User-Type Differential Paths for a Media Effect Model: A Test of Self-Regulation Deficiency in Drama Watching for Different Motive-Driven Users

Abstract

ABSTRACT Media users are not homogeneous, and research that treats them as such tends to yield inconsistent findings. More nuanced insights into media effect processes might emerge from an identification of qualitatively distinct subgroups, for whom unique media effect processes lead to distinctive outcomes as well. Building on an existing differential susceptibility to media effects model, the current research adds the possibility of differential paths defined by user types. In this revised model, the triggers (e.g. individual characteristics) that lead to media effects and their outcomes (e.g. sociopsychological states) vary across different groups of media users. In the context of problematic drama watching, as a type of media effect, panel data gathered from a representative sample and a latent class analysis reveal that drama viewers can be grouped into types, according to the distinct constellations of motives they have for watching. Individual characteristics identified for such groups can lead to problematic drama watching and associated negative outcomes in the future, which also vary with the types of viewers. The findings affirm that the distinct processes linked to each viewer type correspond well with their distinctive motives.