Cultivation Theory - Key Terms in Cultivation Analysis

Key Terms in Cultivation Analysis

'Mainstreaming' "Mainstreaming is the blurring, blending, and bending process by which heavy TV viewers from disparate groups develop a common outlook on the world through constant exposure to the same images and labels on TV." " Mainstreaming television plays a central role in society. While there are many diverse cultures in the United States (and the world) contributing the variety of beliefs, values, attitudes and practices creating our unique cultures, there is one thing that ties us all together: television. Of course there are many people that do not have access to television, but the underlying truth is, the reach of television is so expansive that it has become the primary channel responsible for mainstream in our culture. "He thought that through constant exposure to the same images and labels, heavy viewers develop a commonality of outlook that doesn’t happen with the radio." " Mainstream is more than the sum of all cross-currents and sub-currents, it represents the broadest range of shared meanings and assumptions in the most general, functional and stable way Heavy television viewing may override individual differences and perspectives, creating more of an American (and increasingly global) "melting pot" of social, cultural and political ideologies Essentially, the more TV a viewer watches, the more likely it becomes that their opinions of various items in the world will start to mirror those the media portrays. In fact, most heavy TV viewers do not even know they are starting to bend their views to those of the media. Blending takes blurring one step further when heavy television viewers cannot draw a line between parts of life that are real and fiction. Bending happens when people’s perception is completely changed from their original views or opinions. This can go even beyond simple reflection of the media, quite often it turns into reflection of television fiction.

Gerbner found that ideas and opinions commonly held by heavy viewers as a result of mainstreaming have to do with politics and economics. According to Griffin, Gerbner’s research led to the conclusion that heavy viewers tend to label themselves as middle class citizens who are politically moderate. Gerbner also found people who labeled themselves as either liberal or conservative among those who mainly watched TV occassionally. Interestingly enough, however, he also found that “cultural indicators noted that their positions on social issues are decidedly conservative. "

'Resonance' "The condition that exists when viewers’ real-life environment is like the world of TV; these viewers are especially susceptible to TV’s cultivating power. " Resonance occurs when things viewed on television are actually congruent with the actual everyday realities of viewers. Gerbner writes that this provides a double dose of messages that resonate and amplify cultivation. Additionally, Gerbner et al. defines resonance as the combination of everyday reality and television providing a "double dose" that resonates with the individual, which in turn amplifies cultivation. The example they give is of minority groups whose fictional television character is stereotypically more frequently victimized on television, creating an exaggerated perception of violence for individuals who watch more television Griffin sums it up nicely, when he states, "Gerbner claimed that other heavy viewers grow more apprehensive through the process of resonance." Furthermore, Gerbner said, “The congruence of the television world and real-life circumstances may ‘resonate’ and lead to markedly amplified cultivation patterns.” This cultivation could have a large effect on our society if these viewers insist on receiving more security from the government, their work place, family, friends, etc. Resonance seeks to explain why heavy TV viewers often have an amplified vigilance about the world.

As either mainstreaming or resonance, cultivations produces first order or second order effects. First order effects refers to the learning of facts. Second order effects involve “hypotheses about more general issues and assumptions” that people make about their environments.

'Mean World Index' Gerbner et al. developed the Mean World Index. The Mean World Index consists of three statements:

• Most people are just looking out for themselves.
• You can't be too careful in dealing with people.
• Most people would take advantage of you if they got the chance.

The Mean World Index finds that long-term exposure to television in which violence is frequent cultivates the image of a mean and dangerous world. More frequent viewers had a perception of reality in which greater protection is needed and reported that most people “cannot be trusted” and are “just looking out for themselves."

' Dramatic violence' "The overt expression or serious threat of physical force as part of the plot." "

'Accessibility principle' When people make judgments about the world around them, they rely on the smallest bits of information that come to mind most quickly. "

'Heavy viewers' "TV viewers who report that they watch at least four hours per day." "

'Meta-analysis' "A statistical procedure that blends the results of multiple empirical and independent research studies exploring the same relationship between to variables. (e.g. TV viewing and fear of violence)." " Gerbner also calls heavy viewers the television type, a polite way of saying couch potato. "