Television and the Quality of Life: How Viewing Shapes Everyday Experience (Communication Series)

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Summary: THE FLOW NETWORK
Review: Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com

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Summary: Landmark work, non-judgmental, empirical...
Review: This is one of the most intense and empirical studies of how people relate to television (not focusing on television's content), nothing judgmental here folks, the data is presented in text and charts. We get to see the surveys, the responses, we are informed of the study methods used...

Various psychological traits are measured before, during, and after television viewing in the subjects homes. Things like concentration, cheerfulness, challenge, memory, and other traits are measured at various times using a self-reporting mechanism. The merits and faults of the methods used to study the subjects are also discussed. The book is intense.

I'm sorry I can't encapsulate it better than this. The authors (Mihaly and Robert) do an extremely admirable job of presenting the information in a readable and complete format.

Again, it should be stressed that this study was empirical. No judgements are made. Content of television was not part of the study, content of the subject's psyches was.

A landmark work.