Media Cultivation Theory

“Television has changed the American child from an irresistable force to an immovable object.” (Peter). There was a time when all children wanted to do was to run, play, explore, and be adventurous. As time evolved, children have found more interest in television. Statistics show that a child spends 900 hours per year in school,and they spend 1,200 hours per year watching television. When asked to choose between watching T.V. and spending time with their families fifty-four percent of four to six year olds voted they would prefer to watch television. Television has changed the mindset of children over the years it has been proven that the more programs they watch, the more harmful it is to their brain development. T.V.

What can be the effect of television on people’s lives? People living in these days are addicted to watching TV. However, it is true that watching too much television makes people lose touch with the reality of their lives; they start to see the TV “world” as the real world instead of the world they are living in. This situation divides their loyalties, and all of this is controlled by the people who control the media. Many examples exist in the world that we live and in the world of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. For example, the way the media lies people proves that people are not in the “real” world when they are watching TV and being taught to what had been told to them. Or, people are hooked on television so much that they neglect and

Psychology is a discipline that involves monitoring mental processes and behaviour scientifically. Psychologists try to delve into the basic functions of a person and animals cerebral activity. This usually involves studying relationships, emotions, personality and many more areas of a person or animals day to day life. Psychology tends to steer towards finding reasons for a person or animals actions in an attempt to resolve them.

Cultivation Theory was developed by George Gerbner, and it speculated that the longer people watched television, “the more likely their conceptions of reality will reflect what they see on television” (Lett et al., 2004, p. 40). This way of thinking emerged when television gained popularity during its younger years, and people started investigating the long-term effects of watching television.

    As previously stated, the Cultivation Theory is the belief that prolonged exposure to the media will condition your thinking. To be specific, repeatedly seeing something (or the lack thereof) on TV or in movies affects the way you view the world around you. According to “Living With Television: The Violence Profile”, “All societies have evolved ways of explaining the world to themselves and to their children. Socially constructed ‘reality’ gives a coherent picture of what exists, what is important, what is related to what, and what is right.” (Gerbner). This quote relates to the idea of media representation by implying that what is shown on the media is portrayed in such a way that makes the consumer believe it is reality. As an example, if the media portrays homosexuals as sassy and bossy, it will be done repeatedly until that single idea becomes a ‘reality’. The media also uses this tactic in reverse, which is called symbolic annihilation. This concept says that lack of representation in the media equates to lack of existence in society. The less you are seen in the media, the more you are deemed imaginary and will be treated as such.

Ray Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451 shows a society where, similar to modern day America, technology and conformity are praised, but unique ideas are seen as taboo. Many have heard phrases to the effect of “Don’t watch so much TV, it’ll rot your brain!” But is there any validity to these claims? Ray Bradbury thought so when he wrote the novel, and he is not alone in these beliefs. Many believe that television can have detrimental effects on one 's intellect, as well as their individuality. Similarly, many people that have read Bradbury 's work believe that the intellectual toxins found in the veritable buffet of television is the prevailing theme of the novel. This paper is written in line with that same belief.

The short story “Harrison Bergeron” brings into question the productivity that television contributes to society. This story, by Kurt Vonnegut, has been criticized as “a kind of desensitizing, numbing, and clearly thought-stifling, rather than thought-provoking medium that is partly responsible for the state of society.” Television, in reality, can be argued as a positive and negative medium that both benefits and hinders the public. Whether television is viewed as a beneficial or counterproductive mechanism is based its use. This form of media can be utilized as a source of knowledge, information, and education, or it can be used as negative propaganda, or as a form of brainwashing, as demonstrated in “Harrison Bergeron”. There is no cut

Cultivation Theory is the idea that because television and the media has become so pervasive, it cultivated our culture’s certain views in segments of society. Through the case study, John McHale used the medium of television and film to promote Joe Amrine’s case. The film was promoted at different venues for screenings of the documentary. Different forms of media were also used such as press releases, press kits, and a web page. All of these acts can be classified as the cultivation theory because they are using television and other forms of media to persuade society and inform society on Joe Amrine’s case.

Cultivation theory is a method to study what viewers are seeing in television shows, and is based on their beliefs and attitudes. It focuses on patterns of images that have been exposed repeated and over a long period. In cultivation analysis, that determines concepts of social reality, there is the process know as mainstreaming. It is when television symbols monopolize and dominate other sources of information and ideas about the world, especially in a heavy television viewers (Baran, & Davis, 2012, p. 334). If the viewership of a television drama features doctors in a negatively way and start to relate towards their doctors this way in the real society then this research method fits perfectly.

In Growing Up With Television: Cultivation Process, Morgan, Shanahan and Signorielli assert that “long-term exposure to television tends to cultivate the image of a relatively mean and dangerous world (Morgan et al., 2009).” Rooted in the amount of time spent consuming content, the mean world syndrome is central to Gerber’s Cultivation Theory, or Effect. The theory states that they are viewing habits range from light to medium to heavy. Although subjective, the amount of time spent consuming content is a key component of cultivation effect. Morgan et al., noted that “the relative difference in viewing levels are more important than the specific amount of viewing (Morgan et al, 2009).”

The Cultivation theory is probably one amongst the foremost debated and polemic theories within the field of communications. It states that television has become the most supply of storytelling in today’s society and also the combined result of huge tv exposure by viewers over time subtly shapes the perception of social reality for people and for the culture as a full (Gerbner,1976). In alternative words during a serious television watchers mind, art is the imitation of life.

In an ever-increasingly mediated society, mass media has become inseparable with the production of everyday life. Media is now a platform for members of society to connect with global events and other people beyond their own personal experience. For many, the media is a major source of information and “accounts of violence, as presented by the mass media, are the primary medium by which the average person comes to know crime and justice” (Barak, 1994). The following essay will explore the theories of both cultivation analysis, as established by George Gerbner, as well as agenda setting, reputable to Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw. These concepts will demonstrate how the recent Santa Barbara Shooting is a major media event that reflects a

Cultivation theorists are best known for their study of television and viewers, and in particular for a focus on the topic of violence. However, some studies have also considered other mass media from this perspective, and have dealt with topics such as gender roles, age groups, ethnic groups and political attitudes. A study of American college students found that heavy soap opera viewers were more likely than light viewers to over-estimate the number of real-life married people who had affairs or who had been divorced and the number of women who had abortions (Dominick 1990, p. 512).

Psychology is a study of mind and behavior. Psychological research is mostly focused on the relationship between thought, behavior and emotion; how one influences the other and what are the consequences of such interaction. Put simply, psychology is a field associated with the drive to understand the way human mind works. The topic is slightly enigmatic, but at the same time very challenging and complicated. Where representatives of the exact sciences depend on data, facts and figures, psychologists tend to rely on behavior. Seeing that the majority of work done by psychologists is

The theory that suggests the media and television influences people’s view of reality. George Gerbner and Larry Gross and a few other associates developed cultivation theory in 1976. “Cultivation Theory postulates that as individuals are exposed to more of a certain kind of television programs, each exposure plants sees that grow into a perspective that is largely influenced by the themes presented in the programs,” (Gerbner p.15). There are different assumptions regarding the Cultivation Theory and why it is believed accurate. One being, television is technically different from other forms of media because it tends to be more influential, or that television shapes ones beliefs as well as attitude about other people and society itself, and that television does not show reality, but tends to create an alternate reality. Cultivation theory focuses mainly on television and not on other aspects of media because television is related to almost all ages and has been around longer than other mediums.