Citation

Becker AB. Psychol. Pop. Media 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, American Psychiatric Publishing)

DOI

10.1037/ppm0000497

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Connecting approaches from mass communication and entertainment research with the study of political satire exposure effects, the experiment (N = 265) considers the differential impact of viewing a personalized late-night comedy (LNC) monologue versus standard late-night fare on identification, transportation, and parasocial interaction with a comedy host. The results suggest that viewers exhibit greater identification, transportation, and parasocial connection with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel when he breaks the fourth wall to talk personally about the issue of gun violence than when viewing a traditional late-night monologue. While the connection is stronger for those who more frequently watch network LNC and have a higher affinity for entertaining news, the relative influence of the personalized comedy over a traditional monologue is greater among those who are less engaged with political comedy and less likely to prefer entertaining news. The implications of the findings are discussed as well as the potential for political comedy to broaden the issue audience shaping public policy, encouraging greater engagement among larger segments of the viewing population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en

Keywords

Gun Control Laws; Humor; Identification; Parasocial Interaction; Personalization; Television Viewing; Transportation