Cultivation theory suggests that long-term television viewing distorts the viewer’s perception of reality. George Gerbner developed this theory and also introduced the mediocre world syndrome. He believed that children were more easily influenced by television and offered three principles for media literacy to combat negative effects. Gerbner was a media researcher and dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Cultivation theory is a concept that considers the social ramifications of the effects of long-term consistent television viewing. The word cultivation represents the idea that regular exposure to television will over time distort the viewer’s conception of reality. The ideas behind cultivation theory were initially developed by communications professor George Gerbner during his time at the University of Pennsylvania starting in the 1960s. Gerbner was also responsible for the related concept of the mediocre world syndrome in which he posits that exposure to depictions of violence and other negative mass media content causes viewers to believe that reality is more unforgiving or dangerous than it actually is. reality. He also offered ideas on how television viewers might recognize these negative effects for themselves and how to avoid them.
George Gerbner was born in 1919 in Budapest, Hungary, where he lived until 1939 before moving to the United States. Once there, he studied at the University of California at Berkeley and earned a journalism degree. After serving in the military during World War II, Gerbner furthered his education, eventually becoming dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Holding this post from 1964 to 1989, Gerbner worked primarily in the field of media research, including cultivation theory.
Having an interest in European folklore from an early age, Gerbner openly enjoyed telling artful stories. He concluded that television had become the primary source of entertainment and subsequently became interested in its effects on society. During the later years of his development of cultivation theory, Gerbner was particularly interested in the effects of television on children and young people who, he claimed, were more easily persuaded. He said that instead of hearing stories from parents and community members, the children were being entertained by for-profit companies that had a vested interest in selling products.
In order to combat the negative effects of watching television, he offered three principles on how to become what he called “media literacy.” The first principle is that viewing should dissect television presentations, identifying filming techniques that influence the viewer’s opinion of the subject, such as bad guys wearing black hats in Westerns. Second, Gerbner suggested that viewers realize that television companies are businesses that profit from their audiences and employ tactics that increase their success in doing so. The bottom line is that viewers should examine what perspectives or moral values the TV show is displaying and ask themselves how it affects their view of the world.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
