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Insert your text here. You can change the font size to fit your text. •You can also make this box shrink or grow with the amount of text. Simply double click this text box, go to the “Text Box” tab, and check the option “Resize AutoShape to fit text”. •Insert your text here. Remember, you can adjust the font size to fit your text. •Insert your text here. You can place your organizations logos on either side of the title of the poster. Insert your text here. • You can change the font size to fit your text. You can also make this box shrink or grow with the amount of text. Individual Differences in Connected Viewing: The Role of Emotional Contagion, Need for Belonging, and Co-viewing Orientation in Mediated and Non-Mediated Television Co-viewing Method The vast majority of television consumption may occur when people are with other people (Lee & Lee, 1995). The increasing popularity of Social TV (Nielsen/SocialGuide, 2013), suggests that even if people are physically alone, they can still be connected to others through technologies such as social network sites (SNS) while they are viewing. There are many personal and relational benefits of watching television with other people (Finucane & Horvath, 2000), but little is understood about the factors that draw people to connected viewing experiences in FtF or mediated contexts. Emotional contagion, or people’s susceptibility to “catching” others’ emotions is thought to contribute to people’s enjoyment during co-viewing experiences, and thus should predict the frequency that people watch TV with others. However, reduced non-verbal emotional cues in computer-mediated communication (Walther, 1996) could inhibit emotional contagion processes, so trait emotional contagion was not expected to predict mediated co- viewing. Need to belong refers to the extent that people feel the need to have many social connections and feel socially included. People with a higher need to belong tend to monitor their social environments more carefully for cues about how others are responding so that they can better fit in (Pickett, Gardner, & Knowles, 2004). As such, people with a greater need to belong were expected to appreciate mediated co-viewing activities where they can have access to more people during viewing, and perhaps solicit more information about viewers’ reactions. Co-viewing orientation, newly conceptualized for this study, refers to people’s preference for viewing television with others versus viewing television alone. Because people with stronger co-viewing orientations should appreciate feeling like they are with others during viewing, this dispositional variable was expected Predictions & Rationale This study investigated how the frequency that people engaged in face-to-face (FtF) and mediated co-viewing situations varied by individual differences: emotional contagion, need to belong, and co-viewing orientation. Emotional contagion predicted FtF co-viewing, but not mediated co-viewing. Need to belong and need for solitude predicted some mediated co-viewing activities. Need for solitude negatively predicted FtF co-viewing, but need for company positively predicted FtF co-viewing. The results suggest that mediated co-viewing situations may provide desired company during viewing for those who tend to watch TV without others being physically present. Abstract Key Findings: • Emotional contagion predicted FtF co-viewing, but not mediated co-viewing • Need to belong predicted most types of mediated co- viewing • Need for solitude negatively predicted FtF co-viewing but positively predicted SNS monitoring • Audience monitoring predicted most types of mediated co- viewing, but did not predict FtF co-viewing • Need for company predicted FtF but not any mediated co- viewing activities Results Discussion • Different dispositions predict different types of co-viewing (FtF or mediated, SNS vs. non-SNS), suggesting that these modes of co-viewing provide different gratifications • FtF co-viewing may intensify emotional experiences • Mediated co-viewing—perhaps SNS viewing activities in particular, may be desirable because they let people monitor and connect to a wider network • Dimensions of co-viewing orientation differentially predicted FtF and mediated co-viewing, suggesting that social media may open doors to connected viewing for those who typically prefer to watch in solitude. Though it may not provide the same emotional gratifications as FtF co-viewing, co-viewing via social media gives audiences more control over when, what, and with whom they watch
