The relationship between TV series watching motivations and personality traits: A study on Turkish drama series viewers

Abstract People have different motivations for watching TV series, and their unique personality traits influence these motivations. Such preferences for Turkish television series, especially dramas, would represent the personalities and motivations of each individual; hence, the interplay between cultural influences and media consumption. Against this backdrop, the present study seeks to investigate the viewing motivations of young viewers of Turkish television series that retain the convention of drama-based storytelling, analyze these viewing motivations in terms of various factors, and identify their links with personality traits. Within this aim, the research has administered an online survey to 370 university students who regularly watched television series. The survey included a Personal Information Form, The Watching TV Series Motives Questionnaire (WTSMQ), and the Big Five Personality Traits Scale. This research points out that single viewers differ from those in relationships regarding Enrichment, emotional enhancement, and social motivation. Additionally, variations were observed based on employment status and age. The findings indicate a strong negative correlation between coping motivations and extraversion and Conscientiousness, while Neuroticism positively correlated with coping motivations. Similarly, increased Openness to experience was associated with more excellent enrichment motivations, and negative correlations were found between social and emotional enhancement motivations and traits like Agreeableness and Conscientiousness.