Understanding Media Satisfaction: Development and Validation of an Affect-Based Scale

Abstract

Media satisfaction is widely used in the study of media effects, particularly in the uses & gratifications tradition. However, its interpretation and measurement varies widely in the literature. This study builds and validates an empirically tested measure of media satisfaction through a multiphase process. Incorporating recent conceptual advances on the role of emotion in consumer satisfaction theory, an affect-based definition is proposed to capture an important missing element in most media satisfaction scales. A 4-item scale that may be adapted to different media, media genres, and content is developed. Further testing with different populations is recommended. Future research on types of affective media satisfaction, media satisfaction process models, and relationship between satisfaction and dissatisfaction is proposed.