Cultivation Theory

In 1968, President Johnson's National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence appointed George Gerbner to analyze the content of television shows. This began the “Cultural Indicators project,” described as the longest-running continuous media research undertaking in the world. George Gerbner and his researchers perform “cultivation analysis” to determine if and how watching television influences viewers' ideas and perceptions of reality.

Cultivation analysis, or cultivation theory, wrote S. J. Baran, is the theory that

Its role has expanded beyond that of just violent acts on television. Public relations practitioners should have an understanding of this theory and be aware of how their efforts may contribute to such effects on society.

Since there is no single TV show to credit for creating the effects of cultivation analysis, it is instead the medium of television that is responsible. These authors view television shows as mainstream entertainment that are easy to access and generally easy to understand. Thus, their reasoning is that these shows provide a means by which people are socialized into society, although with an unrealistic notion of reality at times, particularly with respect to social dangers. They make the point that television seeks to show and reinforce commonalities among us, so that those who regularly watch television tend to see the world in the way television portrays it.

Not everyone is successfully cultivated by television. These authors conclude that those who watch little television are not affected. Likewise, people who talk about what they see, especially adolescents who talk with their parents, are less likely to alter their view of reality to match what they see on television.

Clearly, cultivation theory does consider that there are other influences in television viewers' lives besides the television itself. Demographics, social, personal, and cultural aspects are also factors in considering how a viewer will interpret television programming. What it means to be a certain ethnicity, race, gender, or age, however, is defined by cultivation, and television helps define what it means to be those things in our society. The implication that cultivation theory has for public relations practitioners is that repeated messages over time are perceived as true. If what people see on television and in the news is not an accurate representation of reality, there is the chance that some people will still perceive it as truth.

Other influences on people besides the television screen include messages on the radio, in print, and on billboards. Often public relations practitioners are the people behind the creation and presentation of these messages. Whether the messages appear on television or not, it is critical that the messages contain the truth. Because repetition breeds truth, public relations practitioners must ensure that the messages they create and send, often through the mass media, on behalf of the organizations they represent, are the truth. It is one thing for a message that is the truth to be constantly repeated in society, but when the messages are not accurate, this can become a public relations nightmare.

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