Cultivation analysis is the third part of a research strategy designed to examine the role of the media in society (see Gerbner, 1973). The first component, "institutional process analysis," investigates how media messages are produced, managed, and distributed. The second component, "message system analysis," examines images in media content. The third component, "cultivation analysis," studies how exposure to the world of television contributes to conceptions that viewers have about the real world. In its simplest form, cultivation analysis tries to ascertain if those who watch more television, compared to those who watch less but are otherwise comparable, are more likely to perceive the real world in ways that reflect the most common and repetitive messages and lessons provided by television programs.

Cultivation theory is not concerned with the "effect" of particular programs or with artistic quality. Rather, it looks at television...