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Key points
- TV and movies can shape diverse behaviors, from encouraging purchases to family-planning decisions.
- Scholars such as Albert Bandura and Cristina Bicchieri have applied psychological theory to media content.
- Media content has been shown to influence behavior in diverse contexts and within different populations.
The extent to which TV and media content impact behavior is difficult to determine with precision. Given the power and ubiquity of TV, movies, and more recently, social media content, it seems to be a question of how much exactly they influence behavior rather than whether they do.
A number of studies have reported on the relationship between watching specific content and its impact on specific behaviors, sometimes with empirical backing. This post addresses studies of content that has had an impact on behavior, whether tragic or positive. The variety represented here demonstrates the strength of the media as a tool that can be used for both good and bad.
Some of these effects appear incidental or accidental, while others are the result of intentionality and the deployment of psychological theory to produce a potent behavioral impact. Among these more intentional works are those of producer and theorist Miguel Sabido, social psychologist Albert Bandura, and philosopher Cristina Bicchieri. Dr. Bicchieri’s 2016 book Norms in the Wild is a must-read for anyone interested in this area. Sabido cut his teeth in the field of media and began applying psychological theory to address societal issues. Bandura collaborated with Sabido, and the marriage between his famed social learning theory (SLT) and media production is a natural one.
The adage associated with SLT was “monkey see, monkey do,” and what is more seen today than television and media content? SLT is not the only route by which the impact of media content on behavior is understood, and I will address this topic in another post. For now, here are a number of behaviors that are believed to have been impacted by TV and movies.
Youth Suicide in the U.S. (13 Reasons Why)
The heaviest and most morbid of these related to the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” and suicide among 10- to 19-year-olds. The authors of a 2019 study analyzed trends of suicide from January 1999 through to December 2017 and reported that among the target audience of the show (10- to 19-year-olds) suicides increased by 13.3 percent during the months of the show's highest popularity (three months post-premiere). The story centers around the suicide of a female, and suicides rose the most among 10- to 19-year-old females. No increases were reported among 20- to 29-year-olds or in the 30+ groups.
It is worth noting that another study, published in 2020, disputed this finding. However, the relationship between suicide on screen (or on the news) and suicides in the “real world” has long been studied, to the extent that charities like the Samaritans have explicit guidance on reporting on suicides.
The Popularity of Chess in the U.S. (Queen’s Gambit)
A much lighter and more positive finding was reported in the impact that Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit had on chess-related behaviors. Both the New York Times and Vanity Fair reported increases in the purchase of chessboards, with one company reporting that sales of boards had increased by more than 1,000 percent; eBay estimated the sale of chessboards as being up by 215 percent. There have also been reports that chess club membership, especially among young women, increased in the aftermath of the show’s premiere.
School Performance in the U.S. (Sesame Street)
Kearney and Levine (2019) conducted an analysis of the impact of watching Sesame Street on educational attainment and labor market outcomes and concluded that watching Sesame Street had a positive impact on both.
AIDS testing in the U.K. (It's a Sin)
Britain’s Channel 4 aired the series It’s a Sin, which told the story of AIDS in the 1980s. The show was broadcast to coincide with National HIV Testing Week, with one sexual health charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, reporting that calls to its helpline increased by 30 percent on the day after the show premiered.
Fertility Rates in Brazil and Tanzania (Telenovelas)
Researchers studied the impact of telenovelas on fertility in Brazil between 1979 and 1991 and found a significant relationship between a certain media group’s novelas (Globo) and birth rates. It was theorized that the decline in the birth rate in Brazil during this time was partly due to the characters depicted on screen who chose not to have children or delayed having children. The authors believe that the telenovelas played a significant role in a more than 50 percent decline in the birth rate in the country.
As well, Bicchieri reported on the media's impact on desirable family planning behaviors in Tanzania. While this was through the medium of a radio soap opera titled "Twende na Wakati" ("Let’s Go With the Times"), the underlying principle of using fictional media content to impact real-world behaviors was the same. Bicchieri noted that listeners to the series reported positively identifying with the intended role models and rejecting the negative role models. Similar findings were reported by Jato et al. (1999), though this study included nonfictional radio messaging, including discussion programming.
Adult Literacy in Mexico (Telenovelas)
One of Sabido’s TV productions attempted to increase adult literacy in Mexico. The fictional series featured characters who modeled the desired behavior, in this case, adults learning how to read and write. The series, titled Ven Conmigo (Come With Me), went as far as including practical instructions for viewers about where to go should they seek to emulate the behavior. According to Bandura, so many people descended on the distribution centers in Mexico City that they caused traffic jams.
Domestic Behaviors in India
Jensen and Oster’s (2009) study into the impact of the introduction of cable television into rural India reported “[decreasing] acceptability of domestic violence toward women and son preference, as well as increases in women’s autonomy and decreases in fertility.”
The contexts reported here are diverse, as is the geographical range, representing four continents, and the range of behaviors and age groups impacted. Some behaviors, such as buying a particular product, seem like unsurprising findings; we have long known that advertising products can work. What is perhaps more surprising for some is the apparent impact that can be made on complex and far-reaching behaviors, from suicide to the decision of when (and whether or not) to have a child.
