Blurred world view: A study on the relationship between television viewing and the perception of the justice system

Abstract

Previous studies suggest that distorted representations of reality on television can lead to distorted perceptions of reality among viewers. In this study, 322 individuals in Austria reported their weekly television consumption and whether they believe that there is active practice of capital punishment in Austria, which has been abolished since 1968. The more television participants watched, the more likely they mistakenly believed that there is, or recently was, capital punishment in Austria, even when controlling for participants' age and education. It seems that television has the potential to influence viewers' perception and knowledge of core aspects of society.

Does Really One in Ten Believe Capital Punishment Exists in a Contemporary European Community Country? An Endorsed, Prereviewed, Preregistered Replication Study and Meta-Analysis

“…Till et al (2016) reported that in an Austrian sample approximately one in ten respondents incorrectly believed that Austria still practices, or recently practiced, the death penalty, and that there is a positive association between the amount of weekly television viewing and this gross misperception of the Austrian justice system.…”

“…Hence, TV may bring about source confusion, i.e., heavy TV viewers may confuse fact for fiction and fiction for fact (Mares, 1996). In line with cultivation theory, Till et al (2016) summarized previous studies in the field of media psychology, citing evidence for biased judgments about real-world events as a result of TV consumption. However, they noted that research so far has only focused on biased judgments and expectations about the real world (so-called first-order effects) and the resulting behavior (so-called second-order effects) of television exposure.…”

“…However, they noted that research so far has only focused on biased judgments and expectations about the real world (so-called first-order effects) and the resulting behavior (so-called second-order effects) of television exposure. For example, TV watching might bias the expected probability to be a crime victim (a first-order effect) and may lead to an increased fear of walking the streets alone at night (a second-order effect; Till et al, 2016). In contrast to previous research, Till et al (2016) went one step further and argued that TV consumption may not only distort expected probabilities and perception, but might as well lead to entirely false beliefs .…”

“…In their study, Till et al (2016) queried individuals from the Austrian general population regarding their beliefs about the death penalty in Austria. As in all other European Community nations, death penalty has been abolished in Austria quite a time ago (formally 1958 in civil law and 1968 in military law, although the last execution was back in 1950; Morscher, 2007).…”

“…

BackgroundTill et al (2016) reported that in an Austrian sample approximately one in ten respondents incorrectly believed that Austria still practices, or recently practiced, the death penalty, and that there is a positive association between the amount of weekly television viewing and this gross misperception of the Austrian justice system.

MethodsAn endorsed, prereviewed, preregistered close ( N = 597) served to test the veracity of these reported effects. This was coupled with the conceptual extension part, which (a) investigated the potential influence of watching American crime series, (b) accounted for further possible confounds, and (c) tested the generalizability of the effect of television viewing to online streaming.

ResultsOnline survey data ( N = 597) replicated the one-in-ten prevalence of incorrect answers with the 5-item death penalty questionnaire used in the original study, but not, when asking directly about Austria’s death penalty practices (prevalence: 0.3%).

…”