Cultivation Theory

1986

The longer we live with television, the more invisible it beoomes. As the number of people who have never lived without television oontinues to grow, the medium is inoreasingly taken for granted as an applianoe, a pieoe of furniture, a storyteller, a member of the family. Ever fewer parents and even grandparents oan explain to ohildren what it was like to grow up before television--an age oultural historians will surely oall BT. Television is the souroe of the most broadly-shared images and messages in history.

Communications, 2004

The basic assumption of cultivation Ϫ more exposure to television leads to more cultivation effects Ϫ is examined by reviewing research on genrespecific cultivation. Studies on three genres are included in the review: Crime, soap opera and talk shows. The review indicates differential cultivation effects of the different genres; not all of them are consistent with the basic cultivation hypothesis. Building on these results, a theoretical framework is set up that accounts for possible explanations. The framework starts from the notion of a multi-step cultivation process inherent in current theorizing, ranging from (1) encoding and storage of television information, (2) inferences about the real world, and (3) retrieval and construction of cultivation judgments. This notion is extended by reconceptualizing the 'cultivating' message, integrating uses and gratifications of television viewing and emphasizing the role of personal knowledge and attitudes.

Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2000

Most North American families raise their children with television (TV). A startling 99% of U.S. families with children under the age of 18 have at least one TV set in their homes. There is a severe lack of research on families without TV, mostly because this disparate group is extremely small and difficult to find. The authors sought to find families who had children younger than 18 years in which the parents consciously decided not to have a TV in their home because they wished to avoid its influence while raising their children. The authors ran an advertisement in their local newspaper and located four families who had lived for several years without TV and qualified for and agreed to participate in the study.

1987

Research on audience response to television suggests that viewers are actively involved, apply identifiable and consistent evaluative criteria, and have distinct ideas about the role of the medium in their lives. In light of this research, a study focused on 264 randomly selected sixth through tenth grade students in a Tennessee school system to determine the influence of television on their lives. The subjects wrote essays in their English classes describing what they felt to be the influence of television on them, their family, or American society. Essays were coded for both the number and type of influence cited by each student. Results indicated little evidence of clear-cut positive or negative interpretations of the medium's influences. Students identified a wide variety of both positive and negative effects. At least 90% of the subjects had something positive to say about television, and its entertainment value and usefulness as an information source were frequently cited. Only 62% of the sample identified at least one negative influence of television, and the most frequent criticism was that exposure to television sex, drugs, and violence might negatively affect impressionable viewers' behavior. Multivariate analyses indicated that both IQ and grade level were significantly related to mentions of positive and negative influences of television, with older and brighter students tending to be more negative and cynical about television's effects. (SKC)

Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2013

In terms of cultivation analysis, cultivation concept explains the contribution of television watching to global perception and social reality conceptualization of the viewers (Morgan, 1984: 500). In the first cultivation study, the theory was defined as the random and unintentional learning, and unconscious gaining of demographic realities of television world by the viewers (Gerbner and Gross, 1976:170). Cultivation analysis examines the relationship between the most recurrent and expansive images and ideologies in television content with the social reality conceptualization of the viewers (Gerbner et al., 1980; Morgan and Signorielli, 1990). The component focuses on the overall results of growing up and living with television. The research of the article based on the conceptualized criticism called participant bias in the cultivation studies carried out by George Gerbner and his friends has been conducted at Ankara Kurtulu High School. In the field research, in parallel to the purpose, negative patterned questions reflecting the television world used by Gerbner and his friends, and the positive variations of these are used; in the analysis whether the two groups with the same indicators gave the same answers to each question has been studied. The results seem to be confirming Gerbner and his friends.

The cultivation role of television in terms of violence, life in general, personality traits and the perception of old age, 2021

Advancing itself to a special and more different place than the previous mass media via its feature of including sound and image, television has been fascinating individuals since the day it first entered their lives. Cultivation Theory enables us to research the effects of television on the perceptions and attitudes of people not only concerning violence, but also various social identities. One main source of the stories told by television is dramas that are very popular among different age groups and different social sections. Turkish series have attracted the attention of not only local audiences, but also reached millions of people worldwide, especially in the Middle East and Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The purpose of this study is to put forth the relation between rates of television watching and the adoption of certain traits presenting a scientific analysis based on the methodology of Cultivation Theory. Message system analysis is based on the television series broadcasted during prime-time on weekdays. Cultivation analysis is based on the Cultivation online survey data conducted with 404 participants. The findings pointed out that television series deliver important messages about human relations and value judgments and there is a positive correlation between the audience's duration of television watching and the adoption of their value judgments transmitted by television series.

Prevention in human services, 1983

Multiple content analytic studies of TV portrayals of four social roles are presented, identifying consistent and persistent stereotypical attributes. Sex roles, ethnic roles, occupational roles, and age roles are discussed. Research on the impact of those portrayals is reviewed, and research on programming, critical viewing skills and parental mediation strategies which may serve to counteract stereotypic portrayals is presented. Researchers interested in the impact of television on individual values or behaviors, ranging from simple impression formation to increased aggressiveness, have faced a common dilemma in field work since the early 1960s. It has not been possible to find large numbers of humans without an enormous amount of television exposure who still bear any resemblance to a normal population. The perfect control group is unavailable. As we began this paper, however, the near-perfect experimental subject was found, and fittingly in a vicarious fashion. Peter Sellers captured the ultimate impact of television in his film portrayal of the TV idiot-savant Chance in Being There. All Chance knew was what television showed him; all he wanted was more of what television might show him. Television content comprised his cognitive mapping of the only world important to him-the TV world. If he hadn't seen it on television, it literally did not exist for him; he didn't know what to d o or how to do it. Were the perfect control subject equally available in this era of off-air, cable, videotape and videodisc television opportunities, the resultant human could be equally outrageous. An individual with no television experiences could well suffer from social Reprints may be requested from Bradley S. Greenberg. Communication Arts Building,

Journal of Social Issues, 1962

When I agreed to edit an issue of this Journal on the social effects of television, I faced a difficult task of selection. For answers to the question "what are the effects of television?" vary with the approach of the questioner. Entirely different answers are likely to be given

1987

Cultivation theory states that television engenders negative emotions in heavy viewers. Noting that cultivation methodology contains an apparent response bias, a study examined relationships between television exposure and positive restatements of cultivation concepts and tested a more instrumental media uses and effects model. Cultivation was thought to be linked to greater viewing selection, intention, attention, and perceived realism. Subjects, 392 adults (ages 17 to 88, 50.5% male, 49.5% female) completed a questionnaire. Correlation analysis showed television exposure to be unrelated to the positively worded_cultivation measures; program selectivity was_related_to_all cultivation measures except interpersonal connectedness. Regression analyses added that individual demographic differences and program selectivity accounted for_most_of the variance in cu3tivation perceptions. Findings suggested that methodology may explain cultivation effects that have been attributed to television exposure levels, and that, by using positive concepts, the notion thpt TV can have only_negative influences on personal perceptions is underscored as a fallacy. Findings also suggested_that television may not be the dominant influence on many_interpersonal perceptions. The instrumental media uses and effects model tested with some success. (Five tables of data and notes are appended.) (Author/NKA)