Television Role Models and Adolescent Occupational Goals

Abstract

Editor's Note: With this issue we begin a new section of HCR which is devoted to brief reports of research. This section is devoted to research which is designed to replicate previous work, papers which report new measures for which insufficient validity data are yet available, and studies which are meaningful but do not permit major advancement of communication theory. “Brief Reports” are held accountable for both conceptual and methodological adequacy and are reviewed by the regular HCR editorial board. Submission requires that the author provide a full‐length paper for editorial review and, should the paper be accepted for publication, provide copies of the full paper to HCR readers who request same. Submission of ‘Brief Reports’ is actively encouraged by the editor. For submission guidelines, see the Fall 1978 issue of HCR (vol. 5, pp. 2–3).

Socialization to Work in Late Adolescence: The Role of Television and Family

“…Three studies have acknowledged the important role in work socialization that can be played by television characters with whom adolescents identify (Christiansen, 1979;Hoffner et al, 2006;King & Multon, 1996). However, only one of these studies, which focused on economically disadvantaged youths (Hoffner et al), examined factors that predict wishful identification with characters, and none examined how viewers' perceptions of the characters' jobs relate to their own work values.…”

The Effects of Television Role Models on the Career Aspirations of African American Junior High School Students

“…The Television Role Model Influence Survey. This instrument was based on the survey developed by Christiansen (1979) and revised for this study. The revised survey consisted of 19 items that assessed : television viewing habits; aspirations of the respondents and their level of confidence in reaching their aspiration; occupational information gained from television and other sources; television role model influence ; and favorite characters on television and identification with these characters.…”

“…The current study is a replication and extension of the Christiansen (1979) study. African American subjects were selected because previous research suggests that there are greater social learning and modeling effects of television on African American children than children of other races.…”

“…African American subjects were selected because previous research suggests that there are greater social learning and modeling effects of television on African American children than children of other races. Based on the results of Christiansen (1979), the following hypothesis was generated: H¡ Younger African American adolescents will be more influenced by television role models. That is, age was expected to be a significant predictor of television role model influence.…”

“…To date, the most comprehensive examination on the influence of television role models on the career aspirations of adolescents was conducted by Christiansen (1979). The effects of several social and personal characteristics on the likelihood of an adolescent using television personalities as role models in developing career aspirations was incorporated into a path model.…”