George Gerbner Cultivation Theory

George Gerbner’s “Cultivation Theory” has to do with the idea that television has the power to shape our perceptions of reality and the world around us by affecting our attitudes and certain ways of thinking. Gerbner, a well-known communication theorist, and co-authors brought together information and supporting evidence from his Cultural Indicators research to write an article in the Journal of Communication, titled “The ‘Mainstreaming’ of America: Violence Profile No. 11." Through message system analysis, the annual monitoring of specific daytime and prime-time dramatic television programming, and cultivation analysis, the analysis of viewer perceptions in correlation with themes present in the television world, he was able to further elaborate onto the concepts of “mainstreaming” and “resonance.” To get a clearer grasp of how television affects different people, Gerbner broke viewers down in to three categories: light, moderate, and heavy viewers. Through various experiments he discovered that, despite their race or socioeconomic class, people who viewed more television, had more mainstreamed and homogenous views and perceptions that converged with those represented on television shows. One example of this is that heavy viewers from all income categories believed that "fear of crime is a very serious personal problem,” while the opinions of light viewers varied depending on their incomes. He attributes this to the fact that light viewers not only do not accept all the nuanced messages from television, but also receive information and create ideas through different outlets. On the other hand, Gerbner discovered that these heavy viewers did receive most of their information from television, so generally within these groups, “differences deriving from other factors and social forces may be diminished or even absent” (Gerbner 1980). He then explained resonance, another important aspect to his cultivation theory, as the pertinent ideas and themes on television that hold relevance for viewers. These themes “resonate” with them and reinforce ideas that the viewer already holds, in a way giving them a “double dose” of the message and further strengthen their perceptions. If they can relate an experience in their lives with one that they see on television the cultivation of this message would be stronger and they would come to believe that this experience is a very real and common one. These different aspects all join together to form Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory and explain the many important ways that television shapes, influences, and reinforces viewer’s perceptions of social reality. For the full essay see the link below http://www.colorado.edu/communications/meta-discourses/Papers/App_Papers/Gulisano.htm and http://sdsujms408su2011gp2.wikispaces.com/

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