Television and Family Values: Was Dan Quayle Right?

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Abstract
In this article, we explore the extent to which heavy television viewers' beliefs about the real world are consistent with the most repetitive and overarching patterns that television presents, especially in its dramatic entertainment programs. We test the hypothesis (put forth by many besides Dan Quayle) that television encourages viewers to embrace alternatives to the traditional 2-parent family. For purposes of conceptual clarity, we chose to focus on the question of illegitimacy and single parenthood, which is most directly related to the Murphy Brown controversy and is frequently touched on in many strands of political discourse. We reviewed previous research on television portrayal of the family and then used the 1988 and 1994 General Social Surveys (Davis & Smith, 1996) to assess relations between television viewing and judgments about illegitimacy and single parenthood. The data do not contradict Quayle's contention that television viewing is contributing to fraying of traditional family values.

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