Alejandra Paulson

Theory Analysis
COMM 2050
May 10, 2018

Cultivation Analysis Theory

Introduction
Cultivation Analysis Theory, created by George Gerbner, researched the effects of TV on
people’s perception of violence in the world. This paper will define Cultivation Analysis Theory
in depth, its goals, and approaches, it will give Gerbner’s background, the status of the theory
since 2010, an evaluation of the theory using the 7 Criteria, how to improve it, and conclude with
what was learned by completing the theory analysis. Cultivation Analysis Theory has changed,
and it needs continuous improvement to keep up with the times.

Theory Definition
“Cultivation Analysis is a theory the predicts and explains the long-term formation and shaping
of perceptions, understandings, and beliefs about the world as a result of consumption of media
messages” (West & Turner, 2010, p. 377). Cultivation Analysis has three assumptions described
by West & Turner (2010) as “Television is essentially and fundamentally different from the other
forms of mass media, Television shapes our society’s way of thinking and relating, and the
influence of television is limited” (p. 379). Using the three assumptions mentioned, Gerbner
coined the term mean world syndrome. This means the way people view violence in the world
is shaped by the amount of television they watch, classifying them as light/heavy viewers. Light
viewers watch less than 4 hours of TV a day, Heavy viewers watch more than 4 hours. This
theory also looks at cultivation differential which is “the percentage of difference in response
between light and heavy television viewers” (West & Turner, 2010, p. 383).

Approaches
The Cultivation Analysis Theory uses the Empirical/Scientific approach. This approach is used
because researchers and scientists are trying to predict the effects of TV on people based on the
number of hours they watch it. There is a four-step process that researchers came up with to
prove this approach. The steps are, “message system analysis…formulation of questions about
viewers’ social realities…surveying the audience…comparing the social realities of light and
heavy viewers” (West & Turner, 2010, p. 383). The first step looks at the recurring themes in
television programs and the messages they portray. The second step asks light and heavy viewers
about their perceptions of society. The third step asks viewers to classify themselves as
heavy/light viewers while the fourth step evaluates the results from the three prior steps and
compares social realities. With this approach researchers try to predict the impacts of TV
viewing and its correlation to the mean world index. The more or less of TV a person watches,
the more or less violent they will view the world.

Author
George Gerbner was born in Budapest, Hungary. He was interested in communications in high
school, and once he came to America he was able to further his knowledge and excel in his
career. He was a former dean at Annenberg School for Communication at the University of
Pennsylvania. Before he taught at the university, he enrolled at the University of California, Los
Angeles. He eventually transferred to Berkeley where he chose to study journalism. He had a
few jobs as an editor, journalist, reporter, etc. He continued his education to receive a masters
and doctorates degree. Once at Penn State he “proceeded to build a world-class research and
teaching faculty and under his tenure, it became a national leader in communication research and
established the wan fledging discipline of communication into a serious and scholarly addition to
the academy” (University of Pennsylvania, 2009).

He developed the theory in 1969 after “President Lyndon Johnson ordered the creation of the
National Commission on Causes and Prevention of Violence” (West & Turner, 2010, p. 378).
While in the committee he created the violence index which was an annual analysis of violence
in prime-time television. This led to the creation of Cultivation Analysis Theory.

Current Theory Status

“Despite a rapidly changing media environment, cultivation researchers still argue for the
importance of television as a medium affecting perception of social reality. And some scholars
even explore the cultivation effects of different media other than television in view of the rise of
different media” (Lai, Chung, & Po, 2015). Although television is still very prevalent in society
and has a very strong influence, other mediums have surfaced such as video games, social media,
and the internet. These additional sources are starting to evolve and expand the theory.

Video games are becoming a more popular part of the younger generation. Video games now
have leagues that make millions of dollars by playing games as their job. These pro-league
games include Call of Duty and CS:GO which are overall classified as violent games. Even
though violent video games are often most popular in the professional gaming field, it does not
have to be a violent game to cause people to view the world differently. “The study surveyed 248
13-year-old Turkish adolescents attending the 7th grade, in order to examine whether playing
SimCity would change their expectations of an ideal city. The results showed by playing such
settlements building video games, students’ expectation of an ideal city changed according to
SimCity” (Lai, Chung, & Po, 2015). The study goes on to explain that the students expected
more out of their local city authorities. They had expectations that were instilled in them by
playing SimCity that did not match actual reality. This cultivation of their mind might not be
considered a bad thing, unlike TV causing a person to view the world as violent, a good moral
game or show might cause the person to want to help their real-life community change for the
better.

Along with the addition of video games, author Christel Russel helps to write Television’s
Cultivation of American Adolescent’s Beliefs about Alcohol and the Moderating Role of Trait
Reactance. This article focuses on Television, just like Gerbner’s original theory, but she makes
a connection between TV effects and use of alcohol in people instead of the violence aspect.
There are multiple additions to the theory that go beyond just TV and Violence.

Theory Evaluation
Cultivation Theory has many strengths which include Test of Time and Parsimony. Test of Time
is a strength because this theory was developed in 1969 and the main idea of the theory has not
changed, it has just been expanded. Cultivation Analysis Theory also is strong in the Parsimony
category because it is very simple and to the point with its research. It has one fundamental
concept: people’s changing perceptions due to the amount of TV viewed.

Testability is whether a theory can be proved to be false or not. Cultivation Analysis Theory
states that a certain amount of TV consumption will alter the way a person views the world. This
cannot be proved to be true with every individual. People are different, and though TV may
affect most people, some can keep reality and media in two different worlds. They can have the
mindset that everything they watch is fake and dramatized and does not apply to the real world.
The impacts on the human mind that this theory describes may be less or more depending on the
individual.

Improvements to the Theory

The textbook Introducing Communication Theory Analysis and Application states the theory
uses the Empirical/Scientific approach. This approach “assumes that objective truths can be
uncovered and that the process of inquiry that discovers this truth can be…value neutral” (West
& Turner, 2010, p. 51). As the theory has changed over time, it could be beneficial to use an
Interpretive approach in addition to the Empirical/Scientific approach. The Interpretive approach
looks at truth differently by looking at it more subjectively. The researcher also would need to be
much more involved by participating in the research process, giving the theory a more
interpretive take.

The theory began with a focus only on how TV affected people’s view of the world and violence.
After many years of technological development new ways for people to view violent/suggestive
content has been created. The rise of video games and social media have created new
environments where people spend just as much time as they did watching TV. These new factors
need to be heavily researched and incorporated into the Cultivation Analysis Theory. There are
some articles of research already on this, but with how large these forms of content have become
there is a need for more research.

Conclusion
Studying Cultivation Analysis Theory in more depth teaches a person how universal the theory
is. It does not apply to a specific gender, race, age, etc. The theory can be applied to all people,
all over the world. Anyone with access to media can be affected by this theory, though the
effects might be more or less severe depending on the group.

George Gerbner discovered a communication issue that involved a majority of people and was
able to generalize it to withstand the test of time. The theory has a great foundation, and it is very
moldable. As people and their choice of media intake changes, the theory can easily be modified.
Because modification of the theory is not difficult, we can rely on the foundation to remain
consistent through new additions. A theory like this can be kept in a textbook or class curriculum
for generations to come because it will always be applicable in some context.
References

Gerbner, G., Gross, L.. (1976). Living with Television: The Violence Profile. Journal of
Communication, 26(2), 173-199.

Lai, W.T, Chung, C.W, Po, N.S. (2015). How do Media Shape Perceptions of Social Reality? A
Review on Cultivation Theory. Journal of Communication and Education, 2(2), 8-17.
http://www.hkaect.org/jce/2(2)/Lai_Chung_Po_2015_JCE_2(2)_p8-17.pdf

Mosharafa, E. (2015). All you Need to Know About: The Cultivation Theory. Global Journal of
Human-Social Science: A Arts & Humanities – Psychology, 15(8), 23-38.
https://globaljournals.org/GJHSS_Volume15/3-All-you-Need-to-Know.pdf

Russell, C.A., Russell, D.W, Boland, W.A, Grube, J.W. (2014). Television’s Cultivation of
American Adolescents’ Beliefs about Alcohol and the Moderating Role of Trait
Reactance. J Child Media, 8(1), 5-22.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963162/

University of Pennsylvania. (2009). George Gerbner Biography. Web. Retrieved 12 May, 2018
from http://web.asc.upenn.edu/gerbner/archive.aspx?sectionID=18.

West, R., & Turner, L. (2010). Introducing communication theory analysis and application. (4th
ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.