Making Sense of Television: The Psychology of Audience InterpretationTaking the soap opera as a case study, this book explores the 'parasocial interaction' people engage in with television programmes. It looks at the nature of the 'active viewer' and the role of the text in social psychology. It also investigates the existing theoretical models offered by social psychology and other discourses. This second edition takes into account recent research work and theoretical developments in fields such as narrative psychology, social representation theory and ethnographic work on audiences, and look forward to the developing role of audience research. It will be an essential study for students and lecturers in social psychology and media studies. |
Contents
| 1 | |
2 The Active Viewer | 33 |
3 The Case of the Soap Opera | 51 |
4 The Role of the Text in Social Psychology | 68 |
5 The Resourceful Viewer | 101 |
6 Viewers Representations of Television Characters | 117 |
7 Divergent Interpretations of Television Soap Opera | 151 |
8 Audiences and Interpretations | 171 |
| 193 | |
Author index | 205 |
| 209 | |
Other editions - View all
Making Sense of Television: The Psychology of Audience Interpretation Sonia Livingstone No preview available - 2017 |
Making Sense of Television: The Psychology of Audience Interpretation Sonia M. Livingstone No preview available - 1998 |
Common terms and phrases
active viewer analysis approach argued assumptions audience reception audience research behaviour Billy British soap opera causal central chapter character representations complex concept concerns conflict construction context conventions Coronation Street critical cultural studies Dallas decoding defined Deirdre developments dimension discourse divergence dominant EastEnders empirical evaluation everyday example feminine field find findings first fits focus gender genre identification immoral implicit important inferences influence integrated interaction interpretation involved judgements Ken Barlow literary Livingstone mass communications Mavis Mavis Riley meanings media effects media studies media theory messages Mike Mike Baldwin moral multidimensional scaling narrative negotiated notion oppositional passive people’s perceived perspective problems processes reception theory reflect relation relationship response reveal Rita role Sally schema seen semiotic sense of television significant social cognition social knowledge social psychology social realism social representations social representations theory specific stereotypes story structure suggests television programmes textual themes tion traditional understanding viewing women