Cultivation theory and George Gerbner

Overview

Heavy and light viewers in Gerbner's work, mean world syndrome and mainstreaming, in cultivation theory.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

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1. 1

   What does cultivation theory claim?

   Model answer

   That long-term, cumulative exposure to consistent media messages shapes an audience's sense of what the world is like.

2. 2

   How does cultivation differ from an effects model?

   Model answer

   It concerns beliefs about reality built up over years rather than a behaviour produced by a single exposure.

3. 3

   What is meant by heavy and light viewers in Gerbner's work?

   Model answer

   Those who consume a great deal of television and those who consume little, compared to see whether their beliefs about the world differ.

4. 4

   What is the mean world syndrome?

   Model answer

   The finding that heavy viewers of violent content believe the world to be more dangerous than it is.

5. 5

   Why does Gerbner treat television as different from other media?

   Model answer

   It was watched by almost everyone, told broadly consistent stories across channels, and was consumed daily over a lifetime.

6. 6

   What is meant by mainstreaming, in cultivation theory?

   Model answer

   The tendency of heavy viewing to draw people of different backgrounds towards a shared, television-derived view of the world.

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