Negative role models in British reality television shows

¶ … Reality TV reinforce negative role models?

Media effects the attitudes of society in many ways. It not only reflects norms, but also helps to shape these attitudes as well. Modeling is one of the most common means of learning social behaviors in humans. Children model those around to them to learn what is appropriate and what is not. This social learning does not stop when the child becomes an adult, but rather continues throughout their life. People look up to actors as role mode. As such, actors and popular personalities have a profound effect on shaping society.

Reality TV is one of the most popular genres in the mass media today. The viewership of these programs increases at an astonishing rate. Reality TV allows the viewer to combine both reality and fantasy in a unique blend. We know that the characters have some effects on the adults that watch. However, until now this subject has received little attention. Some of the characters on reality TV would not be considered role models a major portion of the society. The proposed research will examine the presence of negative role models in British Reality Television.

Methodology

The purpose of the study will be to determine the frequency of negative role models in British Reality TV shows. The data to be collected will have both a numerical component and a subjective component. The study will be conducted by watching a number of reality TV shows and dividing the characters into Positive, Neutral, and Negative role models and then comparing the three groups. The study will provide individual show data, as well as combined data to get an overall picture of the type of role models that British reality shows are portraying.

Rationale

Beattie (2002) found that television has a profound effect on our society and that it can be used as a means to gauge societal attitudes as well. Modern psychology reaches beyond the traditional Freudian analysis and has now been expanded to include portion of computer science, linguistics, sociology, philosophy, neuroscience, and the English language. This multidiscipline approach to psychology is a result of an understanding of the complexity of the humans psyche.

The goal of psychology is to predict how one will react in a certain set of circumstances. However, as research into the field of human motivation progresses, this process becomes more difficult to understand. We now know that human motivation and drives are the result of a complex set of factors, all of which interplay to produce the motivation required for action (Ziman, 2000). This complexity has compelled the field of psychology to include portions of many other disciplines. This creates a particular conundrum when it comes to conducting academic research. The following will explore the multidiscipline approach to understanding how reality TV affects our social behavior through modeling.

This study will draw from the areas of sociology and psychology in order to gain an understanding of the frequency of negative role models in reality TV. Some areas of psychology lend themselves to quantitative research, while other lends them to qualitative research. The area of sociology relies almost exclusively on qualitative methods. The method chosen must match the type of data collected.

Reality TV as a Social Observation Experiment

The concept of reality TV is that people enjoy watching other people. Let us consider the show Big Brother. The entire plot of this show is based on watching the behaviors of other people. The audience gets an inside view of many facets into other people's private lives that they would not otherwise be privy. Big brother is centered on the need to see what other people do and how they act in different situations. The audience, in this case, is playing psychologist and sociologist in an attempt to understand the characters. The judgments that they make are subjective.

Philip Zimbardo, a professor at Stanford University, feels that reality TV shows such as Survivor and Big Brother show the worst aspects of humans and represent the wrong human values (Shwartz, 2001). Zimbardo recently participated in the development of a reality TV series called the Human Zoo where contestants would be asked to participate in psychology experiments while being taped 24 hours a day. The experiment was an observational experiment.

Other psychologists agree that Reality TV shows reinforce negative stereotypes. For instance, the show "Growing Up Gotti" reinforces negative stereotypes of Italian-Americans, portraying them as semi-illiterate bums, bigots, and buffoons (Mason, 2004). Mason is concerned that these stereotypes will bleed into society and become reinforced. The connection between social psychology and realty TV are recognized by credible members of academic society.

The Nature of Qualitative Research

The traditional characterization of qualitative research is in the field observation setting. This method attempts to understand the meanings and definitions behind a situation. The researcher observes, or possibly interviews informants and attempts to gain an understanding of an event through their eyes. The researcher attempts to glean certain information from the informant. In doing so, they must often judge or categorize the information they gather. Qualitative research attempts to examine beliefs or belief systems. This is one of the reasons for the skepticism of the qualitative methods as far as strict empiricists are concerned (Mays and Pope, 1995).

The most common usage of qualitative research is in ethnographic studies, where a researcher from one culture attempts to understand the customs and ideology of another. In many cases, it is difficult to analyze the beliefs and customs of one culture from the viewpoint of another. There is often no frame of reference from which to make comparisons. In qualitative ethnographic research, there is no attempt to manipulate the informants or the insight that they provide. The information is taken as is, with no other measures applied. The results of this research are often colourful descriptions, but cannot be considered a study in the formal sense of the word. This is the stereotypical viewpoint held regarding qualitative research.

One of the key components of ethnographic research that the researcher attempts to be an impartial observer (Hammersley and Atkinson, 1983). They do not criticize the information that they gather. They do not attempt to place the information into a social context. This means that they regard all information from every informant equally (Wainwright, 1997). However, as we know from our own experiences, each opinion expressed by every member of society does not necessarily reflect an accurate assessment of cultural constructs. This harms the credibility of many studies from a scientific perspective. Wainwright terms this "voyeuristic relativism." This has the effect of legitimizing the set of beliefs that was discovered by the researcher. However, there is no way for the reader to know if the situation described reflects a majority of the society, or whether it simply represents a local anomaly.

As one can see, there are many difficulties associated with observational qualitative methods used in ethnographic research. The relationship is not a two-way exchange, therefore it can be questioned as to whether the research yields a result that is socially relevant (Jones, 1985). Observational ethics dictate that the researcher takes no action that could mutate or change the culture that they study.

This method results in the data without the ability to interpret the data. One cannot resolve the deep question of "why" something happens using this method. It only answers the question, "what happened?" This method fails to address the issues that were the original intent of the study. This lack of depth led to a new group of ethnographers that used "critical" techniques in combination with observational techniques (Wainwright, 1997). This new approach entails checking the validity of the statements made by the informants. It also entails looking deeper into the development of their ideology and beliefs. This approach results in greater understanding, but can be criticized for increasing the potential of introducing researcher bias.

The synthesis of traditional observational ethnography and critical social research is a difficult one. It necessitates the reconceptualization of one or both of the components (Wainwright, 1997). Wainwright feels that the synthesis of these two methods will result in a method that more closely resembles empirical research methods, yet provides the in depth knowledge of qualitative methods. One can view the process of hybridization, as Wainwright suggests, as a reconceptualization. However, it is difficult to understand how Wainwright can call the process both a synthesis and a reconceptualization. Synthesis would imply that the two processes come together with all of their parts intact. Reconceptualization infers that the two processes undergo a change in their fundamental concepts. When something undergoes such a drastic change, it always leaves the question as to whether it is still the same, or whether it represents a new concept that is completely different from the first. This is a question of taxonomy rather than philosophy.

When one considers this viewpoint, one must question whether the field of qualitative research has developed into two separate branches, one that is observational and the other that is critical (Jorgensen, 1989). It is apparent that a need developed for both. However, the combination of the two approaches into a meaningful synthesis is still questionable, regardless of Wainwright's arguments to the contrary. One could apply observation and then apply criticism, but it is difficult to imagine a scenario where "observational criticism" does not result in a plethora of biases in the research. One must separate the difference between these two methods and the situations in which they are useful.

This is an important concept to understand in light of the current research study. The data gathered by watching the reality TV shows will be observational in nature. The researcher will observe the behavior and look for certain "clues" as to the correct categorization of the characters. In a sense, the researcher must make an observation and make a judgment about the type of role model that the person represents. This violates the founding principles of observational qualitative research. However, in order to correctly asses the prevalence of negative role models in reality TV, it would appear that there is no other way than to break traditional conventions regarding observational techniques.

The "informant" in this case are the TV characters themselves. In this research setting the researcher cannot directly interact with the characters. They can only observe them and make judgments based on these observations. They do not have the ability to engage in this new form of critical research where the researcher attempts to question the behaviors of the informant and "justify" them as representative of the culture in question rather than an anomaly. This research does not represent traditional critical observation as defined by Wainwright, but represents a third type of observational research where the researcher is allowed to make judgments based on observation, but does not have the ability to interact with the informant directly.

It appears that new methods can be developed for conducting qualitative research that are justified by necessity to develop them. It appears that new forms and twists on qualitative research are being developed on a continual basis. They tend to fall into categories depending on their taxonomy. One has the traditional form of observational only research where the researcher only observes, but does not interact. The second type is "critical observation" where the researcher is allowed to criticize and make judgments about the informant. The researcher can interact with the informant, rather than simply to observe.

This research introduces a third type of qualitative research that could be considered "judgmental observation." This is where the researcher must make observations about the subject, but does not have the ability to interact with the informant directly to find out why they did something. This new type of qualitative research is a direct result of new forms of media, such as reality TV that give us the ability to view the subject via videotaping. Reality TV represents the epitome of this new form or observational research. As we observe the subjects on the TV shows via hidden cameras and such, we gain a sense of their worldview. Reality TV has transformed the casual Reality TV fan into an armchair sociologist. Every observer makes judgments about the characters based on their personal life experiences. For the casual armchair sociologist this represents a considerable amount to researcher bias on their part. However, many of these participants are involved in the process for entertainment value, rather than for research purposes. In this case there is no harm done by introducing their ideas into the observation.

However, for the serious researcher, this type of egocentric bias represents a major pitfall that could jeopardize the integrity of the research project. This was the reasoning for the introduction of controls, via the criteria for categorizing the actions and behaviors of the character. An example of these criteria may be similar to the following.

Reality TV Character Categorization

Negative Role Model

Neutral Role Model

Positive Role Model

Uses at least one degrading comment towards another participant

Uses at least one racial slur

Uses foul language at least twice during a single episode

Engages in lies behind the back of others

Condones or promotes actions that are deemed unacceptable by British society including adultery, drugs, alcohol abuse, control and manipulation, and other socially unacceptable behavior

Will cheat to gain an advantage over other players

Does not make degrading comments towards other players

Does not engage in racial slurs

May use soft expletives such as "darn" or "bloody" but does not used explicitly foul language

Does not engage in actions that are deemed unacceptable by British society including adultery, drugs, alcohol abuse, control and manipulation, and other socially unacceptable behavior

May consider cheating to gain an advantage over other players, but does not actually carry it out.

This character does not engage in negative behavior, but does not engage in positive behavior either.

Encourages other players and makes positive comments towards them.

Does not use any foul language at all. May criticize others for doing so Accepts everyone for their merits, rather than judging them for race or religion

Actively discourages actions that are deemed unacceptable by British society including adultery, drugs, alcohol abuse, control and manipulation, and other socially unacceptable behavior

Will not encourage or partake in cheating of any type

Either actively discourages others from engaging in negative behaviors, or passively protests by refusing to participate in these activities themselves.

It might be noted that it is doubtful that a character will clearly fall into a particular category. This is where the "judgment" portion of this research comes in. The researcher must make a generalization taking into account the entire body of actions by the character and decide which category the majority fall. This research method allows the researcher to categorize each character so that the frequency of each type of character can be observed.

Ward-Schofield (1993) brings up the point of 'fittingness', 'comparability', or 'translatability' when describing data and results. Bias significantly impairs the ability to do so. This research could be conducted by simply placing the character into the proper category on a sheet. However, this method could be criticized for its lack of transparency and accused of bias. For this reason, it is suggested that the researcher write a personality profile and sketch of each character that they assess so that the reader can decide for himself or herself whether the character was properly categorized. The character narrative should follow strict observational guidelines and present the character in a partial and non-critical manner. This extra-added degree of transparency increases the validity of this method significantly.

This research technique will not be subject to many of the types of bias inherent in interactive research settings. For instance, the researcher cannot inadvertently introduce bias into a question, or focus on one topic for too long. Observing characters in reality TV shows represents the action as it happens, without any intervention by the researcher. This inability to interact is a help in the elimination of certain types of bias, but it also limits the ability of the researcher to verify their observations via an interview type setting. However, it is not expected that this will be a factor in the ability to draw conclusions from this research study as the premise of the research is based on actions rather than in-depth reasons behind behaviors. The purpose of this research is not to discover the in-depth reasons for the behaviors. This research is only concerned with the frequency of behaviors and the audience perception of individual characters.

Transforming Observational Data into Numerical Form

Fielding (1993) summarized the common approach to ethnographic research into the following steps.

1. Fieldnotes/Transcripts

2. Search for categories and patterns (themes

3. Mark up or cut up the data

4. Construct outline re-sequence)

This research will take a slightly different approach to data analysis. This research follows the first two steps of Fielding's approach exactly as far as the first two steps are concerned. However, it diverges in the third step and the final step. The search for categories and patterns in this research will result in numerical data that can be analyzed using descriptive analytic techniques. Once all of the characters have been placed in their proper categories and the researcher feels satisfied that they are represented accurately, they can then tally the number of characters that fall into each category. Harvey (1990) refers to this as "pile building." A word processor or spreadsheet will be useful for these purposes.

The "piles" can then be analyzed using frequency distribution, degrees of significance, and other standard statistical analytical techniques. There are many possibilities for analysis by these methods. The first will be to derive a general, overall number of the number of negative role models, as compared to neutral or positive role models.

Another means of data analysis that could be derived from this technique would be further to subdivide the results according to TV show. This would give an overview of which television show presented the highest number of negative role models. This further subdivision of the data would not only provide an analysis of the positive or negative attributes of each television show, but would allow the research to spot potential bias that is inherent in the sample population. For example, if one particular television show were found to be mostly negative, and that show represented a larger portion of the sample population then it would represent population bias.

One must be aware of the nature of the data in order to devise ways to prevent common forms of bias. In this sample population two factors must be considered in both the observation phase and the data analysis stage. The first is that one must consider the number of episodes watched of each reality TV show. Watching a disproportionate number of episodes of any particular show will result in population bias. Each show has its own "slant" and genre to which it appeals. These differences have a significant impact on the number of characters in each category.

Another consideration in this research is that some reality shows have more characters than others do. This could be a potential source of population bias. This could cause one particular genre to be over represented by a single show. For instance, a show that had 10 negative characters would significantly offset another show that only had two characters, but that were either neutral or positive. These types of bias could effect the validity and reliability of the research technique. Subdividing the data according to show will help the research to spot these biases and take them into consideration in the final analysis.

A third perspective can be gained from this research that will help to illuminate a different set of biases. The data will be divided according to male and female characters. For shows that deal with homosexual content, the subjects will be divided according to their biological sex. This research technique will allow the researcher to spot gender bias in the shows and will help to eliminate another potential source of population bias.

These techniques will allow the qualitative data to be transformed into quantitative data that can be analyzed using empirical methods. The critical stage in this process is the ability to categorize the characters accurately. This research has developed guidelines to help the researcher accomplish this task. There is one final topic that needs to be addressed in the course of this research. It may be tempting for the researcher to place a character in a negative category based on a perceived attitude. For instance, the character may not project happiness and may be a dismal character that never smiles. However, this should be avoided as it represents a clear case of bias that could significantly effect the validity of the study.

The character assessments must be made according to the criteria and the actions of the characters. To categorize a frowning character as a negative role model results in a generalization that all persons who are frowning are negative, when in fact this person may be encouraging to others and represent positive actions. The characters must be categorized according to their actions rather than unsubstantiated perceptions of the researcher.

In conclusion, this research technique is a hybrid technique that combines elements of qualitative research with elements of quantitative research. This research uses qualitative data and transforms it into numerical data that can then be treated according to quantitative techniques. This research methodology represents the best of both worlds for this particular subject matter.

Qualitative research is more malleable than quantitative techniques, but gives less clearly definable results. For this reason, researchers are beginning to shed the idea the research technique must be an all or none proposition (Dehnart, 2001). There are situations where one should adhere to one technique or the other. However, the hybridization of qualitative and quantitative techniques is being considered more frequently, especially when one wishes to obtain empirical results from subjective data.

This new ideology in research design considers the uniqueness of the data and the research question. It represents a realization that not all research is the same and that not all data can be easily transformed into a form that fits into classic research design. Classic research designs arose in a different time and era than we live today. Hybrid research techniques Hybrid techniques better represents today's research questions and new methods of data collection. This is not breaking the rules, it is merely re-writing them to make them a more accurate assessment the problems that face today's society.

The proposed research technique will allow the researcher to explore data that is varied and does not fit into the standard empirical mold. However, validity and reliability as essential to the research as well. The proposed technique will allow the researcher to accurately answer the research question, without sacrificing the integrity of the conclusions that can be drawn.