THESIS _ IlllllllllllllllHllllllllllllllllllllHlllIllllllllllllllllll LanARY 293 01766 7068 Michigan State Unlverslty A T is to certify that the thesis entitled INTERNATIONAL CULTIVATION STUDY: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEDIA EXPOSURE, VIOLENT IMAGES, AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES presented by Yasuhiro Inoue has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for MA. Communication degree in [[44 Major professé December 18, 1998 Date 0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 4 all, PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. To AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE W 4 4‘ fi'ggffifinuo PR 3 “51.70“? mm was M1 ‘0. 2%43r232 20m APR 2 2 2002 —u—4—2—9—0—2 m emu-mu INTERNATIONAL CULTIVATION STUDY: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEDIA EXPOSURE, VIOLENT IMAGES, AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES By Yasuhiro Inoue A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Communication 1 998 ABSTRACT INTERNATIONAL CULTIVATION STUDY: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEDIA EXPOSURE, VIOLENT IMAGES, AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES By Yasuhiro Inoue The present thesis examines the relationship between Japanese adolescents’ media exposure, images of the United States, and their attitudes towards the U.S. and its people by a survey of Japanese junior high school students. With reference to cultivation theory, the present thesis hypothesized that an image of a dangerous America would be partly attributed to Japanese mass media that portray the U.S. in violent terms. Cultivation theory suggests that the more you are exposed to mass media, the more likely it is that you adopt the social reality portrayed in the media. The present thesis did not find any association between respondents’ violent images of the U.S. and their amount of media exposure. Other findings were that (1) violent images of the U.S. were related to respondents’ negative attitudes towards the U.S. as a nation, (2) violent images of the U.S. were not related to attitudes about communication with individual Americans, and (3) exposure to American television programs and movies was positively correlated with respondents’ positive‘attitudes towards America and Americans. This thesis is dedicated to my parents Yutaka and Kayoko Inoue ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis would not have been completed without assistance and encouragement of many people. I would like to be deeply thankful to Dr. Jim Dearing, my advisor, and chair of my thesis committee for his support, direction, patience, and encouragement throughout my master studies. I wish to express my deep gratitude to all my committee members, Dr. Bradley Greenberg, and Dr. Mary Bresnahan for their valuable comments. I appreciate Yasuo Miyazaki for assistance in statistical analyses. Finally, I thank my parents who taught me the value of hard work and gave me great support. Also, I thank my wife, Shoko, who has been encouraging me. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER 1 CULTIVATION ANALYSIS AND BACKGROUND ........................................................ l Cultivation ............................................................................................................. 2 Japanese Television ............................................................................................... 7 Japanese Rental Videos ......................................................................................... 8 Hypotheses ............................................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 2 METHOD .......................................................................................................................... 11 Participants .......................................................................................................... ll Questionnaire ....... ' ............................................................................................... l 1 Violent Image ...................................................................................................... 12 Estimation ........................................................................................................... 13 Cross Cultural Communication ........................................................................... l3 Attitude/Opinion toward U.S. ............................................................................. 14 Personal Experience ............................................................................................ 15 Media Exposure .................................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER 3 RESULTS .......................................................................................................................... 18 Statistical Analysis .............................................................................................. l 8 Television News .................................................................................................. l9 U.S. Television Program ..................................................................................... 21 American Movie Video ....................................................................................... 23 U.S. Television and Movie .................................................................................. 23 Total Television ................................................................................................... 26 Violent Image and Attitude ................................................................................. 26 Multiple Regression Analysis ............................................................................. 26 CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................... 3 1 APPENDIX ....................................................................................................................... 36 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 46 LIST OF TABLES Table l — Television News Watching ................................................................................ 20 Table 2 — U.S. Television Program Watching ................................................................... 22 Table 3 — U.S. Movie Video Watching ............................................................................. 24 Table 4 — U.S. Media Watching ........................................................................................ 25 Table 5 — Total Television Watching ................................................................................. 27 Table 6 -— Correlation between Violent Images and Attitudes ........................................... 28 Table 7 — Multiple Regression Results ............................................................................. 30 vi Chapter 1 Cultivation Analysis and Background Images of America and the American people in the minds of most Japanese are of violent people in a violent place even though Japan and the United States are partners in bilateral trade and regional security. A prevalent Japanese image of the United States is that every American is armed with a gun, a modern version of television’s wild west imagery. To Japanese, America is a very dangerous place. According to a public opinion survey (Maim'chi Shimbun, 1994), three out of the top five Japanese images of the U.S. were negative: Japanese associated the U.S. with “guns and murder ”(ranked first, 76 percent), “drugs” (ranked third, 35 percent), and “discrimination” (ranked forth, 32 percent). Another poll revealed similar images in the minds of Japanese (Asahi Shimbun, 1991). How have Japanese come to have such bad images of America and American society? The present thesis examined a plausible cause of negative perceptions of the United States by conceptualizing Japanese mass media as “cultivators” of negative images in Japanese people’s minds. Survey questionnaires were administered to 220 junior high school students at one point in time during early 1998. Since the content of Japanese news media about the U.S.—especially television news—is focused on violence in the U.S. (detailed here later), the amount of news viewing was expected to positively correlate with an international cultivation effect. In addition, the extent of American movie video watching was expected to positively correlate with negative perceptions since U.S.-made videos dominate the Japanese market, and the most popular rentals are violent movies (Joho Media Hakusho, 1996). Both of the present foci of study are novel in the study of cultivation effects. Researchers have yet to consider the international cultivation of images by analyzing the effect of rental video movies. And conceming news content, few intercultural cultivation analyses have considered local-origin content. Most international cultivation studies have measured U.S. television program influence on foreign viewers to estimate American “cultural imperialism” (Pingree & Hawkins, 1981; Weimann, 1984; Kang & Morgan, 1988; Tan & Suarchavarat, 1988). Portrayals of America and Americans through the media are expected to have a strong effect on viewers’ attitudes and perceptions about the U.S. Since most Japanese have never been to America, it is reasonable to expect that their perceptions and attitudes towards the U.S. will be in part formed by viewing media depictions of the U.S. “The influence will be greatest when dependence on the medium is high, and when direct experience with the response to be learned is limited” (Tan, Li, & Simpson, 1986, p. 809). Determining what causes international cultivation could lead to other studies designed to find why such effect-causing content prevails in the media; as well as studies designed to enhance better relations between countries. Therefore, this study is important not only in terms of mass communication theory but also in terms of international relations. Cultivation Cultivation analysis was introduced by George Gerbner and his colleagues more than two decades ago (Gerbner & Gross, 1976). According to Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, and Signorielli (1994), cultivation refers to the relationship between exposure to television messages and subsequent audience beliefs and behavior. Gerbner and his colleagues hypothesized that the more people watch television as a whole, the more they perceive social reality in the ways that television describes it. The less you watch television, the less you perceive the social reality as depicted on television. Gerbner and Gross (1976) found that heavy television viewers tended to give “television answers,” i.e., overestimating the proportion of people employed in law enforcement, exaggerating their own chances of being involved in violence, and the like, when questioned about social reality. Many cultivation studies have focused on the relationship between television violence and perceptions about violence and crime, though cultivation theory has been tested regarding various aspects of social life such as aging (Gerbner, Gross, Signorielli, & Morgan, 1980), soap Opera viewing (Perse, 1986), perception of attorneys (Pfau, Mullen, Deidrich, & Garrow, 1995), erosion of local cultures (Morgan, 1986), and political attitudes (Morgan & Shanahan, 1991). Most cultivation research has examined and confirmed the relationship between the amount of total television viewing and the perceived social reality depicted in prime time entertainment programs (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1986), though the relationship is weak or moderate. Cultivation theory has been used for international studies including the formation of images of America and Americans (Pingree & Hawkins, 1981; Weiman, 1984; Tan, Li, & Simpson, 1986; Tan, Tan, & Tan, 1987; Kang and Morgan, 1988; Tan & Suarchavarat, 1988). Overall, these intercultural cultivation studies found that “the frequency of viewing American television by foreign audiences is related to characterizations of Americans closely corresponding to the television portrayals” (Tan & Suarchavarat, 1988). Most studies found a correlation between the viewing of U.S. programs and the social reality among those people. Pingree and Hawkins (1981) conducted cultivation analysis of U.S. programs on Australian television using 1,085 elementary and middle school students. They found effects of American television programs on the conceptions of social reality among Australian children. However, exposure to American programs was more highly correlated with children’s beliefs about Australia than their beliefs about the U.S.: Children who watched more American television were more likely to believe Australia to be a dangerous and mean place, not the U.S. These findings were interpreted to mean that “Australian children take little notice of such things as U.S. accents and locations, accepting them as television conventions” (p. 104). That is, the children did not distinguish between Australia and the U.S. Weimann (1984) studied perceptions of American social reality among high school and college students in Israel. More than 60 percent of broadcasting time in Israel is allocated to imported programs, most of which are American. The sample of 461 students was spread out over six secondary schools and one college. Weimann (1984) compared the estimates given by respondents with percentages reflecting actual reality in the U.S., such as income, ownership of electrical appliances and cars, the number of rooms per unit, and the like. He found that heavy television viewers demonstrated “a strong and consistent tendency to overestimate, thus painting a rosier picture of reality” of the U.S., in terms of wealth and standard of living. Weimann concluded that “Israelis are exposed, night after night on Israel’s sole TV. station, to American TV. serials and dramas that offer viewers a continuous stream of ‘fact,’ myths and impressions of American reality. . . heavy viewers tend to absorb and retain over- idealized perceptions of the American way of life” (p. 195). On the other hand, Tan, Li, and Simpson (1986) reported that the frequency of viewing some American programs aired in Taiwan and Mexico was positively correlated with negative images of Americans. They collected 788 questionnaires completed by students, teachers, bank workers, and the like in northern, central, and southern Taiwan. In Mexico, 150 questionnaires were collected from college students in Mexico City. A pattern of modest correlations was is consistent across countries. In the Taiwanese sample, the amount of viewing of American programs was positively correlated to viewer characterizations of Americans as materialistic, and negatively correlated with viewer characterizations of Americans as honest and faithful. Similarly, in the Mexican sample, there was a relationship between exposure to American programs and viewer characterizations of Americans as less honest, aggressive, and cruel. In the Philippines, where 60 percent of all television programs were imported from the U.S., Tan, Tan, and Tan (1987) surveyed 226 seniors in three high schools. The country’s second language is English, so American programs need not be dubbed. Tan et al. (I 987) found that heavy viewing of American programs led to an emphasis by high school students on non-traditional values. Heavy viewers of American programs were more likely than light viewers to regard “pleasure” as an important value, and disregard values such as “salvation” and “wisdom.” In term of attitudes towards the U.S., findings suggested that heavy viewers of American programs were more likely than light viewers to intend to visit the U.S. Tan and Suarchavarat (1988), in a study of 279 Thai college students, found that American television was a major source of social stereotypes about Americans. Respondents were asked to rate adjectives on a five-point scale according to how well the adjective described Americans. The pictures of Americans in the heads of Thai students were mixed, including both positive traits (artistic, athletic, courteous, neat, and sensitive) and negative traits (arrogant, aggressive, pleasure-loving, and stubborn). The study also reported that the frequency of viewing American television programs was positively related to the self-reported probability of respondents’ visiting the U.S. in the filture. It confirmed that television’s cultivation effects in social stereotyping among heavy viewers were greater than light viewers when information about the stereotyped group was scarce from other information sources. Kang and Morgan (1988) examined the relationship between viewing American programs and attitudes of 226 Korean college students, finding that exposure to U.S. programs was related to Westemization of traditional cultural values among females. Heavy female viewers were less likely to endorse the traditional values of filial piety, obedience to their parents, and arranged marriages. They were more likely to endorse American-style jeans and rock’n roll music. In contrast, greater American program viewing by males was associated with more hostility toward the U.S. and protective attitudes about Korean culture. At the same time, however, male heavy viewers were more likely to endorse some non-traditional Korean cultural values, such as questioning one’s parents and sharing dating expenses. As suggested by the literature reviewed here, there are some discrepancies in study results. The findings of international cultivation studies may or may not be applicable to Japan. The effects of U.S. television programs may vary across countries (Kang & Morgan, 1988). However, due to the large American commercial and entertainment presence in Japan, it is reasonable to expect a positive relationship between media exposure about the U.S. and Japanese people’s perceptions and attitudes towards America and Americans. Japanese Television American television programs dominate ratings and broadcasting time in many countries (Pingree & Hawkins, 1981). However, U.S.-origin programming is not very popular in Japan. According to Kawatake and Ham (1994), foreign television programs occupied only 5 percent of all Japanese broadcasting time in 1993. More than 70 percent of the foreign programs were U.S. made (73 percent), but ratings for most of these programs were low. In terms of television news, Japanese television news programs report about the U.S. roughly 12 times more than the American media report about Japan (Nichibei terebi houdou hikaku kenkyu, 1996). This study content-analyzed prime time news shows in early 1993 in each country, finding that Japanese five networks (NHK’s “News 21” & “News 7,” NTV’s “Today’s Event,” TBS’s “News 23,” F uji’s “News COM,” and TV Asahi’s “News Station”) reported about the U.S. a total of 36 hours, 54 minutes, and 36 seconds over four months. One third of all international news in Japanese television news was allocated to U.S.-related matters. Hara (1996) reported not only the amount of news about the U.S. but also the content of those reports. Hara (1996) sorted each news report aired during the sampling frame by image. News items were coded into 13 positive-negative paired keywords: Fair/unfair, trustworthy/untrustworthy, responsible/irresponsible, diligent/lazy, corrupt/honest, friendly/hostile, open/closed, demanding/reasonable, racist/non-racist, peaceful/violent, cohesive/individualistic, advancing/declining, and arrogant/not arrogant. Of all Japanese television news items (N = 1,121) about U.S.-related matters, 9 percent were violent, 5 percent were hostile, 4 percent were declining, 3 percent were demanding, 3 percent were corrupt, and 2 percent were untrustworthy. No positive news images of U.S. exceeded 2 percent. All other news stories (74 percent) were coded as neutral. Thus, it is logical to expect that Japanese heavy viewers of Japanese news programs are more likely to cultivate the realities presented as dangerous and hostile. Japanese Rental Videos Partly because the actual amount of news about the U.S. is not large relative to coverage of domestic issues, one must ask how else Japanese might cultivate imagery about America. Entertainment content is an obvious choice. In Japan, the sale of foreign movie videos was more than three times the sale of domestic movie videos in 1995 (Asahi Nenkan1997, 1997). And foreign movies in Japan mean American movies. American video movies monopolize the Japanese rental video market. Crime and action adventure movies that contain a lot of violence are frequent rentals. In 1995, nine out of the ten most popular rental video movies were American action, crime, and adventure movies: “Speed,” “True Lies,” “The Specialist,” “Outbreak,” “The X-Files,” “Mask,” “Beverly Hills Cop 3,” “Clear and Present Danger,” and “Star Gate” (Joho Media Hakusho, 1996). Thus, the present thesis focuses on both Japanese news content about America and U.S. videos rented in Japan as determinants of Japanese television viewers’ image of America and Americans. Hypotheses This study will examine intercultural cultivation analysis based on Japanese television news content about the United States, and American video movies rented in Japan. The hypotheses of this study are: 1 H1: Japanese who are heavy viewers of news programs will be more likely to cultivate a social reality about the United States as reflected in television news; e.g., that America is a dangerous and hostile place for Japanese. H2: Japanese who are heavy watchers of American movie videos will be more likely to cultivate a social reality about the United States as portrayed in American movies; e. g., that America is a dangerous and hostile place for Japanese. In addition to these hypotheses, a third hypothesis is presented. It is possible that a negative perception or stereotype of a given country has a crucial impact on likelihood to communicate in intercultural settings, since initiation of communication is expected to be influenced and controlled by how people preconceive their counterpart. In a cross-cultural communication setting, “[s]tereotypes. . . keep us from being successful as communicators because they are oversimplified, over-generalized, and /or exaggerated” (Samovar & Porter, 1995, p. 290). Negative perceptions and stereotypes about a foreign country and its citizens could lead to an unwillingness and avoidance in intemational communication in real life, because preperceptions are “sttunbling blocks for communicators” (Samovar & Porter, 1994, p. 341). Put another way, positive pre- perceptions could be related to a willingness to communicate with people from different cultures. The conceptualization of a “willingness to communicate” is essentially the same as “unwillingness” but in reverse wording (McCroskey, 1992). Burgoon (1976) stated that unwillingness (or willingness) to communicate can be based on exposure to mass media. Therefore, the third hypothesis is: H3: Japanese people’s unwillingness to communicate with Americans increases if they have “cultivated” negative images or stereotypes about the U.S. In addition, it is possible that television exposure has a direct impact on attitudes such as intercultural communication and desire to travel to the U.S. The research question of the study is: R1: Is there any association between media exposure and respondents’ attitudes towards the U.S. and its citizens? 10 Chapter 2 Method Participants Participants were adolescent children from three public junior high schools located in a middle-sized city in western Japan. The city employs three foreign English teachers (one American, one Canadian, and one English) for the city’s 11 junior high schools. Japanese teachers at the schools usually instruct the students in English. Every student has a chance to be taught by one of the native English teachers, however, this likelihood is small. Teachers at the three schools distributed a questionnaire to students in February and March of 1998 for the present investigator. Survey data was originally planned to come from six different schools in the city with all subjects 8th graders. However, due to a technical problem, 55 8th graders (14 year olds) were sampled from two schools, and 165 9th graders (15 year olds) were sampled from a third school. The total number of returned questionnaires was 220, with 52 percent female (n = 114) and 48 percent male (n = 106). Questionnaire The questionnaire (see Appendix) was designed to understand respondents’ images of the U.S., estimates of U.S. social reality, attitudes towards the U.S., and intentions to communicate with Americans. Each item was answered on Likert scales ranging from 5 to 1 ( 5 = strongly agree, 4 = agree, 3 = not either, 2 = disagree, 1 == strongly disagree. To estimate murder rate, the response categories were 5 = 20 times or II more, 4 r 10 — 19 times, 3 = 5 - 9 times, 2 = 2 — 4 times, 1 = same as Japan). These continuous data were used for correlation analysis. Data were also collapsed into three categories: agree (5 and 4 on Likert scales), neither (3), and disagree (2 and 1). These categories were used for cross-tab analysis. Violent Image Forty six percent of respondents agreed, and 11 percent strongly agreed, that “America is a dangerous nation;” 17 percent disagreed and 4 percent strongly disagreed. Forty one percent agreed and 13 percent strongly agreed that “America is a crime-ridden country;” 14 percent disagreed and 3 percent strongly disagreed. However, 21 percent agreed and 5 percent strongly agreed to the item “In general, Americans are violent;” together, more respondents disagreed (32 %) and strongly disagreed (4 %). The respondents seem to regard America as more violent than they do individual Americans. Correlation coefficients between these three items (significant at the .01 level) are as follows: “America is a dangerous nation” and “America is a crime-ridden country,” .19; “America is a dangerous nation” and “In general, Americans are violent,” .18; “America is a crime-ridden country” and “In general, Americans are violent,” .30. The reliability coefficient of internal consistency (Cronbach Alpha) for these three items was .46. These three items were added into one variable, a Violence Index, which represents the respondents’ violent image about America and Americans as a whole. The Violence Index (M = 9.8, SD = 2.1) ranges from 3 (least violent) to 15 (most violent), and was used for regression analysis between the index and media exposure. 12 Estimation In addition to these violent image items, respondents were asked to answer their estimation/opinion of the social reality about the United States. Eight percent strongly agreed, and 25 percent of the respondents agreed; 33 percent disagreed, and 15 percent strongly disagreed to the item “You would be acquitted if you hire an expensive lawyer in the U.S.” Sixteen percent strongly thought, and 39 percent thought that punishment for violence in the U.S. is lighter than that of Japan; 19 percent thought oppositely and 4 percent strongly thought oppositely. In terms of the estimation of murder rate in the U.S. compared to that of Japan, 6 percent answered “same as Japan,” 39 percent answered the murder rate was 2 -— 4 times that of Japan, 31 percent responded 5 - 9 times, 14 percent responded 10 - 19 times, and 11 percent estimated 20 or more times. Cross-Cultural Communication Unwillingness/avoidance of talking face-to—face with Americans was measured by a modified scale of Burgoon’s (1976) because the scale contained items that represent attitudes toward specific communication situations. Here, contrary to the images of the U.S. that were predominately negative, most of the respondents were willing to communicate with Americans. F ifiy four percent wanted and 21 percent strongly wanted to have an American friend; 4 percent did not and 2 percent strongly did not. Forty six percent wanted and 43 percent strongly wanted to get along with an American regardless of their English ability; 1 percent did not and 1 percent strongly did not. Fifty three percent would like to and 40 percent strongly would like to speak to an American who speaks Japanese well; 1 percent strongly would not like to. Since most of the respondents were willing to communicate with Americans, “unwillingness/avoidance” l3 should be renamed “willingness to communicate.” Correlation coefficients between these three items (significant at the .01 level) are as follows: “Do you want to have an American friend?” and “If you are introduced to an American, do you want to get along with him/her regardless of your English ability?” is .71; “Do you want to have an American friend?” and “Would you speak if an American, who speaks Japanese, speaks to you?” is .34; “If you are introduced to an American, do you want to get along with him/her regardless of your English ability?” and “Would you speak if an American, who speaks Japanese, speaks to you?” is .42. As was done to construct the violent image index, these three items were combined to create one variable, a Communication Index (M = 12.5, SD = 1.9), which represents over all cross cultural communication willingness with Americans. The Index was used for regression analysis. The reliability of these three items is .75. The range of the Communication Index is 3 (most unwilling) to 15 (most willing). Attitude/Opinion toward U.S. Unlike the cross cultural communication items skewed to the positive side, respondents’ attitudes toward the U.S. were relatively balanced. Thirty eight percent of them answered yes and 9 percent answered definitely yes to the item “Do you want to travel to the U.S. alone some day?”; 24 percent said no and 15 percent said definitely no. Forty three percent answered yes and 13 percent definitely yes to the question “Do you want to experience a home stay in the U.S.?”; 12 percent answered no and 12 percent said definitely no. Sixty percent liked the U.S., and 15 percent strongly liked; only 2 percent did not like and 1 percent did not strongly like America. Correlation coefficients between these three items (significant at the .01 level) 14 are: “Do you want to travel to the U.S. alone” and “Do you want to experience a home stay in the U.S.,” .32; “Do you want to travel to the U.S. alone” and “Do you like the US,” .33; “Do you want to experience a home stay in the U.S.” “Do you like the US,” .44. These items were combined to create an Attitude Index (M = 10.2, SD = 2.4), which stands for attitude/opinion towards the U.S. The reliability of these three items is .59. The range of the Attitude Index is 3 (most unwilling) to 15 (most willing). Personal Experience Since personal encounters and companionship may have an overriding effect on mass mediath cultivation, subjects were questioned about their personal experiences, interpersonal communication, and information sources about the U.S. Only one student had been to the U.S. and no one had stayed for one month or more. Four students (1.8 percent) corresponded with American pen pals. Ten percent had American friends (N = 22). Seven percent had someone in their family who had American friends (N = 16). These variables are not significant so they were not used as control variables in the analysis. Thirty-two percent of respondents (N = 71) had heard stories about travel to the United States or American life from a family member or an acquaintance (Story: coded 1 for yes, 0 for no). F orty-two percent (N = 92) had spoken with an American(s) other than American English teachers (Chatting: coded 1 for yes, 0 for no).l These two variables were used as control variables for regression analysis. ' The percentage of respondents who had spoken with an American(s) other than American English teachers is high. However, I think that the most had done so very briefly at an international festival or some other similar events. 15 Media Exposure: Respondents were asked to give estimates of their amount/frequency of television viewing on a 6-point scale for the categories: news programs (less than 15 minutes =17 percent; 15 — 30 minutes = 30 percent; 30 minutes —- 1 hour = 38 percent; 1 — 1.5 hours = 8 percent; 1.5 — 2 hours = 5 percent; more than 2 hours = 2 percent), U.S. television programs (never =16 percent; about a couple of times a year = 16 percent; about a couple of times a half year = 10 percent; about a couple of times a month = 23 percent; about a couple of times a week = 29 percent; almost everyday = 6 percent), television as a whole (less than 30 minutes = 2 percent; 30 minutes - 1 hour = 5 percent; 1 — 2 hours = 22 percent; 2 — 3 hours = 30 percent; 3 — 4 hours = 24 percent; more than 4 hours = 16 percent), and American rental videos (Never = 34 percent; about a couple of times a year = 27 percent; about a couple of times a half year = 20 percent; about a couple of times a month = 16 percent; once a week = 2 percent; 2 times or more a week = 3 percent). The questionnaire included both the amount of viewing on average for a given period and the amount of viewing the day (or week) previous to the questionnaire.2 U.S. television programs and rental video watching were combined into “U.S. media 2 Ninth grade subjects were about to take entrance exams to high schools they applied when the questionnaire was administered. The exams for high schools are critical and one of the toughest challenges in life for every Japanese. They simply cannot afford to spend time on the media at that time because they have to desperately prepare for the exams. Actually, their amount of viewing the media on yesterday (or last week) are far less than that of on average and were not considered relevant. Therefore, viewing on average day (or week, month) was used as the amount of media viewing. 16 watching” to examine the total (combined) effects of these two media. Determining what constitutes light, medium, and heavy viewing is made on a sample by sample basis. Respondents were divided into light, medium, and heavy watchers by using as close to an approximate normal distribution split as possible. What is important are differences in three viewing levels, not the specific amount of viewing (Morgan & Signorielli, 1990). The definitions of light, medium, and heavy watchers for each media type are as follows: television news (light = less than 15 minutes, meditun = 15 minutes — 1 hour, and heavy = more than 1 hour); American television programs (light = about a couple of times a year or less, medium = about a couple of times a half year to a month, heavy = about a couple of times a week or more); American rental videos (light = never, medium = about a couple of times a year or half year, heavy = about a couple of times a month or more); and television as a whole (light = less than 1 hour, medium = 1 — 4 hours, heavy = more than 4 hours). 17 Chapter 3 Results Statistical Analysis Cross-tabular analysis was conducted for questions about perceptions of the U.S. and attitudes towards Americans. This analysis was employed by Gerbner et al. (1978, 1979, & 1980) and other similar studies. Contingency tables compare responses of light, medium, and heavy viewers, defined in Chapter 2, for television news, U.S. television programs, U.S. video, television overall, and U.S. media. The difference between heavy and light viewers is defined as the Cultivation Differential (CD). Gamma was used to measure the strength and direction of the cross-tabular association between media exposure and respondents’ perception and attitudes. The sign of gamma indicates whether the overall association is positive or negative, and the magnitude of gamma is the strength of the association. If respondents are overall higher on one variable as well as higher on the other variable, then the association is positive. On the other hand, if higher on one variable and lower on the other variable, the association is negative (see, for example, Agresti & Finlay, 1997). Cross-tabular analysis may lose some information because the data are collapsed. Thus, the correlation coefficients between media exposure, perception, and attitudes were also calculated to double-check the relationship by using continuous data: A 6-point scale for media exposure and 5-point Likert scale for perceptions and attitudes. Multiple regression was used to measure the relative correlations between the amount or frequency of media exposure and cultivation by using the Violence, Attitude, and Communication Indexes to assess the overall contribution of demographic and I8 experience factors to cultivation. Three control variables were dummy coded: Sex (Gender: male = 1, female = 0); experience of chatting with an American (Chatting: yes = 1, no = 0); and experience of hearing about the U.S. travel and life from someone (Story: yes = 1, no = 0). These control variables were entered first in the equation. In order to measure the relative correlation, media exposure variables were then entered second. Television News Contrary to hypothesis 1, survey results do not indicate any association between violent images of the U.S. and the amount of the respondents’ television news exposure (Table 1). Whereas the data shows no significant cultivation differentials in violent images, correlations exist among perceptions. Television news exposure was negatively correlated to the respondents’ estimates of murder rates in the U.S. relative to those in Japan. Heavy news watchers estimated lower murder rates in the U.S. compared to murders in Japan (gamma = -.30, p < .05; r = -.l9, p < .01). In 1994, nine times as many murders occurred in the U.S. than in Japan per one hundred thousand people (Asahi Nenkan 1997, 1997). F ifly three percent of heavy news watchers estimated a U.S. murder rate 4 times or less that of Japan. In contrast, only 18 percent of light watchers estimated a U.S. murder rate 4 times or less of Japan. Nineteen percent of heavy news watchers estimated the U.S. murder rate to be 10 times or more than that of Japan. Conversely, 34 percent of light news watchers estimated a U.S. murder rate 10 times or more than Japan’s. This finding indicates a reverse cultivation effect in which heavy watchers tend to perceive a more accurate image of America (a less violent image) than light watchers do. In addition, heavy watchers also estimated less severe punishment for 19 7.. --_._..‘_ Table 1: Television News Watching and Perceptions about, Attitude toward and Communication with Americans Light Medium Heavy Questionnaire Items % (n) % (n) % (n) CD Gamma r America is a dangerous nation. 54 (20) 57(85) 66 (21) 12 .10 .03 E 5 Americans are violent. 24 (9) 24 (36) 34 (11) 10 .00 -32 r- G) g The U.S. is inflicted with crime. 66(25) 50 (74) 59 (19) -7 -.09 -.04 m o m Violence Index .00 (combination of the above 3 variable) You would be acquitted if you hire an _ _ _ expensive lawyer in the U.S. 42 (16) 32 (48) 25 (8) 17 ~16 -03 Estimate how many more murders per ten thousand people occur in the 34 (13) 23 (34) 19 (6) -15 -.30* -.19** U.S. than in Japan. NOIlVWllSB The punishment for violence in the - - . _ . U.S.islighterthanthatofJapan. 34(13) 21(31) 19(6) 15 22 ~15 Eggs: want to travel tothe U.S. 50 (19) 47 (71) 44 (14) -6 ‘09 -.04 Do you want to experience a home - _ 0 stay in the U.S.? 54 (20) 59 (87) 50 (16) -4 .07 .12 Do you like the U.S.? 84 (32) 76 (114) 53 (17) -31 -.39“ -.12° BOILLILLV Attitude Index (combination of the above 3 -.11 variables) ,_ __, D." Y°” “'3'“ t° have 3" America" 74 (28) 77 (115) 72 (23) -2 —.07 -.11 friend? If you are introduced to an American, do you want to get along with him/her 90 (34) 89 (134) 81 (26) -9 -.18 -.07 regardless of your English ability? Would you speak if an American, who 90 (34) 95 (142) 88 (28) _2 _.03 .02 speaks Japanese, speaks to you? NOIlVOanlNWOO Communication Index (combination of the above 3 .07 variables) Note - Lightviewers= 15 minutesorless: Medium-=15 minutes-1 hour. Heavy=1hourormore. o Percentages of respondents. who answer ”Agree (Yes, I do)" or “Strongly agree (Absolutely, yes).' were used for contingency tables (for murder estimate, ‘10 times or more' was used.) 0 CD = Cultivation Differential (percent of heavy viewer minus percent of light viewer). - Correlation coefficients were calculated by using 5 points Likert scale for perception/communication variables (except for Violence and Communication Index); 6 points scale for media watching. 0 Significance for gamma and correlation: ’ p < .10. ‘ p < .05. “ p < .01. an p < .001 20 violence in the U.S. than in Japan (gamma = -.22, p < .10; r = -.12, p < .05). The significance of the association in the punishment estimate, however, is not as strong as the murder occurrence estimation. It might be said that heavy news viewing cultivates fewer perception about the U.S. than light news viewing does. Heavy news watchers held less positive attitudes towards the U.S. than light watchers did. The data suggests that the more one watches news programs the less one likes the U.S. (gamma = -.39, p < .01; r = -.12, p < .10). Specifically, heavy watchers liked (53 percent) the U.S. 30 percent less than light watchers did (84 percent). This finding is in line with the cultivation hypothesis. Although heavy watchers liked the U.S. less, their communication willingness was not different from that of light viewers. Heavy viewers were willing to communicate with Americans regardless of the amount of news they watch. U.S. Television Programs Overall, U.S. television viewing was positively associated with positive attitudes towards America and Americans (Table 2). Heavy U.S. television watchers wanted to travel to the U.S. (gamma = .24, p < .05; r = .16, p < .05) and experience a “home stay” (gamma = .22, p < .05; r = .17, p < .01) more than light watchers did. In addition, heavy watchers wanted to get along with Americans more than light watchers did (gamma = .38, p < .05; r = .22, p < .01). All in all, heavy viewers had more positive attitudes towards America (Attitude Index: r = .20, p < .01) and more desire to talk with Americans (Communication Index: r = .22, p < .01). Like the present findings about television news viewing, these data do not 2] Table 2: U.S. Television Program Watching and Perceptions about, Attitude toward and Communication with Americans Light Medium Heavy Questionnaire Items % (n) % (n) % (n) CD Gamma r America is a dangerous nation. 55 (39) 65 (46) 53 (41) -2 .01 .06 :3 Americans are violent. 32 (23) 11 (8) 33 (25) 1 -.04 -.07 r- ag The U.S. is inflicted with crime. 54 (38) 57 (41) 51 (39) -3 -.09 -.08 0 "1 Violence Index _ 04 (combination of the above 3 variable) ' You would be acquitted if you hire an rn expensive lawyer in the U.S. 30 (21) 35 (25) 34 (26) 4 .02 .07 to 3’- Estimate how many more murders g r ten thousand people occur in the 20 (14) 28 (20) 25 ( 19) 5 .07 .03 :1 .S. than in Japan. ‘2’ The punishment for violence in the U.S. is lighter than that of Japan. 27 (19) 18 (13) 24 (18) ’3 "08 "04 Do you want to travel to the U.S. 37 (26) 46 (33) 58 (45) 21 .24. .16' alone? 3, Do you want to experience a home . .. :I stay in the U.S.? 46 (32) 60 (43) 64 (48) 18 .22 .17 q 8 Do you like the U.S.? 69 (49) 78 (56) 75 (58) 6 .11 .13° rn Attitude Index (combination of the above 3 .20“ - -vatiablgal ___ . __ W, W..- --._..__.. . ,--__ m .. Do you want to have an Amencan 72 (51) 75 (54) 79 (61) 7 .15 _19.. fnend? 0 0 If you are introduced to an American, 2 do you want to get along with him/her 82 (58) 89 (64) 94 (72) 12 .38* .22“ E regardless of your English ability? 2 5 Would you speak if an American, who . § speaks Japanese, speaks to you? 92 (65) 96 (69) 9° (70) ’2 "04 '12 2 Communication Index (combination of the above 3 .22“ variables) Note 0 Light viewers = a few per year or less; Medium = about a couple oftimes a half year or a month; Heavy = a few per week or more. 0 Percentages of respondents. who answer 'Agree (Yes. I do)” or “Strongly agree (Absolutely. yes)," were used for contingency tables (for murder estimate. '10 times or more" was used.) 0 CD = Cultivation Differential (percent of heavy viewer minus percent of light viewer). 0 Correlation coefficients were calculated by using 5 points Likert scale for perception/communication variables (except for Violence and Communication Index); 6 points scale for media watching. . Significance for gamma and correlation: " p < .10, " p < .05. ” p < .01, m p < .001 22 indicate any association between U.S. television viewing and the respondents’ violent images of the U.S. All gammas and correlation coefficients pertaining to violent images were insignificant. American Movie Videos Contrary to hypothesis 2, any relationship between violent images of the U.S. and the amount of the respondents’ American movie video viewing was not found. Table 3 shows that heavy U.S. movie video viewers tend to believe in the power of American lawyers (gamma = .27, p < .01; r = 17, p < .05). Specifically, 57 percent of heavy watchers believed that “You would be acquitted if you hire an expensive lawyer in the U.S.” Only 21 percent of light video watchers believed that to be true. This finding may be attributed to the impact of lawyers’ roles played by actors/actresses in American movies. In terms of attitudes towards the U.S., heavy video watchers appeared to be more positive than light watchers. For example, heavy viewers are more likely than light viewers to want to travel to the U.S. alone (gamma = .24, p < .05; r = 16, p < .05) and to get along with an American regardless of English ability (gamma = .38, p < .05; r = .22, p < .01). U.S. Television Programs and Movies In order to examine the combined effect of U.S. television programs and video watching, these two media types were combined into a new variable, U.S. media viewing. After being combined, U.S. media viewing was divided into light, medium, and heavy viewers like the other media exposure variables. Table 4 reveals that the combined impacts on attitudes and cross cultural communication increased. 23 Table 3: U.S. Movie Video Watching and Perceptions about, Attitude toward and Communication with Americans Light Medium Heavy Questionnaire Items % (n) % (n) % (n) CD Gamma r America is a dangerous nation. 55 (41) 58 (59) 59 (26) 4 .00 -.02 :3 Americans are violent 27 (20) 23 (23) 30 (13) 3 .01 -.01 r- 6)? The U.S. is inflicted with crime. 53 (39) 52 (53) 59 (26) 6 .01 -.05 "‘0 m Violence Index _ 04 (combination of the above 3 variable) ' You would be acquitted if you hire an 1.. . m expensive “we, in the U.S. 21 (15) 31 (32) 57 (25) 36 .27 .17 tn 1' Estimate how many more murders § r ten thousand people occur in the 32 (24) 20 (20) 21 (9) -11 -.1o -.05 j .S. than in Japan. 0 Z . . . The punishment for Violence in the U.S. is lighter than that of Japan. 19 (14) 24 (24) 27 (12) 8 '13 '05 DO you want to travel to the UHS 39 (29) 47 (48) 61 (27) 22 22. 1213 alone? Do you want to experience a home 3 stay in the U.S.? 4e (35) 64 (65) 55 (23) 7 .14 .11 a 8 Do you like the U.S.? 66 (49) 7e (77) e4 (37) 18 .27* .13° m Attitude Index (combination of the above 3 .15‘ ”fidablfiwa - WWW .._-_ __ _________ ,__--_ . m--- ______ Do you want to have an American 68 (50) 79 (81) 80 (35) 12 .233 .18“ friend? 0 0 If you are introduced to an American, 2 do you want to get along with him/her 80 (59) 93 (95) 91 (40) 11 .38’ .08 E regardless of your English ability? 2 5 Would you speak if an American, who a speaks Japanese. speaks to you? 91 (67) 95 (97) 91 (40) 0 .09 .10 (23 Communication Index (combination of the above 3 .15‘ variables) Note a Lightviewers=none;Medium=aboutacoupleoftimesayearorahalfyear. Heavy=afewpermonth or more. viewers are not listed. - Percentages of respondents, who answer 'Agree (Yes. I do)" or ’Strongly agree (Absolutely. yes),' were used for contingency tables (for murder estimate. '10 times or more' was used.) 0 CD = Cultivation Differential (percent of heavy viewer minus percent of light viewer). 0 Correlation coefficients were calculated by using 5 points Likert scale for perception/communication variables (except for Violence and Communication Index); 6 points scale for media watching. 0 Significance for gamma and conelation: ° p < .10. * p < .05. “ p < .01, “‘ p < .001 24 Table 4: U.S. Media Watching and Perceptions about, Attitude toward and Communication with Americans Light Medium Heavy CD Gamma Questionnaire Items % (n) % (n) % (n) r America is a dangerous nation. 60 (25) 56 (69) 59 (32) -1 -.01 .04 E5 Americans are violent. 36 (15) 22 (27) 26 (14) -1o -.11 -.06 I. d; The us. is inflicted with crime. 57 (24) 54 (66) 52 (23) -5 -.12 -.09 "lo rn Violence Index , _ 05 (combination of the above 3 variable) ' You would be acquitted if you hire an . rn expensive lawyer m the U S 21 (9) 32 (39) 44 (24) 23 .15 .14 U) 3' Estimate how many more murders E Ber ten thousand people occur in the 19 (8) 28 (35) 19 (10) 0 .00 .00 :1 S. than in Japan. 0 Z . . . The punishment for Violence in the U.S. is lighter than that of Japan. 21 (9) 23 (28) 24 (13) 3 '04 '00 alone? 35 Do you want to experience a home 0 1.. :1 stay in the U.S.? 43 (18) 60 (73) 62 (32) 19 .18 .19 q 8 Do you like the U.S.? 67(28) 73 (91) 32 (44) 15 .23° .17* 111 Attitude Index (combination of the above 3 .23“ _var_iab_les) ‘ __ “I, _._.,_---._ ___.._s__.-_ 32:30 want to "have an American 67 (28) 7;]. (95) 80 (43) 13 .21 .24... 0 0 If you are introduced to an American, 3 do you want to get along with him/her 79 (33) 90 (112) 91 (49) 12 .30 .21“ E regardless of your English ability? 2 5 Would you speak if an American, who . as speaks Japanese, speaks to you? 91 (38) 93 (115) 94 (51) 3 .17 .14 (2) Communication Index (combination of the above 3 .24“ variables) Note 0 U.S. media watching was computed by combining U.S. television and movie video watching. Then, the combination was divided into three categories, light, medium, and heavy viewers. o Percentages of respondents, who answer “Agree (Yes, I do)" or “Strongly agree (Absolutely, yes)," were used for contingency tables (for murder estimate, ‘10 times or more' was used.) 0 CD = Cultivation Differential (percent of heavy viewer minus percent of light viewer). 0 Correlation coefficients were calculated by using 5 points Likert scale for perception/communication variables (except for Violence and Communication Index); 6 points scale for media watching. 0 Significance for gamma and correlation: ° p < .10, ' p < .05, “ p < .01. ”‘ p < .001 25 The strength of association for the combined impact in the contingency tables (gamma) did not change compared to the separated variables. On the other hand, the strength of the correlation coefficients apparently increased. Total Television As shown in Table 5, there is no significant association between total television watching and any dependent variables. Violent Images and Attitudes The relationship between respondents’ violent images and attitudes was examined (Table 6). Whereas respondents’ attitudes towards the U.S. are negatively related to their violent images of the U.S., there is no association between the respondents’ violent images and their attitudes towards communication with individual Americans. Put another way, those who have negative images of the U.S. are less likely to want to travel to the U.S., stay in a U.S. “home stay,” and to like the U.S. On the other hand, respondents wanted to communicate with Americans regardless of whether their perceptions of the US are positive or negative. The respondents’ communication attitudes are correlated only to the viewing of American television programs and video movies. This finding suggests that images of the U.S. have an impact only on respondents’ attitudes towards the nation, not towards communicating with individual Americans. Hypothesis 3 was partly supported. Multiple Regression Analysis Three variables were used for dummy coding: Gender (coded 1 for male, 0 for 26 Table 5: Total Television Watching and Perceptions about, Attitude toward and Communication with Americans Light Medium Heavy co Gamma Questionnaire Items % (n) % (n) % (n) r America is a dangerous nation. 63 (10) 60 (95) 58 (21) -5 -.04 -.03 53 Americans are violent. 31 (5) 25 (41) 28 (10) -3 .15 .07 r- 09 The U.S. is inflicted with crime. 63 (10) 50 (84) 67 (24) 4 .16 .07 m0 rn Violence Index 06 (combination of the above 3 variable) ' You would be acquitted if you hire an m expensive lawyer in the U.S. 25 (4) 32 (53) 42 (15) 17 ‘09 '03 to 1' Estimate how many more murders E per ten thousand people occur in the 44 (7) 24 (40) 17 (6) —27 -.19 -.14 j U.S. than in Japan. 0 Z . The punishment for violence in the U.S. is lighter than that of Japan. 6 (1) 24 (40) 25 (9) 19 '08 '09 2.23/31 want to travel to the U.S. 38 (6) 49 (82) 44 (16) 6 ‘05 _.03 > Do you want to experience a home _ _ _ 3 stay in the U.S.? 56(9) 58 (95) 53 (19) 3 .08 09 r. 8 Do you like the U.S.? 75 (12) 75 (126) 69 (25) -6 -.06 -.04 I11 Attitude Index (combination of the above 3 -.07 -_ variables)__ --__.. .__._. M“, ____g__ _____,__ __ -__,--._-..__ $33}; want ‘° have 3" America" 63 (10) 74 (130) 72 (26) 9 .02 .oo o 0 If you are introduced to an American, 3 do you want to get along with him/her 81 (13) 89 (150) 86 (31) 6 .04 -.03 E regardless of your English ability? 2 5 Would you speak if an American, who 0 g speaks Japanese, speaks to you? 81 (13) 93 (156) 97 (35) 16 .51 .00 c23 Communication Index (combination of the above 3 .01 variables) Note Light viewers = 15 minutes or less; Medium = 1 - 4 hours; Heavy = more than 4 hours. Percentages of respondents, who answer “Agree (Yes, I do)” or “Strongly agree (Absolutely, yes),' were used for contingency tables (for murder estimate, “10 times or more' was used.) CD = Cultivation Differential (percent of heavy viewer minus percent of light viewer). Correlation coefficients were calculated by using 5 points Likert scale for perception/communication variables (except for Violence and Communication Index); 6 points scale for media watching. Significance for gamma and correlation: ° p < .10, " p < .05, “ p < .01, m p < .001 27 Table 6: Correlation between Violent Images and Attitudes. VIOLENCE IMAGE Danger Violence Crime V2226"? Do you want to travel to the U.S. ,, ,, ,, m alone? -.22 -.16 -.23 -.29 a Do you want to experience a home 13. 04 11 14,, a stay in the U.S.? " " " " C 9, Do you like the U.S.? -.15* -.15* -21“ -.25“m Athde IDdeX _2299 -.14. _l24eee _.29ne Do you want to have an American-“__ ____ _- 0 friend? .04 ’.09 '.08 -.06 0 If you are introduced to an American, 2 do you want to get along with him/her -.06 -.06 -.03 -.07 E regardless of your English ability? 2 5 Would you speak it an American, who it speaks Japanese, speaks to you? "07 "02 '01 "04 0 2 Communication Index -.03 -.O7 -.05 -.07 NOTE: Violence Image variables: Danger = “America is a dangerous nation. Violence = ‘Americans are violent.” Crime = “The U.S. is afflicted with crime.” Significance for correlation: ° p < .10, ‘ p < .05, “ p < .01, *“ p < .001 28 female), the experience of chatting with an American (chatting: coded 1 for yes, 0 for no), and hearing a story about the U.S. from a family member or acquaintance (story: coded l for yes, 0 for no). Generally, it seems that respondents’ gender and personal experiences do have an impact on attitudes towards the U.S. Table 7 shows the results of the multiple regression test whose dependent variables are Violence, Attitude, and Communication Indexes. For the Violence Index, none of the predictor variables were significant. As revealed in the first analysis of Cultivation Differentials and correlation, no independent variables explain the variance of the respondents’ violent images of the U.S. On the other hand, demographic and experience variables accounted for 10 percent of the Communication Index on the first step. At this step, gender (being females) and the experience of chatting with Americans were significant predictors. The final equation accounted for 15 percent of the variance in the Communication Index (R = .38). Only American television viewing (13 = .19, p < .01) was a significant positive predictor among the media exposure variables. Gender (8 = -.20, p < .01) remained significant and chatting (B = .13, p < .06) remained marginally significant. For the Attitude Index, gender (being female) and experience variables were also entered on the first step. These variables explained 6 percent (p < .01) of the variance in the Attitude Index. Chatting was the only significant positive predictor at this stage. The final equation accounted for 12 percent of the variance in the Attitude Index (R = .34). Only chatting remained marginally significant ([3 = .19, p < .06) among the control variables. Once again only American television viewing was a significant predictor (B = .18, p < .05) in the media exposure variables. 29 .o. v e .3...” u 68 .c u a 85 .o. v e fie u 68 .3 n. u. 86 .8. y e .86 u 63 .c u a new .8. v e .8.» u of. .9 u u. 86 no. u e .9. u 88 .b n. ”a new 8. u e .3. a 63 .9 u n. new mum. 3a.- 08. So. can. .8. $6.53 8m. Bo. Ba. 20. v8. «8.- «.98: w: atom 20. 2... n8. 3.. Re. m8; 3885 >.. m: .m.. 89. En. 8a.- 8.. .3- $62 835.8 So. So. u... ox”. a8. 9.0. 3.. own. on». Bo. 3o. 8.. .23on 98.2 $2.". done 8.. So. 8». 2b. 3.. 8o. raw our. .8ro one. 8.. «no. 8.. 8... 3.0.- 95.96 AofiEu. .295.ro 8m. 8.... m8. 8N- «on. m8. .850 8o. «8. m8. .8. 8o. 2. 0.. 2m. 20. .8. .8. n8. 85:on a 823858 a a .826 .m m a a 855 “a a o a 8:26 «m m as“. ea _ocm «m _SE «a .82. 8.583352 .82. 5.8.5858 x85 8565 coacggEEoo nca coaooocod cc 2386 goes. .0 SEE. 953...... 3331 5.32001 c.9232 K soc... Chapter 4 Conclusions This study provides partial support for the hypotheses linking media exposure and respondents’ estimation about American social realities as well as their attitudes towards Americans. The findings, however, generally failed to support the hypothesized association between media viewing and violent images of the U.S. Why is it that a correlation between media viewing and violent images was not generally found? It is well established that most respondents, and Japanese in general, conceive of the U.S. as violent (Maim'chi Shimbun, 1994; Asahi Shimbun, 199] ). The U.S. is heavily covered by Japanese news media. Most popular movies shown in Japan are produced in the U.S. One possible answer is that information about the U.S., especially about violence, exists to the point of saturation in Japan. According to the present results, television news ranks first as an information source about American matters (44 percent). Japanese television news programs provide a lot of news and information about the U.S. Japanese, however, may still have many other channels through which they obtain information. The effect of media exposure might be diluted by many information channels so that it is difficult to discern effects. In addition, negative images about the U.S. might have been ingrained in early childhood. Therefore, the media may be incapable of having an overriding effect on respondent perceptions of the U.S. Japan is a nation with a highly developed information infrastructure. If this study were conducted in a country whose information infrastructure was still developing, stronger cultivation effects might have been observed. One might also find stronger cultivation effects in a nation where people have limited channels for international 3l information, unlike Japan. Another persuasive explanation for present findings can be made using the “drench hypothesis” (Greenberg, 1988). This hypothesis seems relevant in accounting for the nonsignificant difference found here between heavy and light viewers in terms of their violent images of the U.S. The drench hypothesis posits that “Some characters in some series, or miniseries, or single programs may be so forceful as to account for a significant portion of the role images we maintain. . . not all portrayals have the same impact” (Greenberg, 1988, p. 97). The drench effect is applicable to the creation of images of a foreign country. A particular news piece about a violent aspect of the U.S. could dominate an audience’s image of the country regardless of the amount of news exposure. Further research should examine the impact of specific news stories and specific television programs on perceptions. Unfortunately, such possibilities were beyond the scope of the present study. Another explanation might be that people believe any kind of negative information about a foreign country regardless of the frequency of exposure because direct experience with a foreign country is relatively rare. If there were a substantial number of people who had stayed in the U.S. among the present respondents, I could have examined the influence of direct experience on the image of the nation. It should be noted that television news viewing was negatively related to the respondents’ liking of the U.S. Japanese television news about the U.S. has been shown to be negatively biased in previous content analysis (Hara, 1996); the television news stories provide hostile and demanding images of the U.S. Perhaps Japanese television news could provoke viewers’ nationalistic and chauvinistic attitudes. The present results show that heavy news watchers tend to underestimate the murder rate and criminal 32 punishment in the U.S. Based on cultivation theory, I expected that heavy news watchers would be more likely to overestimate the murder rate than light watchers. Table 1 shows that it is light news watchers who are more likely to overestimate murders. Perhaps television news, long been accused of bias, may be providing accurate information to the audience. Heavy news watchers might be accurate, whereas light watchers might tend toward a wild guess. The present results generally attest to the relationship between the consumption of the American media and the respondents’ positive attitudes towards America. American media exposure seems to have a stronger effect on people’s positive attitudes rather than their perceptions. The causality of the relationship cannot be stated, of course. It is entirely possible that people who have positive attitudes towards the U.S. may then watch more American television programs and videos than those whose attitudes are negative towards the U.S. The alternative explanation of selective exposure may account for the relationship: Prior disposition (orientation, attitude) towards the U.S. is followed by their choice of American television programs and videos. Thus, these two factors, inherent positive attitudes towards the U.S. and American media exposure, may influence each other and interact to raise positive attitudes towards the U.S. Most of the respondents had negative images about the U.S. while disagreeing that “Generally, Americans are violent.” Their violent images of the U.S. are correlated only with their negative attitudes towards the U.S. as a nation, not with their attitudes towards individual Americans. It is rational that those who have negative images about the U.S. do not like the nation and avoid traveling there. However, these negative images have nothing to do with their attitudes about communicating with Americans. 33 This finding seems to be contradictory because people are part of a nation and a nation consists of people; violence is committed by people, not by the nation itself. What makes the difference between the nation and its people? In the Japanese television world, there are substantial numbers of popular American entertainers, unknown to U.S. audiences, who speak Japanese fluently, from comedians to commentators. Some American sports stars, movie stars, “super models” and the like are also stars in Japan. They might influence the images of American people in the mind of Japanese. To these viewers, Americans are cool, friendly, and funny. These possibilities speak to some of the limitations of the present thesis. There are others. First, neither American television programs aired in Japan nor American video movies were content-analyzed. Only previous content analyses of Japanese television news programs about the U.S. were reviewed. Morgan (1990) claims “(T)he absence of message data should not prevent cultivation researchers from taking advantage of special data collection opportunities” (p. 243). Without a systematic content analysis of media messages, however, it might not be appropriate to assert the media’s impact on perception and attitude. Since the respondents were all middle school students, one should be very careful to generalize results. This study’s results were all obtained through survey questionnaire. Most of the questionnaire items, measure of images, estimation, attitude, and media exposure, are fixed multiple choice items. The results may have been different if they had been obtained by a more in-depth method, such as focus groups participant observation, or personal interviews. Lastly, this study addressed the complex relationship between perceptions and 34 attitudes. Japanese people’s attitudes towards the U.S. and its people may be somewhat ambivalent: Love and hate. In a future study, the complex mechanism of ambivalent perceptions and attitudes should be elucidated. 35 APPENDIX ORIGINAL QUESTIONNAIRE :m7y7—he.hatwrvemmfit7xuwuarofifiatfnosmcr. :nmthfmbnifiboLtfioT.Eflb$EflbbDifiho:07y7—h3 mmamffb.it,Etthmfifliénézkfififiubvifib.batman tzt.Eorw6:&&%®iifiaufigi<fiéwoit.?ébfifiT&T®E% ngr<fiéwofiAumxxelofifiiffo33.7V7—hefil.fimént :tébof.:®%§A®:%hflé§éhtlk&WtLiTo :‘fihfifiié’wi LT: 6. arms; 1:167:11“ 753i», (5H: 1—517—355-9894) UKUDZUCOLVC. 55303.???“ fifiIC-c 4. PX'JflAla-EB’QICEZ'JB‘JTE. eorwoeemome—ofiemno :pmxacmm C) .abrféiu %afitaa. o geecsam. o eacuawaaa. o 1. 77>UJ73I3 IEIWA‘IIE :oteabaw. o sot?%®fi$€f§b‘TT€-SW iot<'J7JAO)/\°‘J7l/‘JF (223$?) tween. “6 il‘tt‘l‘ O O 40 mmrsnanwx 'J DACDEA’EEI o‘thgb‘. liln L‘i‘i 41. O O 42. ifi’tbfiflAD‘BPXUDflRfiKDIEOD SSEBSMIECCD‘E‘O'BEUD‘. uw O b‘b‘i O aria—c. $KZLX9I~T7X 'J DACSS L/TE: C CD‘E ‘0 3373‘. 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