CITATION AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:
Cite as: Rich, R. S. (1990). How young adults use radio: A situational perspective. Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin. Advisor, August E. Grant.
© Ronald Steven Rich (1990).
You may be able to order a full copy of this dissertation through the author, or through ProQuest Dissertation Express.

ADVISOR:
August E. Grant

ABSTRACT:
Using Sense-Making interviewing techniques, this study examined the usefulness of asking respondents about individual radio listening experiences as opposed to general listening habits. It also tested the ability of situational versus cross-situational and environmental variables to predict the thoughts, questions and uses young adults had for radio listening experiences and examined the differences in the use of music and non-music program content. A media system dependency scheme categorized how respondents were helped or hurt by the listening experience.

An available sample of 146 college students yielded 212 listening episodes for analysis. Personal thoughts/questions far outnumbered those about the world in general, but did not significantly outnumber those about the radio programming. Situational variables (thoughts/questions at that time) were better predictors of information-use than cross-situational (sex, radio station, program content) and environmental variables (loudness, companionship, activity while listening and where listening occurred). Music was a mood enhancer used for play, motivation or often as a nostalgic experience that helped the listener relate to the past. Talk episodes lead to more social uses, while music episodes were more often self-oriented. Talk episodes did more to connect to the future by giving social understanding and knowledge gain. Self-oriented uses, mainly because of the solitary play aspects, were a more positive experience and social-oriented uses, due largely to the awareness of world events, tended to be more negative. Program content was the only cross-situational/environmental variable strongly related to the thoughts/questions of respondents. A qualitative analysis showed that all types of thoughts/questions occurred while listening to music-oriented radio stations and respondents had varied uses for the same content. More than half the listening experiences were discussed with others (almost always peers) and slightly more than 40% of the episodes were reported to have some type of lasting effect. Many of the reported discussions and lasting effects involved programming comments and decisions about future listening.

OTHER MATERIALS BY THIS AUTHOR ON THIS WEBSITE:
See: http://communication.sbs.ohio-state.edu/sense-making/AAauthors/authorlistrich.html