Why do people watch reality tv soap operas?

Several studies examined the general television program choice of audiences and discussed psychological motives such as Uses and Gratifications (U&G), parasocial interaction (PSI) and identification (ID) with media characters. This research focused on soaps within the genre reality TV (RTV) and compared the three psychological variables for watching TV with each other, as was the perceived realism of the programs. A total of 149 participants filled in an online questionnaire about the motives of watching the television programs “Farmer wants a wife” and “Oh Oh Cherso/Tirol”. The findings showed U&G motives to be the most explaining motive of watching RTV soaps, followed by PSI and at last ID. Furthermore, perceived realism significantly correlates with the frequency of viewing the program and showed a high accountability for the differences on the compiled scale means of the three psychological variables