
indirect and in the form of investigations of the relationship between
television and aggression and other affects of television viewing.

The results of much current research seem to agree that television does
have an effect on behavior, but to what degree is unknown. The effects
varied with such variables as socio-economic status. Some research

was presented which indicated that television may be as good a vehicle
for learning as print, if not better. Research indicated several
variables which were considered in the research design.

The research design consisted of administering the Gates-
MacGinitie Reading Test to the tenth grade at Hastings High School.
Stratified random sampling was used to select 100 students in five-
groups by reading level. A reading and teleivision attitude inventory
and demographic survey were administered. Correlational and limited

variance analysis were performed on the resulting data.

Conclusions

 

l. The more time most high school students spend watching
television, the less time they are likely to spend reading,
the poorer their attitude towards reading is likely to be,
and the poorer their reading level is likely to be.

70

2. The more a high school student likes television viewing, the
less likely he is to spend time reading, to have a good
attitude towards reading, and to have a higher reading level.

3. Time spent reading because the student likes to read (Personal
choice reading) time does not appear to be connected to
television viewing time and television viewing attitude.

While correlation coefficients for six of the eight hypotheses
(included in statements one and two above), were significant at the .05
level resulting in rejections of the null hypotheses and acceptance of
the alternates, the coefficients were generally not strong enough to
establish a strong relationship. Therefore, the results of this study
do provide fairly strong implications that these relationships exist,
but they do not indicate a strong relationship or a causative relation-

ship. Other variables not considered in this study enter the relation-

ships.

Discussion

 

The six television-reading variables were selected as a
beginning point in assessing McLuhan's theory in order to arrive at a
usuable understanding of the conflict of the two technologies. Through
such understanding, practices and methods in the teaching of reading
could conceivably be modified to take advantage of the advent of the
television age or to take steps against the problems in teaching and
learning to read which may result if the advent of television is indeed
effecting reading in an adverse fashion. The object of this study was
to ascertain if there was a relationship at all as this seems to be the
initial step in determining the effect of television viewing on reading.
A secondary objective was to gather indications of student attitudes,

preferences and use of television as opposed to print. McLuhan's

71

theory indicates that television would be preferred and used more as we
live in the electronic environment.

Since six of the eight hypothesized relationships had signifi—
cant negative correlations, the implications are that there is some
truth to McLuhan's theory. These positive indications are however far
from sufficient proof. The implications are strengthened somewhat by
the negative direction indicating that as television use and attitude
increase, reading use and attitude decrease. This is supported by
some of the survey data and a comparison of the group means of the
television variables. These indicate that the majority of students
represented by the sample prefer television viewing in almost every way
to reading and do more of it. That television use increases with
poorer reading indicates that reading difficulties are a factor, but
it is a question of which came first. McLuhan would say television
use, yet this study provides no indication of this. In other words,
this study does establish the relationships with all that implies for
McLuhan's theory, but it does not establish the causative relationship

necessary for support of the theory.

Implications fer Further Research

 

A better understanding of the relationships could be derived
if this study is replicated using more reliable attitude inventories
which are more sensitive and can focus on more specific attitudes and
degrees of attitudes. Such a study could add several variables such as
reading speed, attitudes towards high achievement in school work,
vocabulary, and specific types of comprehension. These variables would

appear undoubtedly to play a role. A future study could also use a more

72

sophisticated, detailed statistical analysis. Another approach might
us experimental studies in which some specific manner could be devised
to observe the affects of television on reading. The perceptual
differences between television viewing and reading need to be studied
further. Finally, the most conclusive results may come from a long

range study of various trends such as scores on various college

entrance exams, use of television, and use of various print media.

 

FOOTNOTES

FOOTNOTES

1Nicholas Johnson, How 39 Talk Back £p_Your Television Set

(New York: Bantam Books, 1967), p. 12.

 

2Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media (New York: The New
American Library, Inc., 1964), p. X.

 

3Robert Schenet, "Today's Grads Find They Can't Write," Detroit
Free Press, November 12, 1975, p. 6.

 

4"SAT Scores Go Down, College Costs Go Up," Stanford Observer,
November, 1975, p. l.

 

5Don Fabun, Communications, The Transfer prMeaning (Beverly
Hills: Glencoe Press, 1968), pp. 5—12.

 

7

61bid., pp. 7-12. McLuhan, p. 24.

8Edmund Carpenter, 9E2 What p_Blow That Phantom Gave M3} (New
York: Bantam Books, 1974), p. 25.

 

9Howard Luck Gossage, "You Can See Why the Mighty Would Be
Curious," McLuhan: Hot §_Cool, ed. Gerald E. Stearn (New York: Signet
Books, 1967), p. 22.

 

10Carpenter, p. 179. 11McLuhan, p. 88.
12Carpenter, p. 38. 13Ibid.
14 15

McLuhan, p. 291. Ibid., p. VIII.

16Ibid., p. 269.

17Ruth Strang, Constance W. McCullough, and Arthur E. Traxler,
The Improvement p£_Reading (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1967),
pp. 12-21.

 

73

74

188. I. Hayakawa, "Who's Bringing Up Your Children?" Searching
For Ourselves, ed. Robert Miles (New York: Bantam Books, 1973),
pp. 254-630

 

19Jack Lyle, "Television in Daily Life," Television and Social
Behavior, Vol. IV, ed. E. A. Rubinstein, G. A. Comstock, and J. P.
Murray (Rockville: U.S. Dept. of HEW, 1971), pp. 6-14.

 

20Pearl 6. Aldrich, The Impact 9§_Mass Media (Rochelle Park:
Hayden Book Company, Inc., 1975), pp. 11-22.

 

 

21Lyle, pp. 6-14.

22Jeffrey Schrank, I!_Action Book (Evanston: McDougal, Little 8
Co., 1974), pp. 66-67.

 

23"Children's Values," Detroit Free PreSS, January 11: 1976:
Sec. B, p. 41.

 

24Aldrich, pp. 19-20.

25Joseph T. Klapper, The Effects pf Mass Communication (New
York: The Free Press, 1960), pp. 190-97.

 

26Michael Gurevitch, "The Structure and Process of Television

Broadcasting in Four Countries: An Overview," Television and Social
Behavior, Vol. 1, ed. G. A. Comstock and E. A. Rubenstein (RoEkville:
U.S. Dept. of HEW, 1971), pp. 9-26.

 

27See the bibliography for a listing of all five volumes.

28 29

Lyle, p. 11. Klapper, pp. 134-65.

30Wilber Schramm, Jack Lyle, and Edwin B. Parker, Television
ip_the Lives pf Our Children (Stanford: Stanford University Press,
1961), pp. 21-27.

 

 

31Joseph R. Dominick and Bradley S. Greenberg, Girls' Attitudes
toward Violence a§_Related pp_T.V. Exposure, Family Attitudes, and
Social Class (East Lansing: Michigan State University, Dept. of Comm.,
1971), pp. 1-16.

 

 

 

 

32Stanley J. Baran, "Prosocial and Antisocial Television Content
and Modeling by High and Low Self-Esteem Children." Journal 2: Broad-
casting, 18:4 (Fall, 1974), 481-94.

75

33Bradley S. Greenberg and Thomas F. Gordon, Children' 5 Per-
ceptiOns_ of Television Violence: A Replication (East Lansing. Michigan
State Univer51ty, Dept. of Comm.,—1971), pp 1-17.

 

 

 

34Seymour Feshbach and Robert D. Singer, Television and
Aggression (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1971), p. 60.

 

35Stanly Milgram and R. Lance Shotland, Television and Anti-
social Behavior (New York: Academic Press, 1973), pp. 65-81.

 

 

36Klapper, pp. 12-94. 37Schrank, pp. 79-80.

38Leo Bogart, Strategy in Advertising (New York: Harcourt,
Brace 8 World, Inc., 1967), p. 2.

 

39Ibid., pp. 98-102. 4OMcLuhan, p. 271.

41Bogart, p. 243.

42S. Pit Corder, English Language Teaching and Television
(London: Longmans, 1960), p. 45.

 

43Schramm, et al., pp. 152-53.

44Corder, p. 53.

45Lynette K. Friedrich and Aletha H. Stein, "Prosocial Tele-
vision and Young Children: The Effects of Verbal Labeling and Role
Playing on Learning and Behavior," Child Development, 46 (1975),
Pp. 27’380

 

46Sydney W. Head and C. Lee Philips, A Field Experiment in the
Summertime use of Open- -Circuit Television Instruction to Bridge the_ Gap

 

 

 

 

between High School and Colleg_ (Coral Gables: University of Miami,
1961), pp. 25- 36.

 

47Lyman C. Hunt, An Experimental Project Appraising_the Effec-

tiveness of a Program Series on Reading Instruction Using_Open- -Circuit
Television (Pennsylvanis State University, 1961), pp. 81- 89.

 

 

 

 

48Lotte Bailyn, "Mass Media and Children: A Study of Exposure

Habits and Cognitive Effects," Psychology Monograph 73 (1959),
pp. 36-38.

 

49Schramm, et al., pp. 152-53.

76

50R. Parker, "The Effects of Television on Public Library
Circulation," Public Opinion Quarterly 27 (1963), pp. 578-89.

 

51J. P. Guilford, Fundamental Statistics ip_Psychology and
Education (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1965), p. 98.

 

 

52Robert Vander Veen, "History, Activities, Services Traditions,
Industries, Neighborhood, Geography, and Systems of Hastings" (Un-
published Report, 1968), pp. 20-37.

53"School and Community," Sec. 2 (Unpublished report for North-
Central Evaluation, 1973), pp. 17-28.

54Schram, et al., p. 34. 55Strang, pp. 156-76.

S6Schramm, et al., pp. 10-28.

APPENDIX

TELEVISION AND READING USE AND ATTITUDE INVENTORY

APPENDIX

TELEVISION AND READING USE AND ATTITUDE INVENTORY

DIRECTIONS: Please check the most appropriate answer or answer each

10.

11.

12.

question briefly.

What is your father's occupation?

What is your mother's occupation?

How old are you?

How many televisions are in your home?

f you had to do one of the following, which would you do?
. Read the newspaper. B. Watch a good show on television.

. Look at your favorite magazine. D. Listen to the radio.
. Read a good book.

mO>H

What was your approximate grade average last year?

On the average, how many hours do you spend watching television
every day? A. 0 B. 1-2 C. 3-4 D. 5-6 E. 7-8

How many newspapers does your family subscribe to?

How many books of any kind have you read all the way through in
the last year? A. 0 B. 1-5 C. 6-10 D. 11-15 E. More

If you had to do one of the following, which would you prefer?
A. Read a sports novel. B. Read a sports news story in a news-
paper. C. Watch a sports event on T.V. D. Read a sports
magazine. E. Listen to a sports event on the radio.

Do you consider yourself a good reader? an average reader? a
poor reader?

What magazines do you read regularily, if any?

77

13.

14.

15.

16.
17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.
29.

30.

78

Which do you think is more entertaining? Television Radio
Books Magazines Newspapers.

How many hours do you listen to the radio on an average day?

Which provides the easiest way for you to forget about your
problems, watching television or reading a book you enjoy?

How many books did you read because you wanted to in the last year?
How many movies did you go to a theatre to watch last year?

Which do you think can teach you the most? Television Magazines
Radio Books Radio None of these.

Which do you think is the most realistic, the closest to real
life? A. Story in a book B. Story in a magazine C. A story on
television D. None of these.

Do you usually watch television to pass the time, for fun and
entertainment, to learn about things that interest you, or none
of these?

Do you read anything other than what is assigned in school? If
so, how long would you estimate you spend every day reading?

What is more important to you, watching television or reading?

Which do you think is most often boring? Television Radio Books
Magazines Newspapers

Which of the following kinds of shows do you usually watch on T.V.?
Check more than one kind if you watch more than one kind.

Cartoons Westerns Crime 6 Police shows Movies News

Mysteries 6 Detective shows Situation Comedies Adventure programs
Soap Operas Game shows Horror MOvies Talk shows

Medical or Doctor shows Documentaries other

 

Would you rather listen to the radio, read a book or read a
magazine?

How many magazines does your family subscribe to? 0 l 2 3 4 ___
If you had to, would you rather A. Watch a good myster on tele-
vision. B. Read a good mystery story. C. Listen to a mystery
story on the radio. D. Read Alfred Hitchcock Magazine.

How many books are in your home now? (Estimate)

How many hours do you watch television on an average day?

Which do you think is more interesting usually? Television Radio
Books Magazines Newspapers

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.
36.
37.

38.

39.

40.

79

How many radios are in your home?

What kind of books do you read when given the choice? Check more
than one if you read more than one type. Science Fiction
Historical Fiction Westerns Poetry Realistic Fiction
Biographys Sports Stories Romance Adventure Stories
Non-fiction Books about cars Animal Stories other

Which would you rather do for entertainment, read or watch
television?

How much time do you spend reading because you want to every
day? °

What is your total daily reading time?

Why do you read?

Why do you watch television?

Do you read most of the time A. Because you have to when teachers
assign it? B. For the fun of it, for entertainment? C. To find

out about things that interest you?

Which do you prefer to read? Novels or books Magazines
Newspapers

What do you do most often for entertainment?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aldrich, Pearl G. The Impact pf Mass Media. Rochelle Park, N.J.:
Hayden Book Co., 1975.

 

 

Bailyn, Lotte. "Mass Media and Children: A Study of Exposure Habits
and Cognitive Effects." Psygh. Monograph 73 (1959), pp. 1-48.

 

Baran, Stanley, J. "Prosocial and Antisocial Television Content and
Modeling by High and Low Self-Esteem Children." Journal 2:
Broadcasting 18:4 (Fall, 1974), 1-17.

 

Bogart, Leo. Strategy ip_Advertising. New York: Harcourt, Brace 8
World, 1967.

 

Carpenter, Edmund. Oh, What §_Blow That Phantom Gave M3} New York:
Bantom Books, 1974.

 

"Children's Values." Detroit Free Press, January 11, 1976, Sec. 8.,
p. 41.

 

Corder, S. Pit. English Langpage Teaching and Television. London:
Longmans, 1960.

 

 

 

Dominick, Joseph R. and Greenberg, Bradley 8. Girls' Attitudes toward
Violence as Related to T.V. Exposure, Family Attitudes, and Social

 

 

 

 

Class. E§§t LansingTUMichigan State University, Dept. of Comm.,
1971.

Fabun, Don. Communications, The Transfer p£_Meaning. Beverly Hills:
Glencoe Press, 1968.

 

 

Feshbach, Seymour, and Singer, Robert 0. Television and Aggression.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1971.

 

Friedrich, Lynette K., and Stein, Aletha H. "Prosocial Television and
Young Children: The Effects of Verbal Labeling and Role Playing
on Learning and Behavior." Child Development 46 (1975),
pp. 27-38.

 

Greenberg, Bradley S., and Gordon, Thomas F. Children's Perceptions
pf Television Violence: A_Replication. East Lansing: Michigan
State University, Dept. of Comm., 1971.

 

 

 

8O

81

Gossage, Howard Luck. "You Can See Why the Mighty Would Be Curious."
McLuhan: Hot §_Cool. Ed. Gerald E. Stearn. New York: Signet
Books, 1967.

 

Guilford, J. P. Fundamental Statistics ip_Psychology and Education.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1965.

 

 

Gurevitch, Michael. "The Structure and Process of Television Broad-
casting in Four Counties; An Overview." Television and Social
Behavior, Vol. 1. Ed. G. A. Comstock and E. A. Rubenstein.
Rockville, Md.: U.S. Dept. of HEW, 1971.

 

Hayakawa, S. I. "Who's Bringing Up YOur Children?' Searching for
Ourselves. Ed. Robert Miles. New York: Bantam Books, 1973.

 

Head, Stanley W., and Phillips, C. Lee. A Field Experiment in the
Summertime Use of Open- -Circuit Television Instruction to —Bridge
the §§p_Between High School and Colleg_. Coral Gables, Fla.:
University of Miami, 1961.

 

 

 

 

Hunt, Lyman C. An Experimental Prpject Appraising the Effectiveness
of a Prpgpam _Series on Reading Instruction Using_Open-Circuit
Television. Pennsylvania State University, 1961.

 

 

 

 

Johnson, Nicholas. How to Talk Back to Your Television Set. New York:

Bantam Books, 1967.

 

Klapper, Joseph T. The Effects prMass Communication. New York:
The Free Press, 1960.

 

 

Lyle, Jack. "Television in Daily Life." Television and Social Behavior,
Vol. IV. Ed. E. A. Rubinstewin, G. A. Comstock, and J. P. Murray.
Rockville, Md: U. S. Dept. of HEW, 1971.

 

McLUhan, Marshall. Understandipg_Media. New York: The New American
Library, 1964.

 

Milgram, Stanly, and Shotland, R. Lance. Television and Antisocial
Behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1973.

 

Parker, R. "The Effects of Television on Public Library Circulation."
Public Opinion Qparterly 27 (1963), pp. 578-89.

"Sat Scores Go Down, College Costs Go Up." Stanford Observer,
November, 1975, p. l.

 

Schenet, Robert. "Today's Grads Find They Can't Write." Detroit Free
Press, November 12, 1975, Sec. A, p. 6.

 

"School and Community," Sec. 2. Unpublished North-Central Evaluation
Report, 1973.

82

Schramm, Wilber; Lyle, Jack; and Parker, Edwin B. Television in the
Lives g£_0ur Children. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1961.

 

 

Schrank, Jeffery. I!_Action Book. Evantson, 111.: McDougla, Little, G
Co., 1974.

 

Strang, Ruth, McCullough, Constance M.; and Traxler, ArthurE E. The
Improvement gf_Reading. New York: McGraw- Hill Book Co. , 1967.

 

Vander Veen, Robert. "History, Activities, Services, Traditions,
Industries, Neighborhood, Geography, and Systems of Hastings."
Unpublished report, 1968.

General References

 

Brown, J. A. C. Techniques 2£_Persuasion. London: Penguin Books, 1968.

 

 

Comtock, G. A., and Rubinstein, E. A., eds. Television and Social
Behavior, Vol. I. Rockville, Md.: U.S. Dept. of HEW, 1971. Media
Content and Control.

 

Murray, J. P.; Rubinstein, E. A.; and Comstock. G. A., eds. Television
and Social Behavior, Vol. II: Television and Social Learning_.
Rockville, Md.: U. S. Dept. of HEW, 1971.

 

 

 

Comstock, G. A., and Rubinstein, E. A., eds. Television and Social
Behavior, Vol. III: Television and Adolescent Aggressiveness.
Rockville, Md: U. S. Dept. of HEW, 1971.

 

 

 

Rubinstein, E. A.; Comstock, G. A.; and Murray, J. P., eds. Television
and Social Behavior, Vol. 1!: Television in Day-EgrDay Life:
Patterns 2£_Use. Rockeville, Md.: U.S. Dept. of HEW, 1971.

 

 

 

Comstock, G. A.; Rubinstein, E. A.; and Murray, J. P., eds. Television
and Social Behavior, Vol. X: Television's Effects; Further
Explorations. Rockville, Md.: U.S. Dept. of HEW, 1971.

 

 

 

 

Duffy, Gerald G., and Sherman, George G. Systematic Reading
Instruction. New York: Harper & Row, 1972.

 

 

Hayakawa, S. I., ed. Language, Meaning_and Maturity. New York:
Harper 8 Row, 1954.

 

Johnson, Nicholas. Test Pattern for Living. New York: Bantam Books,
1972.

 

McLuhan, Marshall. The Gutenberg Galaxy. New York: New American
Library, 1969.

 

83

Kohl, Herbert. Reading, How to, New York: Bantam Books, 1974.

 

Postman, Neil. Television and the Teaching of English. New York:
Appleton-Century—Crofts, Inc., 1961.

 

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