Functions of Media Behaviors.

Individuals engage in media behavior several times daily. If a medium is actually used, that decision is one of a series of points which constitute a media behavior unit. The media behavior unit is used in several ways. First, by looking at particular attributes, researchers can determine whether an individual is consistent in medium behavior--whether John Doe usually reads the newspaper in the same sequence. If the attribute in question is not medium-bound, then researchers can determine how consistent an individual is across media behaviors--whether John Doe is more consistent in his affective evaluation of content consumed during newspaper reading than of that consumed during television viewing. Secondly, the analytic unit described allows researchers to focus on relationships in the actual media situation. For example, when people are lonely are they more likely to turn on the radio for company or do they seek a particular content? This example illustrates two concepts introduced in this paper, media-seeking and content-seeking. Content-seeking is viewed as the process in which individuals desire that a function pertaining to content be fulfilled and then engage in media behavior. In media-seeking the function the individual wants fulfilled is not tied to content. (Author/RB)