The role of socio-spatial context in the habit–goal interface of audiovisual media consumption

Cédric Courtois, Frederik De Grove, Lieven De Marez
2014 Poetics  
This article addresses the role of socio-spatial context in audiovisual media consumption by adopting a multi-paradigmatic approach that combines the Theory of Media Attendance with Domestication Theory. We propose a framework that inquires how goals and habits interface with each other as explanatory factors of consumption and how the role of socio-spatial cues can be understood. Survey results show that different socio-spatial settings are associated with distinct explanations by goals and
more » ... its. Moreover, follow-up interviews indicate that these differences are best understood when framed in everyday life family dynamics. The results confirm findings of classical research, albeit showing that the patterns from these studies are increasingly pressured by novel dynamics in the contemporary media environment. 2007 ). In media studies, this has been accomplished by the Theory of Media Attendance (TMA), which merges U&G with Social Cognitive Theory (LaRose & Eastin, 2004; LaRose, Mastro, & Eastin, 2001) . The latter views behavior as a result of the triadic reciprocal relationship between individuals, their behavior and their environments. Multiple learning sources are identified to acquire new behavior, which is exercised after forethought and are subject to self-regulation. People do not only learn through direct experience (enactive leaning), they also learn vicariously, by observing models. What is more, at the onset of behavior, we assess our efficacy (i.e. self-efficacy) to attain favorable outcomes that reflect six theoretically embedded and empirically supported categories of inherent incentive motivators for human behavior (novel, self-reactive, social, status, monetary and activity; Bandura, 1986). In fact, in the model of media attendance, ad hoc gratifications are replaced by these theoretically embedded incentives. A brief literature review by LaRose et al (2001) revealed that four major incentive categories are commonly covered by U&G typologies: activity ( entertainment), social ( interaction), novel ( information) and self-reactive ( escapism). In practice, these motivators are operationalized as expected outcomes and serve as indicators of a second-order construct in the model of media attendance.
doi:10.1016/j.poetic.2014.05.002 fatcat:gzmmkxx7ovaxffjyvgxy5aafzi