TV Program Connectedness Scale

What it measures

A 16-item higher-order measure of viewer-programme relationships, validated across student samples and an n=11,000 web/mail survey across eight TV genres. Overall mean M=2.64 (SD=0.68) in the n=11,000 sample. Six first-order factors load onto a single higher-order Connectedness construct. Factor intercorrelations 0.15–0.62; first-order loadings onto higher-order factor 0.32–1.16. TV Connectedness predicts long-term recall of product placements (above and beyond involvement and attitude), brand community with the show, social network size around the show, and recall of brands shown in the programme. Discriminant from attitude toward the show (r=0.26) and involvement (r=0.53). Critical for product placement research, branded entertainment, and parasocial relationship studies.

Response format

5-point Likert (strongly disagree to strongly agree); items averaged over all 16 for overall score (range 1–5). Insert programme name in blanks.

Scale items

Escape (3 items) — psychological release and mood improvement through viewing. Likert 1–5.

• Watching ________ is an escape for me.
• ________ helps me forget about the day's problems.
• If I am in a bad mood, watching ________ puts me in a better mood.

Fashion (3 items) — influence of programme characters on clothing and appearance choices.

• I like the clothes they wear on ________.
• I like the hairstyles on ________.
• I often buy the clothing that I've seen on ________.

Imitation (3 items) — behavioural mimicry of programme characters in everyday interactions.

• I imitate the gestures and facial expressions from the characters in ________.
• I find myself saying phrases from ________ when I interact with other people.
• I try to speak like the characters in ________.

Modeling (3 items) — using programme narratives as a guide for handling real-life situations.

• I learn to handle real-life situations by watching ________.
• I get ideas from ________ about how to interact in my own life.
• I relate what happens in ________ to my own life.

Aspiration (2 items) — strong identification with programme characters and desire to inhabit their world.

• I would love to be an actor in ________.
• I would love to meet the characters of ________.

Paraphernalia (2 items) — collecting items related to the programme to extend the parasocial relationship into daily life.

• I have objects that relate to ________ (badge, book, picture, etc.).
• I read books if they are related to ________.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Replace the blank (________) with the specific programme name throughout. Items averaged (not summed) for overall score. Six first-order factors are treated as indicators of a higher-order Connectedness construct — report overall score for most research contexts; subscale scores for theoretically motivated dimension-level analyses. Overall TV Connectedness predicts product placement recall above attitude and involvement (standardised beta 0.09–0.66 across outcomes).

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Russell, C.A., Norman, A.T., & Heckler, S.E. (2004). The consumption of television programming: Development and validation of the connectedness scale. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(1), 150–161.

Keywords