Self-Efficacy, Media Use as Predictors of Current-Events Knowledge

Abstract

The news quiz has doubtless been used as a tool in journalism classrooms since introductory skills courses were first taught. And just as certainly, journalism instructors have gathered together in hand-wringing sessions to disdain their students' poor performance on those quizzes. However, trends showing dramatic decreases in newspaper reading among young (see Baskette, Sissors, & Brooks, 1992) have given a special imperative to concern about young people's current-affairs awareness, especially among journalism students.News quizzes seem to play two roles in journalism skills classroom: First, they act as a pedagogical catalyst to promote habitual news media use; second, quizzes serve as an evaluative device, to measure current-events knowledge. Implicit in both goals is assumption that increased news-media use will cause student to be better informed about current events. However obvious that assumption may seem, it not consider possibility that background variables other than media use may be driving current-affairs knowledge.Rosenberg's (1968) classic discussion of surveys warned of contingent associations driven by extraneous variables that go unmeasured. Such variables can be collinear with dimensions of central interest to processes under investigation. He points out that strictly speaking there are no spurious relationships, there are only spurious interpretations (p. 28).In that regard, this study looks at effects of two other background variables--political self-efficacy and grade point average--on current-affairs knowledge.Media use as a predictor of knowledge. The paradox of mass media effects research is expectation of a strong relationship, where empirical evidence supports only a weak one. Beniger (1990) documents nine theoretical attempts to unravel paradox, including agenda setting (see McCombs & Shaw, 1972), uses and gratifications (see Blumler & Katz, 1974), spiral of silence (see Katz, 1984), and more.Despite this problem, journalism skills instructors still seem to adhere to a strong effects model when they routinely administer news quizzes. That is, assumption underlying use of quizzes is that mere exposure to news media will result in increased knowledge. However, results of current-affairs knowledge quizzes given in general population do not tend to support that notion (see Newhagen & Reeves, 1992). Results from those studies group people into one of two categories described by Converse (1964). One group is very small and makes up an active, well-informed, political elite. Members are older, belong to middle class, read newspapers every day, and do very well on current-affairs quizzes. The other group, however, is large and poorly in formed, essentially existing outside political system. This group is younger and relies more on television as a source of news (see Robinson, 1975, 1976); its members do badly on current-affairs quizzes.The canons of professional journalism proscribe membership in political elite. This makes sense, because many of characteristics regarded as positive in professional journalism also are to be found among members of political elite described by Converse. The socialization of journalism students to those norms can be seen, really, as part of rites of passage into this political elite. Prominent among traits common to both is active attention to political and civic affairs. This attention is a reflection, in a sense, of political efficacy.Political self-efficacy. Political efficacy was first defined as the feeling that individual political action have, or can have, an impact upon political process, i.e., that it is worthwhile to perform one's civic duties (Campbell, Gurin, & Miller, 1954, p. 187). This definition embodies question does my vote count? and focuses on an assessment of political system more than individual's ability to cope with it. …