Direct Responses to People on the Screen

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to extend the research evidence concerning direct responses to the realm of social interaction by replicating, in the context of television viewing, key findings and predictions concerning the use of interpersonal distance. In the study, 32 subjects watched excerpts of television news broadcasts that featured individual anchors speaking to the camera. Apparent interpersonal distance was manipulated via viewing distance (close = 10, 24, and 38 inches; normal = 30, 72, and 115 inches) and screen size (small = 10 inches measured diagonally; medium = 26 inches; large = 42 inches). Although results for the viewing distance manipulation failed to support predictions, as expected, subjects watching larger television screens reported more positive emotional responses to the people on the screen and the viewing environment and selected a viewing position that represented a smaller withdrawal from the encounter. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Watching Closely

“…Spatial distance, that is the perceived physical distance between an observing and an observed individual, has been shown to have a significant role in our media experience (Lombard, 1995). This is backed up by a considerable body of psychological studies which demonstrated that spatial distance has a strong interpersonal psychological meaning in everyday life, influencing the valence of the interaction by carrying both negative (e.g.…”

“…attraction) connotations (see for example Hall and Hall, 1969). It is reasonable to assume that the psychological significance of interpersonal distance is similar in non-mediated and mediated environments, namely closer figures trigger more intense reactions (Lombard, 1995;Reeves and Nass, 1996).…”

“…Spatial distance also has an impact on character engagement. Shorter apparent distance increases the liking of a character (Bellman et al, 2009;Hou et al, 2012;M. Lombard, 1995), and the intensity of the perceived emotions of a character (Matthew Lombard et al, 1997).…”

Objectification of Subjectivity: International Experience in Selection of TV Stimuli in Mass Media Effect Research

“…For example, M. Lombard [9] did not pay enough attention to the stimuli selection -he did not indicate the source of used media content, did not make initial selection of media materials and did not involve the independent coders. Z. Rojkova also did not properly consider the process of news content selection.…”

“…Johnston and G.C. Davey [8], M. Lombard [9], J.E. Newhagen [10], Z. Rojkova [4], A. Szabo and K. Hopkinson [11], D. Unz, F. Schwab and P. Winterhoff-Spurk [2].…”