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Argentine television and the problem of democracy
Abstract
This dissertation investigates the role that television viewing plays in the formation and maintenance of political attitude in Argentine adolescents. Using survey data gathered from 966 Argentine adolescents in 1987, the question of television's role in political attitude is addressed from the perspective of "cultivation" theory. The impacts of television exposure on attitudes about free speech, authoritarianism, and economic matters are investigated. Additionally, the role of television in political self-identification and attitudes toward democracy is investigated. Overall, a basically negative relation is observed between television exposure and pro-democratic feeling. Various hypotheses to account for the negative relations are adduced, including the idea of "retardation" (television prevents its heavy viewers from achieving pro-democratic attitudes) and the notion that television prevents the development of the ability to think abstractly.
Subject Area
Mass communications|Political science|Social structure
Recommended Citation
Shanahan, James Edward, "Argentine television and the problem of democracy" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9120939.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9120939