Explaining response errors of self-reported frequency and duration of TV exposure through individual and contextual factors

Measures of TV exposure are crucial for many communication studies but possible flaws remain understudied. This study contributes to the discussion about the validity of survey measures of media use by assessing the extent to which people over- or underreport their viewing behavior by examining recency effects, and systematic variations in the accuracy of self-reports. Self-reported measures of TV exposure are directly compared with people-meter measures stemming from a single sample and the same time period. The findings reveal tendencies to overreport the frequency of watching and underreport the viewing duration. Response errors relate to sociodemographics and viewing-related characteristics.