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The Effects Of Television Programming On American Citizens

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Focus groups were used previous to World War II but, did not become common among marketers until the 1950`s. In the 1980`s focus groups were rediscovered by social scientists and called them “group interviews” but, the concept remains the same. Popular culture was introduced into popular culture in the 1990`s with President Clinton using them for his research teams. During the origins of focus groups 6-10 participants were included who focused on the effects of television programming, film, product consumption and advertising, and public understanding of health issues. Understanding the motivation of the participants was often sought after by researchers. In 1937 focus groups started at the Princeton University of Radio Research. …show more content…

This type of study aids in the development of new company products, logos, and advertising slogans with insight into what the public wants.
The focus group of a study includes a group of people that is diverse demographically. These participants are guided in a discussion about a specific product, political campaign, television series, etc. to gauge the general reaction of the public. As a form of qualitative research the focus group involves the participants answering questions pertaining to their perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and opinions towards the targeted product, concept, advertisement, idea, packaging, or service. Participants are questioned in a interactive group environment where they are given the opportunity to discuss their opinions with other group members. Originally focus groups were labelled as “group depth interviews” or “focused interviews”. After World War II this technique was developed to allow a platform for evaluating audience response of radio programs. Since that time period, program evaluators and social scientists have determined focus groups to be beneficial on understanding the means for how and why people hold specific beliefs about a program or topic of interest. Focus groups primarily include 7-10 individual participants who are completely unfamiliar with one another. Generally focus groups strive to include participants due to characteristics in common that apply to the

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