Television Series and Careers: A Search for Indicators of Media Effects on Choice Actions and Outcome Expectations of University Students

This dissertation searches for indicators of media effects on university student career development by identifying relationships between series consumption, choice actions and outcome expectations. 1,353 students studying Law, Law Enforcement, Medicine, Political Science and Business Administration in Münster, Germany were surveyed for this purpose. The data suggests that series consumption and study programme are related for students of almost all study fields. Series-career relationships are especially prominent among first-semester students and students studying to work in professional fields which have clear occupational profiles and are frequently portrayed in series. However, series consumption does not go along with systematic patterns which lead to problems in career decision processes. Findings rather indicate singular study programme-specific effects which have the potential to reinforce career decisions and generate a more workload-intense career expectation.