In order to investigate the resonance hypothesis implied in RQ1, we ran regres-
sion equations separately for respondents who reported prior experience with a
paranormal event (n
ϭ 58; 29%) and for those who reported no prior experience
(n
ϭ 138; 69%). These equations were set up in exactly the same way as the ones
reported in Tables 2 and 3. When we used the measure of total TV viewing, the
regression analyses revealed that after considering the demographic variables,
viewing was unrelated to paranormal beliefs for both groups of respondents.
However, when we used the measure of paranormal TV viewing, different results
emerged for each group. Table 4 displays the results for the group who reported no
prior experience with a paranormal event. Table 5 displays the results for the group
who did report such an experience. As these tables reveal, viewing paranormal
programs on TV was unrelated to paranormal beliefs for those who reported no
prior experience with the paranormal. But for those who did report such an
experience, viewing paranormal programs contributed an additional 11% of signifi-
cant variance to the prediction of paranormal beliefs (p
Ͻ .007).
Discussion
Consistent with past research, Table 1 reveals that paranormal beliefs were
certainly prevalent in the random sample we drew from the Midwestern city. If the
influence of TV programs on an audience is likely to be greater among those who are
TABLE 4
R
EGRESSION
R
ESULTS FOR
P
REDICTING
B
ELIEF IN THE
P
ARANORMAL FROM
P
ARANORMAL
V
IEWING
A
MONG
R
ESPONDENTS
W
HO
R
EPORTED
N
O
P
RIOR
E
XPERIENCE
W
ITH THE
P
ARANORMAL
Variables Entered
Multiple R
R
2
Beta
Step 1:
Age
Ϫ.05
Sex
.24* (
p
Ͻ .02)
Income
Ϫ.02
Education
Ϫ.18
Weekly Religious Service
Ϫ.04
Intensity of Religious Belief
.02
.32
.10
Step 2
Viewing Paranormal
.33
.11
.09
Note: The entire regression model was significant [
F (7,119)
ϭ 2.04; p Ͻ .05].
TABLE 5
R
EGRESSION
R
ESULTS FOR
P
REDICTING
B
ELIEF IN THE
P
ARANORMAL FROM
P
ARANORMAL
V
IEWING
A
MONG
R
ESPONDENTS
W
HO
R
EPORTED
P
RIOR
E
XPERIENCE
W
ITH THE
P
ARANORMAL
Variables Entered
Multiple R
R
2
Beta
Step 1:
Age
Ϫ.12
Sex
.09
Income
.19
Education
Ϫ.46* (p Ͻ .002)
Weekly Religious Service
.09
Intensity of Religious Belief
Ϫ.02
.50
.25
Step 2
Viewing Paranormal
.60
.36
.35* ( p
Ͻ .007)
Note: The entire regression model was significant [F (7,47)
ϭ 3.79; p Ͻ .003].
108
COMMUNICATION MONOGRAPHS
undecided about a given phenomenon, then the percentages of respondents who
expressed uncertainty about the paranormal are particularly important for the study
of media impact. As the table shows, there are significant numbers of respondents in
this category for most of the belief items. Of particular interest in Table 1 are the
percentages of respondents who indicated uncertainty about various paranormal
belief items. It seems reasonable to assume that in areas of uncertain belief, the mass
media are potentially a more powerful source of influence. While the percentages of
respondents who endorsed belief in the paranormal were relatively unchanged from
the earlier survey reported by Sparks et al. (1997), the data continue to indicate
widespread belief and uncertainty about the existence of paranormal phenomena. In
such a cultural environment, media messages about the paranormal would seem to
hold considerable potential to reinforce and change what people believe.
The first hypothesis was that television viewing (particularly viewing of paranor-
mal programs) would be positively correlated with paranormal beliefs. This hypoth-
esis was supported. As the regression equations reported in Tables 2 & 3 reveal,
viewing paranormal programs accounts for a significant portion of variance in
paranormal beliefs even after controlling for age, sex, income, education, and two
different measures of religiosity. It is important to note that this result cannot be
interpreted unequivocally as evidence for the impact of paranormal programming.
Surveys of this type simply do not permit conclusions that establish causal direction.
It is always possible that some unmeasured third variable accounts for the relation-
ship that was observed. It is also possible that the relationship indicates that those
who believe in the paranormal are more likely to view paranormal programs. While
this is certainly a reasonable conjecture, it is also important to recall that the
experimental evidence reviewed earlier clearly shows that exposure to paranormal
programs affects beliefs. Of course, it is possible that the relationship is bi-
directional. Future research should be designed to test the selective exposure
hypothesis that believers in the paranormal seek out paranormal media.
RQ1 asked about the evidence regarding cultivation’s resonance hypothesis. The
earlier study by Sparks et al. failed to find any support for resonance. However, in
the present study, evidence consistent with the resonance hypothesis did emerge.
The relationship between media exposure to the paranormal and paranormal beliefs
was present only for those respondents who reported personal experience with a
paranormal event. This finding is completely counter to the one found in the earlier
survey of the same community where the relationship held only for those who
reported no personal experience with a paranormal event.
One approach to these conflicting findings is to compare the two surveys and
focus on the differences between the two studies. As in any replication study, it is
prudent for the investigators to make changes from the initial study in ways that
might enhance the generalizability of the findings. In this study, we measured
exposure to a greater number of paranormal programs (nine vs. four) than did
Sparks et al. (1997). Perhaps the most significant difference in the measures that were
used in the two studies is the fact that in the present study, there was a total of five
paranormal programs (55% of the paranormal programming measure) that could be
classified as fiction (X-Files, Early Edition, Touched by an Angel, Profiler, and Millennium)
compared to only one such program (X-Files) in the earlier survey (25% of the
paranormal programming measure). If the current measure of paranormal program-
ming was heavily weighted toward fictional programs and the one used in the earlier
109
TELEVISION AND PARANORMAL BELIEFS