An Analysis of the Macro and Micro Discourse Structure of Television Commercials

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the use of television commercials to elicit discourse samples. Participants: 25 commercials were selected for analysis in Study 1. Ten adults ranging in age from 19-22 years of age participated in Study 2. Method: Macrostructure elements measured in commercials (Study 1) and in stories produced in response to these commercials (Study 2) were as follows: assignment of narrative type and coding for the structural elements associated with that type. Additionally, a determination of match/mismatch in narrative type was made between narrative level assigned to the commercial in Study 1 and discourse sample in Study 2. Microstructure in both studies was measured as follows: number of words/concepts and number of different words/concepts. In Study 1 a comparison was made between the number of concepts represented visually and in dialogue. In Study 2, a measure of syntactic complexity (subordination index) was calculated. Results: The majority of the commercials exhibited episodic structure. The types of narratives elicited from participants were comparable to the commercials analyzed in Study 1. Results suggest commercials can be a useful tool for eliciting discourse samples with particular structure that demonstrate linguistic complexity.