![Sample our Humanities journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5939/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Humanities.jpg"})
Cultivation analysis investigates television's contributions to viewers' conceptions of social reality. Developed by George Gerbner in the 1960s, cultivation research continues to expand in numerous directions, with over 125 new studies published since 2000. This article reviews the history of cultivation theory and takes stock of recent trends in the field. We argue that cultivation has taken on certain paradigmatic qualities, and we consider the future prospects for cultivation research in the context of the changing media environment.
Notes
1The complete “Bibliography of Publications related to the Cultural Indicators Project” is available at http://people.umass.edu/mmorgan/CulturalIndicatorsBibliography.pdf.
2“Message system analysis” is what most researchers call “content analysis,” but Gerbner specifically meant to point out that the entirety of a message system is what matters; thus, we retain his terminology.
3Given space considerations, this is by necessity a brief overview. The large number of studies published in recent years—over 125 since 2000—means that we cannot give all areas, issues, or specific studies the conceptual and methodological detail they deserve. The studies noted here do vary considerably in sampling, measurement, data collection, operationalization, etc., and much more could be said about the specific design/findings of each of them—as well as others not mentioned.