International students' attitudes toward American television advertising : a measure of beliefs

The primary purpose of this study was to examine international students' beliefs about American television advertising. To accomplish this, a mail survey was conducted among international students enrolled in the fall quarter of 1987 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The data collection instrument was a five-page self-administered anonymous questionnaire. Determination of beliefs was made through the use of Likert-scaled statements and semantic differential concepts. A total of 252 completed questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 56.0 percent. In brief, the major findings were:

1. The beliefs of Asian, Arabian, and Latin American students about American television advertising were different from one another in the informative reaction. More specifically, Asian students' beliefs were significantly more positive than Latin American students' beliefs.

2. A significant positive correlation existed between an international student's belief about American television advertising and his perception of American experience.

3. The perception of American experience, television watching amount, length of stay, and age were predictors to account for one-fifth of an international student's belief about American television advertising.

4. Finally, the international students' home countries were grouped into relatively homogeneous clusters in their geographic areas and economic levels when each of 28 countries was characterized in terms of the international students' beliefs about American television advertising and their perceptions of America.