cultivation theory

• Socialisation


  Media is part of secondary socialisation
• Standardisation


  • Media presents standardised norms and values
  • The acceptance of widely (mainstream) held views, beliefs and practices
• Enculturation


  • Cultivating mainstream values in the audience
  • the process by which people learn the dynamics of their surrounding culture and acquire values and norms appropriate or necessary in that culture and worldviews
  • learn British culture and values through soaps e.g coronation street, emmerdale
• Bardic function


  • Gerbner argued TV transmitted culture in same way bards (professional storytellers) entertained audience during medieval period
  • Media producers reflect cultural beliefs
  • Beliefs are decoded by viewers to share norms and values
  • This refers to the nature of the media as a story-teller/information provider within the culture
  • modern role of tv in our lives a collector of many different ideas and cultural influences
• Mean world syndrome


  People who watch more than four hours of TV per day, were more likely to perceive the world as violent and dangerous
• Mainstreaming


  • We begin to share the same norms and values, despite cultural/demographic differences
  • Mainstreaming happens when heavy television viewers who would otherwise hold very different views develop a homogenous view of the world.
  • sharing of common, mainstream perspectives as we have all been cultivated through frequent exposure to the same tv messages
• Resonance


  When TV stories begin to seem real to audiences, they merge this into their view of the world
• First order


  General beliefs in society
• Second order


  Viewers' own values and beliefs depending on what they're watching
• Gerbner cultivation theory

  • Gerbner argues that watching tv doesn't cause a particular belief but instead adds up to our perception of the world around  
  • mean world syndrome / mean world index
  • mainstreaming
  • resonance
  • cultivation differential
• cultivation differential 


  • the difference in enculturation between light and heavy users of media
  • heavy users - further understanding from reality their perceptions are
  • light viewers, or those whose lived experience was further from the televised version of the world, had no personal experience to counteract the media narrative
  • lupin - addresses racial discrimination, makes viewers more aware of the racism they face compared to those who are light viewers of tv. may have more traditional views of race as have not seen representations on tv
• resonance


  occurs when a media message feels personal to a viewer as they have lived similar experiences

  e.g audiences may resonate with the responder are they may live in a city with a high rate of crime, or live in Liverpool themselves
• mean world index

  • people who view a large amount of tv become fearful of the world, believing crime is widespread
  • similar to moral panics
  • Research showed that lighter television viewers were more trusting and saw the world as less selfish and dangerous than heavy television viewers.