The Nature of Television Realism Judgments: A Reevaluation of Their Conceptualization and Measurement

In this article, we review previous conceptualizations of perceived reality judgments of television content. We argue that the perceived reality literature suffers from conceptual inconsistencies that have the potential to interfere with understanding the research taken as a whole and with the success of future studies. We analyze 3 major variants in perceived realism judgments. The first consists of conceptual dimensions (e.g., magic window and social realism). We argue that labels and definitions have been assigned inconsistently in previous research. Redundancies and inconsistencies are addressed. Six primary dimensions are identified and described. The second is measurement features. We point out that perceived realism judgments may vary in specificity (e.g., the realism of television in general or the realism of a specific program) and object of judgment (e.g., the realism of characters or the realism of issues). The third variant is processing characteristics. Realism judgments may be made while reflecting back, with memory-based judgments, or while viewing, with online judgments. The implications of considering each variant when conducting research are discussed. An overall conceptual structure for perceived reality judgments is proposed. Finally, the application of this organizational scheme to 3 areas of future research is presented.