Cultivation Theory

The main points of the cultivation theory are;

-sometimes referred to as the cultivation hypothesis or cultivation analysis

- Cultivation theorists argue that television has long-term effects which are small, gradual, indirect but cumulative and significant.

-Cultivation theory in its most basic form, suggests that television is responsible for shaping, or ‘cultivating’ viewers’ conceptions of social reality.   
-One of the most popular theories that fits this perspective is cultivation theory.

-Cultivation analysis usually involves the correlation of data from content analysis e.g a heavy watcher of horror movies will start to believe that the outside world is a bad place (for example, full of rapist) when it actually isn't bad, they have just been influenced from what they are watching.

-Audience research by cultivation theorists involves asking large-scale public opinion poll organizations to include in their national surveys questions regarding such issues as the amount of violence in everyday life.

Scope and Application

Cultivation research looks at the mass media as a socializing agent and investigates whether television viewers come to believe the television version of reality the more they watch it.