Moore School of Business - Faculty write about reality tv

Why do “reality” television programs like “Survivor,” “Temptation Island,” “Designed to Show,” and “Trading Spaces” continue to be so popular in America today? It’s because of “ hyperauthenticity,” say Dr. Randall L. Rose, professor of marketing, and Dr. Stacy L. Wood, associate professor of marketing at the Moore School of Business.

And what exactly is hyperauthenticity? It’s a jazzed-up version of reality, according to Rose’s and Wood’s article published in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.

“In our society today, there is a growing desire for authenticity, as many people feel they are surrounded by that which is fake or insincere -“everything from plastic surgery to ‘fruit juice’ made with fake sugar and fruit flavoring,” says Wood. Still, shows won’t be popular if they are totally authentic, i.e. just like our own usually mundane lives. “The activities and the people shown in reality shows are made slightly larger than life by good production, good editing, and managed interaction,” says Wood. And this makes the shows entertaining–a prerequisite to have a hit.

Dr. Stacy Wood For example, “Designed to Show”, says Wood, “ is shorter, snappier, and much more interesting (with a design team’s expertise) than selling one’s house usually is.” On the other hand, “participants in our study told us that shows like ‘Big Brother’ were not good because they showed people sitting around their living rooms, bored and sniping at each other. It was ‘too real’ to be entertaining.”

For a show to get good ratings, the viewer must also relate to the program’s protagonists and find relevance in their goals, said the article. The study participants thought it unlikely, for instance, that they’d be accosted by beautiful singles on a tropic island, but they did believe “ temptation really does occur in regular places like at school or at work,” according to Wood and Rose.

Reality television is also “more cognitively engaging than many scripted shows,” says Wood, “and I think this is a large part of their appeal. Viewers use the programs to think about themselves: What would I do in that situation? Can I use that tip or technique? What does this person’s life say about my own?”

Jan Collins
January 2006

Faculty News

Why Reality TV shows are so popular