Kultivierungsforschung

Do pictures on television affect our perception of reality? Cultivation research has been dealing with this question since the 1970s. Through a systematic comparison of heavy and light television viewers, cultivation researchers explore how television shapes long-term perceptions of social reality. Formulated by George Gerbner, the approach is one of the most cited and most discussed in communication science. This book provides insights into the development of cultivation research from Gerbner’s sociological considerations to the efforts to clarify the cultivation effect from a cognitive and psychological perspective. The methodological approaches are discussed critically. Given the growing diversity of television services and the increasing use of catch-up television, the book also shows the conceptual challenges facing cultivation research.