Blacks' Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Television

Abstract

Most studies that have examined attitudes and behavior of blacks toward mass media have emphasized the differences between their attitudes and behaviors and those of whites. These studies implicitly assumed a relatively homogeneous black perspective. In contrast, this study explores differences among black adults in their attitudes and behavior toward television and the social processes accounting for these differences. A recursive structural equation model was employed to interpret patterns of direct and indirect effects among a set of variables representing demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, general and race-related attitudes, television exposure, preference, and evaluation. Results indicate that variation in attitudes and behaviors toward television (especially those related to perceived bias and perceived bad points of black-oriented situation comedies) is systematically related to differences among black adults in their exposure to the medium, subjective orientations, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. It is suggested that future research take into account the diversity within the black community in studying what blacks do with the media, rather than focusing exclusively upon what the media do to blacks.