11. 10 Glossary of Terms

Active Theory Describes the child as an active processor of information, guided by previous knowledge, expectations, and schemata (Anderson & Lorch, 1983).

Aggression An antisocial "behavior, the intent of which is injury to a person or destruction of an object" (Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1963, p. 10).

Aided Recall When interviewers probe for further detail by cuing (Gunter, 1987, p. 93).

AIME The amount of invested mental effort in nonautomatic elaboration of material (Salomon, 1981a, 1981b). Theory that the amount of invested mental effort that children apply to the television-viewing experience influences their program recall and comprehension (Sprafidn, Gadow & Abelman, 1992, p. 55).

Altruism The prosocial "unselfish concern for the welfare of others" (Neufeldt & Sparks, 1990, p. 18). Evidenced by generosity, helping, cooperation, self-control, delaying gratification, or resisting the temptation to cheat, lie, or steal. Antisocial Behavior Behavior that goes against the norms of society, including "physical aggression, verbal aggression, passivity, stereotyping, theft, rule breaking, materialism, unlawful behaviors, or pathological behavior" (Hearold, 1986, p. 81).

Arousal Theory Contends that communication messages can evoke varying degrees of generalized emotional arousal and that this can influence any behavior an individual is engaged in while the state of arousal persists (Sprafkin, Gadow & Abelman, 1992, p. 79).

Attention The cognitive process of orienting to and perceiving stimuli. With regard to television research, this may be measured by visual orientation to the television or "looking" by eye movements, by electrophysiological activity, and by inference through secondary recall and recognition tests (Anderson & Collins, 1988). See Visual Attention.

Attentional Inertia "The maintenance of cognitive involvement across breaks or pauses in comprehension and changes of content" (Anderson & Lorch, 1983, p. 9).

Attribute A characteristic of programming, such as of advertising, e.g., uses hard-sell tone. See Formal Features.

Audience Involvement The degree to which people personally relate to media content; one dimension of the construct audience activity (Perse, 1990, p. 676). Indications of audience involvement include anticipating viewing (intentionality), attention (focused cognitive effort), elaboration (thinking about content), and engaging in distractions while viewing.

Broadcast Television Refers to any television signal that is transmitted over FCC-regulated and licensed frequencies within the bandwidth of 54 to 890 megaherz. Broadcast television messages may be received by home antenna, or they may be relayed via cable, satellite, or microwave to individual subscribers.

C-Box A recording device consisting of a television set and a video camera that records the viewing area in front of the television set.

Cable Access Television (CATV) Used to describe the distribution of broadcast, locally originated, or subscription television programming over a coaxial cable or fiber optic network. Such distribution frequently includes locally produced or syndicated programming intended for specialized audiences; also known as narrowcasting.

Catharsis Theory "Frustration produces an increase in aggressive drive because the state is unpleasant and the individual seeks to reduce it by engaging in either aggressive acts or fantasy aggression" (Sprafldn, Gadow & Abelman, 1992, p. 79).

Catharsis "The notion that aggressive impulses can be drained off by exposure to fantasy aggression . . ." (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988, p. 75); drive reduction (Feshbach & Singer, 1971, p. 39).

Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Refers to the transniission of the television signal over a wire or fiber optic medium. The most important aspect of closed-circuit television for education is the ability to distribute a television signal within a school building or district. Also called wire transmission (which includes fiber optic transmission).

Cognitive Processing Refers collectively to the various mental processes involved in perception, attention, semantic encoding, and retrieval of information from memory. Typically used to describe activities associated with leaming.

Cohort "A group of people born at the same time, either in the same year or within a specified, limited span of years" (Siegelman & Shaffer, p. 18).

Commercial Broadcast Stations Stations that are privately owned and supported primarily by commercial advertising revenues.

Communications Satellite Refers to the transmission and reception of a television signal via a geocentric communications satellite. This form of communication link involves the transmission of a television signal to a satellite (uplink) that is placed in a geocentric orbit (one that is synchronized with the rotation of the Earth so as to appear motionless over approximately one-third of the populated planet). The satellite then rebroadcasts the signal to dish-type receiver antennas at other geographic locations (downlink).

Comprehension The extraction of meaning; the first step in critically analyzing any presentation regardless of medium (Anderson, 1983, p. 318). Comprehension may include the ability to recall or recognize content information and to infer story sequence or plot.

Content Indifference The theory that content does not dictate viewing; that, with a few exceptions, other variables have more effect on preferences (Comstock & Paik, 1991, p. 5).

Coviewing Viewing television in the presence of others, for example, viewing in a group of two or more, such as with a parent, child, or peers.

Critical Viewer "One who can first grasp the central meaning of a statement, recognize its ambiguities, establish its relationship with other statements, and the like; one who plans television viewing in advance and who evaluates programs while watching" (Anderson, 1983, pp. 313-318).

Critical-Viewing Skills The competencies specified as objectives for television literacy curricula.

Cross-Sectional Method A research method that involves the observation of different groups (or cohorts) at one point in time.

Cued Recall Recall based on questions about specific program details (Berry, 1993, p. 359).

Desensitization A decline in emotional arousal or the decreased likelihood of helping victims of violence due to repeated exposure to violent programming.

Disability "Any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being" (Cumberbatch & Negrine, 1992, p. 5).

Disclaimer Aural and/or visual displays designed to delineate an advertised item's actual performance and to dispel misconceptions that might be created by demonstration of a product (Jalongo, 1983, p. 6).

Disinhibition Temporary removal of an inhibition through the action of an unrelated stimulation.

Disinhibitory Effects 'The observation of a response of a particular class (for example, an aggressive response) that leads to an increased likelihood of displaying other different responses that belong to the same class" (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988, p. 7 1).

Displacement Hypothesis The notion that television influences both learning and social behavior by displacing such activities as reading, family interaction, and social play with peers (Huston et al., 1992, p. 82).

Displacement Theory Other activities are replaced by watching television.

Distractions Alternatives to television viewing such as toys, other children, music, or some combination of these.

Educational Television (ETV) Consists of commercial or public broadcast programming targeted at large audiences over wide geographic areas, with the express purpose of providing instructi.on in a content or developmental area.

Effect Size In meta-analysis studies, "The mean difference between treated and control subjects divided by the standard deviation of the control group" (Hearold, 1986, pp. 75-76). See Meta-analysis.

Ethnic Identity The "attachment to an ethnic group and a positive orientation toward being a member of that group" (Takanishi, 1982, p. 83).

Experience-Sampling Method The use of paging devices to gather data on television activities and experiences.

Exposure Measures Measures of hours of television watched per day or of watching specific content, e.g., frequency of watching news (Gunter, 1987, p. 125).

Family Context for Viewing An environmental context that influences what and when viewing occurs as well as the ways in which viewers interpret what they see (Huston et al., 1992, p. 99); created through the interaction of variables in the home setting that mediate the effects of television, including environment, coviewing, and viewing habits.

Filmic/Cinematic Code Describes the collective formal features of television as a symbol system unique to both film and television (Salomon, 1979).

Formal Features Program attributes that can be defined independently from the content of a program, such as action, pace, and visual techniques (Huston & Wright, 1983). Synonomous with Production Effects or Presentation Effects.

Formative Evaluation Gathering information on the adequacy of an instructional product or program and using this information as a basis for further development (Seels & Richey, 1994).

Free Recall Recall where viewers must recall all they can from a specified program [without cues] (Berry, 1983, p. 359).

Frustration A state caused by "delay in reinforcement" (Bandura & Walters, 1963, p. 116).

Functional Displacement Hypothesis One medium will displace another when it performs the function of the displaced medium in a superior manner (Comstock & Paik, 1991, p. 78).

Genre A category of programming having a particular form, content, and purpose as in comedy, news, drama, MTV.

Grazing Quickly sampling a variety of programs using remote controls while viewing.

Household Centrality Dimension reflecting behavior and norms that favor viewing (Comstock & Paik, 1991, p. 69).

Incidental Effects Those behavioral or cognitive outcomes that result as a byproduct of the programming. These are usually not planned and may be negative or positive in nature. They may result from observational leaming, role modeling, pro- or antisocial messages, or attitude formation.

Instructional Films[Motion Pictures Motion pictures that have been designed to produce specific learning outcomes through the direct manipulation of the presentation format and sequence.

Instructional Television (ITV) Programming that has as its primary purpose the achievement of specified instructional objectives by students in school settings. In practice, it has usually referred. to programming that is formally incorporated into a particular course of study and presented to intact classes or groups of students or trainees.

Instrumental Viewing Watching for information.

Intentional Effects Those mental processes or behaviors that occur as a direct result of organized instructional events or practices and that are generally expected to occur through the viewer's interaction with the television programming.

Kinescope Medium consisting of a motion picture recording of a live television program, in which the television frame rate was synchronized with the film frame rate.

Learning from Television Changes in knowledge, understanding, attitudes, and behaviors due to the intentional or incidental effects of television prograrnming.

Literacy "One's ability to extract information from coded messages and to express ideas, feelings, and thoughts through them in accepted ways; the mastery of specific mental skills that become cultivated as a response to the specific functional demands of a symbol system" (Salomon, 1982, p. 7).

Longitudinal Method A research method that involves the observation of people or group repeatedly over time.

Mass Coinnumication "Me process of using a mass medium to send messages to large audiences for the purpose of informing, entertaining, persuading" (Vivian, 1991, p. 15).

Mass Media Delivery systems (i.e., television, newspapers, radio) that channel the flow of information to large and diverse audiences and that are characterized by unlimited access, and by the vast amount of noncontent-related (incidental) learning that occurs as a byproduct. Generally intended to provide entertainment-oriented programming. See Mass Communication.

Materialism "An orientation emphasizing possession and money for personal happiness and social progress" (Ward & Wackman, 1981, cited in Moore & Moschis, 1982, p. 9).

Media Dependency Relying on the media for information and guidance (Comstock & Paik, 1991, p. 143).

Media Literacy The ability to learn from media; capable of comprehending filmic code. See Literacy and Visual Literacy.

Mediation "Parents or teachers intervening in the television viewing experience by encouraging, discouraging, or discussing viewing" (Lin & Atkin, 1989, p. 54).

Mesmerizing Effect Describes a passive, hypnotic state in the viewer, presumably associated with reduced cognitive processing and high alpha activity (Mander, 1978).

Message "A pattern of signs (words, pictures, gestures) produced for the purpose of modifying the psychomotor, cognitive, or affective behavior of one or more persons" (Fleming & Levie, 1994, p. x).

Message Design "Planning for the manipulation of the physical form of the message" (Grabowski, 1991, p. 206).

Meta-analysis "A statistical approach to summarizing the results of many studies that have investigated basically the same problem" (Gay, 1992, p. 590). See Effect Size.

Microwave Relay Links Technology that employs a series of microwave transmission towers to transmit and relay the television signal. Such transniission is generally used in areas where cable distribution systems are not practical or where television network signals must be transmitted over long distances. Microwave relays are also used to transmit location broadcast signals from remote locations to the television studio for news or public-events coverage.

Monitoring Attention to audio, visual, and social cues as to the desirability of paying attention to the screen (Comstock & Paik, 1991, p. 23).

Montage Television sequence that incorporates formal features to imply changes in space, time, action, mental state, or character point of view (Anderson & Field, 1983, p. 76).

Neutral Behavior Behavior that observers would not describe as being antisocial or prosocial (Hearold, 1986, p. 8 1).

Norm Belief held by a number of members of a group, that the members ought to behave in a certain way in certain circumstances (Holmans, 1961, p. 6).

Oversensitization As a result of overexposure to televised violence, the belief that the world is mean and scary or that the incidence of crime and risk of personal injury are greater than they really are.

Parental Attitude "Parents' perceptions of television's impact on their children" (Sprafkin et al., 1992, p. 103).

Passivity Acted upon rather than acting or causing action.

Presentation Variables See Formal Features.

Processing Capabilities "Me ability of a medium to operate on available symbol systems in specified ways; in general, information can be displayed, received, stored, retrieved organized, translated, transformed, and evaluated" (Kozm~ 1994, p. 11).

Production Effects See Formal Features.

Prosocial Behavior Behaviors that are socially desirable and that in some way benefit another person or society at large (Rushton, 1979, cited in Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988, p. 228). Includes behaviors such as generosity, helping, nurturing, or delaying gratification.

Public Stations Stations that derive their funding from government, public, and philanthropic sources. On such stations, commercial messages are either not aired or are used only for the recognition of the contributor.

Reactive Theory Describes the child as a passive, involuntary processor of information who simply reacts to stimuli (Singer, 1980).

Recall Memory for content and features from television viewing; can be cued or uncued.

Recapping Refers to repeating the most important facts; it is a source redundancy (Son, Reese & Davie, 1987, p. 208).

Receivership Skills "The comprehension of overt and hidden meanings of messages by analyzing language and visual and aural images, to understand the intended audiences and the intent of the message" (Brown, 1991, p. 70).

Recognition "Refers to the frequency with which a group receives TV roles at all" (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988, p. 187).

Respect "Refers to how characters behave and are treated once they have roles" (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988, p. 187).

Ritualistic Viewing Watching for gratification.

Roles "Refers to expectations about activities that are performed and to beliefs and values attributed to performers" (Birenbaum, 1978, pp. 128-129).

Rulemaking Establishing guidelines about acceptable and/ or prohibited behavior (Lin & Atkin, 1989, p. 54); "also called restrictive mediation" (Atkin, Greenberg & Baldwin, 1991, p. 43).

Salience Highlighting certain components of the program for viewers through formal or production features; perceptual salience may elicit and maintain attention and influence comprehension by aiding in selection of content (Huston & Wright, 1983, p. 44).

Schemata "Conceptual frames of reference that provide organizational guidelines for newly encoded information about people and social or behavioral roles and events; they can be important mediators of learning" (Taylor & Crocker, 1981, cited in Gunter, 1987, p. 65).

Seff-Control "Specific kinds of prosocial action, including a willingness to work and wait for long-term goals, as well as the ability to resist the temptation to cheat, steal, or lie" (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988, p. 229).

Sequential Method A research method that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by observing different groups at multiple points in time.

Sex Role "Refers to the collection of behaviors or activities that a given society deems more appropriate to members of one sex than to members of the other sex7 (Durkin, 1985, p. 9).

Social Learning Theory (1) Acquiring symbolic representations through observation. (2) Learning through imitation of observed behavior (Bandura. & Walters, 1963).

Socialization Learning the values, norms, language, and behaviors needed to function in a group or society; socialization agents often include mass media, parents, peers, and the school (Moore & Moschis, 1982, p. 4). Learning over time how to function in a group or society by assimilating a set of paradigms, rules, procedures, and principles that govern perception, attention, choices, learning, and development (Doff, 1982).

Stereotype "A generalization based on inadequate or incomplete information" (Stern & Robinson, 1994), "A group is said to be stereotyped whenever it is depicted or portrayed in such a way that all its members appear to have the same set of characteristics, attitudes, or life conditions" (Liebert & Sprafkin, p. 189).

Surnmative Evaluation "Involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information to make decisions about utilization" (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 134).

Symbol Systems Sets of symbolic expressions by which information is communicated about a field of reference, e.g., spoken language, printed text, pictures, numerals and formulae, musical scores, performed, music, maps, or graphs (Goodman, 1976, cited in Kozma, 1994, p. 11).

Technology "The physical, mechanical, or electronic capabilities of a medium that determine its function and, to some extent, its shape and other features" (Kozma, 1994, p. 11).

Television Literacy Understanding television programming, including how it is produced and broadcast, familiarity with the formats used, ability to recognize overt and covert themes of programs and commercial messages, and appreciation of television as an art form (Corder-Bolz, 1982, cited in Williams, 1986, p. 418). Also see Critical-Viewing Skills.

Video Production Producing television programming in the community or schools.

Videotape Format generally used today to record and play back video programming. It consists of an oxide-coated roll of acetate, polyester, or mylar tape on which a magnetized signal is placed.

Viewing Environment A social context created by the interaction of variables, such as the number and placement of sets, toys, and other media, other activities, rules, and parental communication.

Viewing Experience Result of interaction of programming, mediating variables, and outcomes; variously described as active or passive and positive or negative. See Viewing System.

Viewing Habits When and what children watch and for how long as determined by the amount of time a child spends in front of a television set, program preferences, and identification with characters (Sprafkin et al., 1992, p. 23).

Viewing Patterns Content preferences of viewers.

Viewing System Components of the viewing process, including programming, environment, and behavior and their interaction. See Viewing Experience.

Viewing Visual attention to what is taking place on the screen (Comstock & Paik, 1991, p. 22).

Violence "Ibe overt expression of physical force against others or self, or the compelling of action against one's will on pain of being hurt or killed" (NRvfH, 1972, p. 3).

Visual Attention "Visual orientation (eyes directed towards the screen) and visual.fmation (precise location on the screen toward which eyes are directed given visual orientationy' (Anderso & Lorch, 1983, p. 2).

Visual Literacy The ability to understand and use images, including the ability to think, learn, and express oneself in terms of images (Braden & Hortin, 1982, p. 41). See Media Literacy.

Zapping Changing channels quickly using a remote control.