The Cultivation Theory

The cultivation theory looks at the way that extensive, repeated exposure to the media over time gradually shapes our view of the world and our social reality.

The more media we are exposed to, the more our views of the world wil come to resemble the media worldview. 

Cultivation theory was initially developed by George Gerbner and his colleagues in the Cultural Indicators research project studying television at the University of Pennsylvania.



Cultivation Theory model

One of the major constructs of cultivation theory is mainstreaming, the gradual homogenization of people's divergent perceptions of social reality into a convergent mainstream.  This apparently happens through a process of construction. whereby viewers learn about the real world from observing the the world of media.  Memory traces from media experiences are stored relatively automatically.  We then use this stored information to formulate beliefs about the real world.

Cast from MTV's reality show, "Jersey Shore"

Although cultivation theory generally focuses on the cumulative effect of may repeated images, some images may be far more influential than others.  For example, drench hypothesis says that a highly respected popular TV character at the top of the ratings can have far more impact than a dozen other characters seen and indentified with by far fewer viewers.

Will Truman, from the hit sitcom "Will and Grace," may help improve more people's attitudes toward gay men than numerous characters on less often seen shows.