Abstract

The extent to which a barrier against AM radio listening has resulted from imagined versus real differences between AM and FM signal quality was addressed by examining the effects of AM and FM labels versus actual AM and FM signal quality differences. A total of 605 college undergraduates in four separate groups rated a recording of an AM broadcast, an FM broadcast, or a recording of a compact disc identified as either an AM or FM broadcast on semantic differential scales for fidelity, technical sound, hiss/noise/distortion, and overall quality. For all four scales, signals identified as FM (simulated and actual) were rated significantly more favorably than signals identified as AM. The results suggest that attitudinal barriers to the acceptance of AM radio depress evaluations of AM radio signals when compared to FM radio signals of the same quality.