Cultivation Theory and Social Class: Materialism, Racism, and Sexism

Cultivation Theory and Social Class: Materialism, Racism, and Sexism

Timothy Johns

Communications and the Media – COM-126

March 4, 2012

Keri Smith

Cultivation Theory and Social Class: Materialism, Racism, and Sexism

The social theory of cultivation, as developed by George Gerbner, has become a standard for academic research regarding the association of specific behaviors and the media. Gerbner’s initial research from the mid-1960s focused primarily on the cumulative effects that television had on its viewership. While the primary focus of Gerbner’s work studied the effects of television violence and its correlation with behavior, his theory can be utilized to identify a number of behavioral patterns in other areas. Personal views on materialism, racism, and sexism may also be influenced by the cultivation effects of the media.

The idiom ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’, despite its disputed origins, illustrates the modern person’s need to feel justified and socially accepted by measuring their own materialistic worth amongst their peers. The prevalence of this phenomenon may be easiest to see in modern American culture. Rampant consumerism helped fuel what has been coined the ‘Great Recession’, from which, the United States has yet to fully recover. In a country with no official social caste system, many Americans measure their social stature by the accumulation of material goods. Research supporting this view has shown that light television viewers are not as likely to view ownership of goods such as luxury items or careers in high-income occupations with the importance that heavy television viewers do (Shrum et al., 1998).

The perception of social class in American society is not always limited to wealth alone. Until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many African-Americans were viewed by their Caucasian counterparts as second-class citizens in the United States. The political correctness of racism in the United States has waned considerably...