Same Same But Different: Antecedents and Consequences of Eudaimonic Entertainment in a Political Format

• In Event: Psychological Processes Underlying Mediated Entertainment

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to look into the influence of entertainment experiences as need satisfaction on information processing. Self determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) and the affect infusion model (Forgas, 1995) serve as theoretical basis. First, an online survey (N = 82) aimed to establish existing measures in the new context of political talk shows and test the hypotheses without the influence of a laboratory setting. In the second study a 2 x 2 x2 (autonomy on/off, competence on/off, positive/negative video) mixed design laboratory experiment with 94 subjects was conducted to account for the causal relationship between needs and entertainment experience. Results from both studies support an influence of need satisfaction on eudaimonic entertainment. Furthermore, an influence of eudaimonic entertainment on substantive processing is established. However, results suggest that the influence of argumentation quality is an important moderator that has not yet been accounted for.

Author

• Franziska Susanne Roth, U of Mannheim