Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire? Reality Dating Television Programs, Attitudes Toward Sex, and Sexual Behaviors

  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Past research has revealed associations between television viewing and sexual attitudes and behaviors. We examined a burgeoning new television genre, reality dating programs (RDPs). Undergraduate students (ages 18–24) reported their overall television viewing, their RDP viewing, and their involvement with RDPs (watching in order to learn and watching in order to be entertained). They also completed measures of attitudes toward sex, dating, and relationships, and answered questions about sexual behavior. Most participants were occasional or frequent viewers of at least one RDP. Men reported using RDPs for learning more than did women; there was no gender difference in use of RDPs for entertainment. Total amount of RDP viewing was positively correlated, for both men and women, with adversarial sexual beliefs, endorsement of a sexual double standard, and the beliefs that men are sex-driven, that appearance is important in dating, and that dating is a game. In all cases, however, these relationships were partially or totally mediated through viewer involvement. Men and women who watched RDPs tended to be less sexually experienced; there were few other correlations with sexual behaviors.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aubrey, J. S., Harrison, K., Kramer, L., & Yellin, J. (2003). Variety versus timing: Gender differences in college students' sexual expectations as predicted by exposure to sexually oriented television. Communications Research, 30, 432–460.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bachen, C. M., & Illouz, E. (1996). Imagining romance: Young people's cultural models of romance and love. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 13, 279–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baran, S. J. (1976). How TV and film portrayals affect sexual satisfaction in college students. Journalism Quarterly, 53, 468–473.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blosser, B. J. (1988). Ethnic differences in children's media use. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 32, 453–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borzekowski, D. L. G., Robinson, T. N., & Killen, J. D. (2000). Does the camera add 10 pounds? Media use, perceived importance of appearance, and weight concerns among teenage girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 26, 36–41.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. D., & Newcomer, S. F. (1991). Television viewing and adolescents' sexual behavior. Journal of Homosexuality, 21, 77–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. D., & Steele, J. R. (1995). Sex and the mass media. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burt, M. R. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 217–230.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Calfin, M. S., Carroll, J. L., & Shmidt, J. (1993). Viewing music-videotapes before taking a test of premarital sexual attitudes. Psychological Reports, 72, 475–481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, W. A., & Sroufe, L. A. (1999). Capacity for intimate relationships: A developmental construction. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, & C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 125–147). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

  • Day, R. D. (1992). The transition to first intercourse among racially and culturally diverse youth. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 749–762.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fabes, R. A., & Strouse, J. (1987). Perceptions of responsible and irresponsible models of sexuality: A correlational study. The Journal of Sex Research, 23, 70–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerbner, G., & Gross, L. (1976). Living with television: The violence profile. Journal of Communication, 26, 172–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., & Signorielli, N. (1994). Growing up with television: The cultivation perspective. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 17–41). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

  • Greenberg, B. S. (1993). Race differences in television and movie behaviors. In B. S. Greenberg, J. D. Brown, & N. L. Buerkel-Rothfuss (Eds.), Media, sex, and the adolescent (pp. 145–152). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.

  • Greenberg, B. S., Linsangan, R., & Soderman, A. (1993). Adolescents' reactions to television sex. In B. S. Greenberg, J. D. Brown, & N. L. Buerkel-Rothfuss (Eds.), Media, sex, and the adolescent (pp. 196–224). Creskill, NJ: Hampton.

  • Gruber, E., & Grube, J. W. (2000). Adolescent sexuality and the media: A review of current knowledge and implications. Western Journal of Medicine, 172, 210–214.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haferkamp, C. J. (1999). Beliefs about relationships in relation to television viewing, soap opera viewing, and self-monitoring. Current Psychology, 18, 193–204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huesmann, L. R., & Eron, L. D. (1986). Television and the aggressive child: A cross-national comparison. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huesmann, L. R., Moise-Titus, J., Podolski, C.-L., & Eron, L. D. (2003). Longitudinal relations between children's exposure to TV violence and their aggressive and violent behavior in young adulthood: 1977–1992. Developmental Psychology, 39, 201–221.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, J. S., & Jaffee, S. R. (2000). Becoming a heterosexual adult: The experiences of young women. Journal of Social Issues, 56(2), 283–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. D., Adams, M. S., Ashburn, L., & Reed, W. (1995). Differential gender effects of exposure to rap music on African American adolescents' acceptance of teen dating violence. Sex Roles, 33, 597–605.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalof, L. (1999). The effects of gender and music video imagery on sexual attitudes. Journal of Social Psychology, 139, 378–385.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1974). Utilization of mass communication by the individual. In J. G. Blumler & E. Katz (Eds.), The uses of mass communications: Current perspectives on gratifications research (pp. 19–32). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

  • Keller, S. N., & Brown, J. D. (2002). Media interventions to promote responsible sexual behavior. Journal of Sex Research, 39, 67–72.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J., & Rubin, A. M. (1997). The variable influence of audience activity on media effects. Communication Research, 24, 107–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krcmar, M., & Greene, K. (2000). Connections between violent television exposure and adolescent risk taking. Media Psychology, 2, 195–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacCorquodale, P. L. (1984). Gender roles and premarital contraception. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46, 57–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, M., & Shanahan, J. (1997). Two decades of cultivation research: An appraisal and meta-analysis. Communication Yearbook, 20, 1–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pleck, J. H., Sonenstein, F. L., & Ku, L. C. (1993). Masculinity ideology: Its impact on adolescent males' heterosexual relationships. Journal of Social Issues, 49(3), 11–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potter, W. J. (1986). Perceived reality and the cultivation hypothesis. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 30, 159–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rivadeneyra, R., & Ward, L. M. (2005). From Ally McBeal to Sabado Gigante: Contributions of television viewing to the gender role attitudes of Latino adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 453–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, D. F., Foehr, U. G., Rideout, V. J., & Brodie, M. (2004). Kids and media in America. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romer, D., Jamieson, K. H., & Aday, S. (2003). Television news and the cultivation of fear of crime. Journal of Communication, 53, 88–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, A. M. (1984). Ritualized and instrumental television viewing. Journal of Communication, 34, 67–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Segrin, C., & Nabi, R. L. (2002). Does television viewing cultivate unrealistic expectations about marriage? Journal of Communication, 52, 247–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheeran, P., Abraham, C., & Orbell, S. (1999). Psychosocial correlates of heterosexual condom use: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 725, 90–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sobel, M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models. Sociological Methodology, 13, 290–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, J. T., Losoff, M., & Robbins, A. S. (1991). Sexually aggressive tactics in dating relationships: Personality and attitudinal correlates. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 10, 289–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strasburger, V. C. (1995). Adolescents and the media: Medical and psychological impact. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strasburger, V. C., & Donnerstein, E. (1999). Children, adolescents, and the media: Issues and solutions. Pediatrics, 103, 129–139.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strouse, J. S., Buerkel-Rothfuss, N., & Long, E. C. J. (1995). Gender and family as moderators of the relationship between music video exposure and adolescent sexual permissiveness. Adolescence, 30, 505–521.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strouse, J. S., & Buerkel-Rothfuss, N. L. (1987). Media exposure and the sexual attitudes and behaviors of college students. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy, 13(2), 43–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutton, M. J., Brown, J. D., Wilson, K. M., & Klein, J. D. (2002). Shaking the tree of knowledge for forbidden fruit: Where adolescents learn about sexuality and contraception. In J. D. Brown, J. R. Steele, & K. Walsh-Childers (Eds.), Sexual teens, sexual media: Investigating media's influence on adolescent sexuality (pp. 25–58). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

  • Walsh-Childers, K., & Brown, J. D. (1993). Adolescents' acceptance of sex-role stereotypes and television viewing. In B. S. Greenberg, J. D. Brown, & N. L. Buerkel-Rothfuss (Eds.), Media, sex, and the adolescent (pp. 117–133). Creskill, NJ: Hampton.

  • Ward, L. M. (2002). Does television exposure affect emerging adults' attitudes and assumptions about sexual relationships? Correlational and experimental confirmation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, L. M. (2003). Understanding the role of entertainment media in the sexual socialization of American youth: A review of empirical research. Developmental Review, 23, 347–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, L. M., & Rivadeneyra, R. (1999). Contributions of entertainment television to adolescents' sexual attitudes and expectations: The role of viewing amount versus viewer involvement. Journal of Sex Research, 36, 237–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wingood, G. M., DiClemente, R. J., Bernhardt, J. M., Harrington, K., Davies, S. L., Robillard, A., & Hook, E. W. III. (2003). A prospective study of exposure to rap music videos and African American female adolescents' health. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 437–439.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yost, M. R., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (in press). Gender differences in the enactment of sociosexuality: An examination of implicit social motives, sexual fantasies, coercive sexual attitudes and aggressive sexual behavior. To appear in Journal of Sex Research.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Santa Cruz, California

    Eileen L. Zurbriggen & Elizabeth M. Morgan

  2. Department of Psychology, University of California, Room 277, Social Sciences 2, Santa Cruz, 95064, California

    Eileen L. Zurbriggen

Authors
  1. Eileen L. Zurbriggen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elizabeth M. Morgan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eileen L. Zurbriggen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zurbriggen, E.L., Morgan, E.M. Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire? Reality Dating Television Programs, Attitudes Toward Sex, and Sexual Behaviors. Sex Roles 54, 1–17 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-8865-2

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-8865-2

Key Words

Search

Navigation