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Children's perceptions of reality in television are examined as an intervening variable between exposure to the medium and the effect of TV messages. Findings from previous work and data from schoolchildren in grades 3–6 indicate that: (a) perceptions of the reality of TV increase as the specificity of content increases, (b) interpersonal communication about television is a significant predictor of children's reality perceptions, and (c) TV usage is positively related to perceptions of reality while age and IQ are negative predictors. Questions about children's experiences with real‐life counterparts of TV characters were not related to reality perceptions.
Greenberg et al. (Fri,) studied this question.