Social Cognition and Cultivation

Abstract

Cultivation theory is now approaching its third decade of empirical research. There are few areas of research in communication that have sparked more controversy, save perhaps research on media and aggression.1 Although cultivation research has produced a voluminous amount of data (cf. Shanahan & Morgan, 1999), the effects are typically small and sometimes elusive. These two factors have contributed to a healthy skepticism regarding the validity of the cultivation effect. Moreover, I would like to argue that this skepticism is fueled by a lack of understanding about how the process actually works from a psychological perspective. How does television information, in all of its types and forms, influence judgments?

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