For Better or Worse? Hallmark Movie Viewership and Unrealistic Relationship Beliefs

Past studies have shown that what we watch on television is linked to what we believe (Gerbner et al., 1982; Lippman et. al, 2014). Many studies have discovered a link between unrealistic relationship beliefs and television viewing within specific genres of television viewing, yet no research has been done to examine the association between Hallmark movie viewing on romantic relationship beliefs despite the channel’s increasing popularity. The goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between Hallmark movie viewing and romantic relationship beliefs. Through an online participant recruitment website, self-report data was collected from 302 married participants ranging from ages 23 to 77 years old regarding participants’ demographics, relationship beliefs, and marriage. Nearly 27% percent of participants identified as Hallmark movie viewers. The results of the study showed that there is a relationship between Hallmark movie viewing and stronger endorsement of unrealistic relationship beliefs, implicit destiny beliefs, and believing that “Opposite-Sex Friendships are Problematic”. The implications and direction for future research regarding these findings are examined further in the discussion section