Political Communication Study Proposal
Is it What You Watch or How You Watch It? A Survey of Cultivation Effects in a New Media Environment
Communication researchers have spent decades studying the theory of the cultivation effect, what William Eveland (2002) describes as the effect of television content on the public’s view of social reality. Generally, this effect leads to misperceptions of social reality and, due to the often-violent nature of television content, “cultivates” feelings of fear, paranoia, or distrust. Eveland (2002) also referenced an argument made by Gerbner et. al (1979) by stating that “images of violence on television cultivate perceptions of fear of crime” and can create “mean world perceptions,” or perceptions of a more frightening and unwelcoming world. However, as viewers’ options for consuming television content evolve to include streaming site like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, cultivation research must adapt to fit this new media atmosphere. Researchers must begin to answer questions like, does the outlet through which viewers consume television produce different cultivation effects and “mean world” perceptions? This is what I attempt to understand through this survey proposal.
A more recent study by Sarah Krongard and Mina Tsay-Vogel (2018) examined this theory in a modern context by applying cultivation theory specifically to commonly binge-watched shows on streaming sites. In their 2018 study, the researchers first conducted a content analysis to analyze the amount of violence in the most commonly binge-watched TV shows on Netflix. They then performed a survey that examined the extent to which this exposure cultivated negative perceptions about the world. This study helped bridge the gap in this field of communication research by applying a well-tested theory to the new TV media landscape. However, this theory only tested two variables—positive relation to mean world perceptions and negative relation to kind world perceptions—without any comparison to a control group.
Variables
Based on this previous study, I want to propose a deeper evaluation of cultivation theory in today’s TV landscape. We already know the traditional effects of cultivation on viewers of cable television from previous researchers like Eveland (2002) and Gerbner et. al (1979), and now Krongard and Tsay-Vogel (2018) reveal a similar mean world perception effect among binge-watchers. Now I wish to compare this effect against these two groups specifically in the context of commonly watched crime shows. Based on the theory of the cultivation effect, I want to propose a research survey evaluating the three following variables: level of trust in law enforcement, perception of prevalence of local crime, and perception of personal safety.
Relationships and Associations
There are several extraneous variables that would suggest higher cultivation between these two groups of cable television viewers and binge-streaming viewers. On one hand, binge-watching isolates viewers into a single mindset for hours at a time and allows for viewers to consume content on their own time. On the other hand, a periodic series that releases an episode once a week forces viewers to step away from the screen for a while and live their daily lives. However, cable television also introduces the possibility of exposure to breaking local news segments, which over time may cultivate more negative perceptions about the world in conjunction with watching crime shows on cable TV. While not completely relevant to this survey, this phenomenon would be interesting as a future longitudinal study.
Hypothesis: In a comparative survey against viewers who primarily watch crime shows through cable television and viewers who primarily watch crime shows through streaming sites, I’ll find that binge-watching crime shows on streaming sites leads to higher mean world perception effects than watching periodic shows on cable TV.
Relationship 1: Binge-watchers of crime shows on streaming sites will report higher levels of trust and dependency in local law enforcement than viewers of cable television.
Relationship 2: Binge-watchers of crime shows on streaming sites will perceive local crime as more rampant and prevalent than viewers of cable television.
Relationship 3: Binge-watchers of crime shows on streaming sites will report higher levels of distrust toward strangers and even neighbors than viewers of cable television.
Methodology
Previous cultivation theory research has shown variances across social and demographic categories (Eveland, 2002), so in order to protect the validity of this survey, I would limit the participants to only UGA undergraduate students living in Athens. This participant-range would include both groups I plan to test: students with paid subscriptions to streaming sites who use them frequently, and students who primarily watch periodic series on cable television. The first step in conducting this survey involves asking participants about their TV viewing habits. Participants with one or more subscriptions to paid streaming services who report watching three or more episodes of a given category of TV a week will fall into the category of “binge-watcher.” Participants who report to having no subscriptions to paid streaming services and watch on average one episode of a given category of TV a week will fall under the category of “cable watcher.” Next, participants will be asked to select from a list of commonly viewed crime shows (NCIS, Law and Order, Criminal Minds, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, etc.) and select which of the following television shows they have seen before. They will then answer how many episodes from the first season of each show they have seen on a scale from 0-4 (0, 1-3 episodes; 1, 4-6 episodes; 2, 7-9 episodes; 3, 10-12 episodes; 4, 13 or more episodes).
Based on the responses to this initial part of the survey, participants will answer questions evaluating their trust in law enforcement, perceptions of prevalence of local crime, and perceptions of personal safety around strangers and neighbors. Using a Likert scale of questions scaled from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), participants will respond to questions that fall into each of the three categories of variables, such as, I believe the police would act quickly if there were a break-in at my house, I feel generally unsafe walking from my car to my door at night, I believe most people would try to take advantage of me if they had the chance, etc. These questions are similar to the types of questions used in the Krongard and Tsay-Vogel (2018) study and each will correlate to one of three defined variables. The research survey will treat between-subjects participant groups in a cross-sectional study, where the same questions are applied to viewers of the different groups. Based on the results of the survey, I will test correlation between the platform used to view popular crime shows and the either negative or positive perceptions correlated with each of my three variables.
Conclusion
Cultivation theory is a difficult and time-consuming media theory to study, as it requires an extensive and cumulative look into attitudes over time. This single cross-sectional study may involve a statistical analysis of correlation, but it cannot accurately claim that binge-watching directly produces stronger cultivation effects than cable television. A future study from this one might design a longitudinal study among the same participants months or even years after this survey to determine the long-term and cumulative effects of the cultivation theory. However, I still feel this survey would be interesting and beneficial to conduct right now, as it reveals interesting associations between the platform of media consumption and “mean world” perceptions. Understanding the impact that streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon have at cultivating perceptions about the world could be developed into a strategic tool for influencing public opinion and understanding more about how entertainment media can affect perceptions of social reality.