This paper analyzes the effects of television on people's perceptions of society, utilizing social learning and cultivation theories. It explores how television influences body image, stereotypes, and perceptions of professions through repeated exposure to certain images and narratives. The findings suggest that frequent television viewing can lead to unrealistic expectations and beliefs about reality, underscoring the need for further research on its impacts.

1. Sample Student Paper1
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze if and how television
affects peoples' perception
of society. Social learning theory and cultivation theory are
introduced as two possible reasons
why television can have such an influence over its viewers. This
report analyzes how body
image, stereotypes, and job glorification are affected by what is
shown on television. An online
survey was taken by twenty-two people in order to see if the
amount of television people
watched affected television's influence over its viewers. The
questions attempted to analyze how
television affected their perceptions of themselves, others, and
the professions of doctors,
lawyers, and police officers. Although the sample size was
rather small the results showed that
reality television was affected by the frequency one watched
television. However, more studies

2. should be conducted to analyze if realism or frequency plays a
more predominant role in the
effects of television.
Key terms: Body image, Cultivation theory, Job glorification,
Social learning theory,
Stereotypes, Television influence
Problem Statement
On average Americans, spend 2.8 hours watching television
every day (American Time
Use Survey Summary). Television shows can be very influential
to people, they have the ability
to move, inspire, and educate them. However, this may be
causing people to believe that
television is always an accurate portrayal of real life. The belief
that television shows are always
factual has the potential to affect one's judgments, which could
lead to body image issues,
increased stereotyping, job glorification and more. "In addition
to exposure to television, the
extent to which individuals perceive content as realistic is
related to their social judgments"
Sample Student Paper2

3. (Busselle 47). This paper will analyze if and how, through the
factors set forth in the social
learning and cultivation theories, television affects peoples'
perception of society.
Literature Review
In 1939 television first started being broadcasted, and ever
since the effects television has
on its viewers has been the focus of many debates and concerns.
The censorship of television
shows has greatly decreased since its early days. "In the 1950s
and 1960s, networks and
advertisers imposed strict controls on what could be show on
television" (Hanson 329). In the
early days of television, content was highly regulated and there
were a lot of rules about what
was acceptable to show on television. For example, Laura and
Rob Petrie, from the Dick Van
Dyke show, had to sleep in separate beds even though they were
married. Even Lucille Balls’s
pregnancy caused great concern (Hanson 329). In the 1950s and
1960s, married couples were
shown sleeping separately; however, today it is commonplace to
find unmarried couples sharing

4. a bed on television. Although the rules and regulations about
what is appropriate to be shown on
television have been greatly relaxed, concerns are just as high
about how television is
influencing society. This literature review will address the
importance of television’s effects and
the theories of cultivation and social learning will be discussed
as possible causes. Along with
this, body image issues, stereotyping and job glorification will
be presented as possible effects of
television viewership.
Importance of Television Effects
Television has become an integral part of peoples' lives; not
only is it a form of
entertainment, but it is also educates people. The popularity of
television and the massive
number of television shows available to the public has also
increased the concern."The extent of
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TV viewing in most [Western societies] has led leaders,

5. politicians, and educators to express
their concern and worries regarding the effects of such viewing
on society and its
youngsters"(Cohen and Weimann 99). As the role that television
plays in peoples' lives
increases, so does the concern over how exactly television is
affecting its viewers. The more
people watch and value television, the more it will influence
and shape peoples' views, beliefs
and expectations.
The reality portrayed on television is influenced by stories and
the actors portraying
them; however, the real world, life outside these influences, is
not always the same as what is
depicted on television. Television shows and their creators have
the ability to create a reality that
people may ultimately believe to be an accurate portrayal of the
real world.
The mass production and rapid distribution of messages create
new symbolic
environments that reflect the structure and functions of the
institutions that transmit them.
These institutional processes of the mass-production messages
short-circuit other

6. networks of social communication and superimpose their own
forms of collective
consciousness-their own publics-upon other social
relationships. (Gerbner 69)
The images that one sees on television portray how the writers,
producers, directors, etc. see the
world. As one sees the messages repeatedly on the screen, they
begin to creep into the minds of
the viewers, altering and shaping their views. "The notion is
that living in a symbolic
environment in which certain types of institutions with certain
types of objectives create certain
types of messages, tends to cultivate (support, sustain, and
nourish) certain types of collective
consciousness" (Morgan and Shanahan 339). As one
continuously sees the same images, events,
and realities portrayed on the screen, they become expected. For
example, those who watch a lot
of news programming may believe that crime rates are higher
than they actually are. This is
Sample Student Paper4

7. because acts of crime are frequently reported on the news. The
repetitiveness of television affects
the way people view society; as one sees these images play out
over and over again on television
they become the norm.
Cultivation Theory and Social Learning Theory
There has been a lot of research done on the different effects
that television can have on
its viewers. According to research done by Bryant and Miron,
cultivation and social learning
theory are two of the most popular theories in mass
communication (Bryant and Miron 673).
Cultivation theory states that, the more television someone
watches, the more they will
experience its affects. "The most familiar version of the
cultivation hypothesis is that those who
spend more time watching television are more likely to perceive
the real world in ways that
reflect the most common and recurrent messages of the world of
fictional television" (Morgan
and Shanahan 337). The main idea behind cultivation theory is
that the more television one
watches, the more likely they will perceive the real world to be

8. like they see on television. Social
learning theory states that people learn by example. "People’s
behaviors are learned through
observation and modeling" (Jeffres et al. 104). People learn by
watching and then they emulate
what they see. Cultivation theory and social learning theory are
two main theories used to
explain the effects of television.
George Gerbner, who introduced cultivation, was one of the
first people to do research on
the effects of [mass communication] which he described as,
"large message systems" (Gerbner
71). Television is an example of mass communication since it
allows for an exorbitant amount
of information to be sent rapidly to millions of people. When
Gerbner first started to do his
research, television and the effects it could have were relatively
new. He eventually introduced
Sample Student Paper5
several theories, including cultivation theory, as reasons for
how television and mass media

9. would forever change public views.
Mass communication, including television, often shows people
a singular view of the
world. The same views and ideas are shown repeatedly on
different television shows every day.
“The rise of mass communication is a profound change in the
management of information, and in
the creation of the common symbolic environment that gives
public direction and meaning to
human activity” (Gerbner, 70-1). As one sees and hears the
same views everyday, they become
accepted as the norm. The television shows that are watched
every night have given people the
foundation for what goes on in the real world.
Although social learning theory is not quite as popular as
cultivation theory it still offers
profound insights into the effects of television viewing; social
learning theory was created by
Albert Bandura. Humans in general are very visual and learn
best through examples. "We are
able to learn by observing what others do and the consequences
they face" (Hanson 60). Humans
learn from examples, children try to copy their parents,
teenagers try to be like their friends or

10. that one person they wish they were. People learn from others’
mistakes and try to recreate their
successes. Television provides people with a wealth of mistakes
and success stories that can be
emulated.
Effects of Television
The effect television viewing can have on body image is often
criticized. The use of
"thin-ideal media" on television is one of the main causes for
this concern (Van Vonderen and
Kinnally 42). Thin-ideal media is media that constantly uses
thin female characters and promotes
thinness as a desirable attribute that often leads to the most
success (Van Vonderen and Kinnally
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43). When one turns on the television, they are exposed to
images of beautiful men and women.
These beautiful actors on television are causing people,
especially women, to desire to look the
same way. "In 1972, 23 percent of U.S. women said that they

11. were dissatisfied with their overall
appearance. By 1996 that figure had grown to 48 percent"
(Hanson 170). Women see these
actresses on television as having the perfect body and they
become unhappy with their own
bodies, lowering their self-esteem. This increase in body
dissatisfaction is causing more women
to be affected by eating disorders. "It is no secret that a
significant number of girls and young
women suffer from eating disorders as their quest to find to find
beauty through thinness"
(Hanson 170). As the obsession with being thin grows more and
more, young girls are becoming
anorexic or bulimic in an effort to get thinner. These actors on
television are seen as role models,
which is causing the desire to be thin, in order to be just like
them, to grow rapidly.
The more people watch television and are exposed to thin-ideal
media the more likely
they will see these bodies as normal. "Women who are exposed
to heavy amounts of thin ideal
media are likely to accept this as the norm" (Van Vonderen and
Kinnally 43). The more women
see these thin actresses on television, the more likely they will

12. be to see this as the normal and
ideal body weight. When women see these women with perfect
bodies, they feel as though their
bodies should look just like theirs. However, actors such as,
"the much-photographed Jennifer
Aniston is an impossible (for most women) size zero" (Hanson
170). It does not matter that most
women will never be able to be a size zero, it is still what many
women hope to be.
There has not always been this obsession with thinness. "The
body size of women
portrayed in mass media has been steadily getting smaller" (Van
Vonderen and Kinnally 42).
Today, many of the biggest actresses are super thin; however,
this is more of a recent
phenomenon. In fact, according to today's standards [Marilyn
Monroe] would be considered a
Sample Student Paper7
plus-sized model (Hanson 170). What was once considered the
perfect body is now a body many
people would be ashamed of. The fact that the size of the
perfect body has decreased, along with

13. the average size of actresses, supports the idea of cultivation;
that what one sees on television is
seen as normal. Not only can television affect one’s image of
themself, but it can also affect how
they view others.
The way that televisions aids in the formation of stereotypes is
another concern for many
people. Television can play a role in the formation of both
gender and racial stereotypes. "Aside
from the problem that people on television comedies and dramas
are not only attractive and
funny but, also resolve problems in less than an hour, there are
complaints that television
presents a world that is overwhelmingly white, male, and
middle class" (Hanson 320). The
demographics on television are not representative of society;
oftentimes, women and minorities
are pushed to the side. Not only are minorities under
represented; they are often portrayed in a
less favorable light. "Minority groups argue that the media
serve up stereotypic images that
conflict with reality" (Jeffres et al. 105). In general minorities
feel that the images presented on

14. television are overtly stereotypical and clash with the real
world. The way people are portrayed
on television can lead to people believing that this is an
accurate description of how people truly
act. "According to Bandura, people’s behaviors are learned
through observation and modeling;
thus exposure to media images leads to the formation of social
stereotypes" (Jeffres et al. 104).
Television offers people a glimpse into worlds they would
otherwise be unfamiliar with;
however, what they take away from it may not always be
accurate and can lead to misguided
assumptions about others.
Television does not only affect peoples' perception of other
people, it also affects how
they see certain professions. There are hundreds of shows about
police officers, doctors, and
Sample Student Paper8
lawyers all over television. In half an hour to an hour’s time, a
television show tries to depict the
daily lives of these various professions. In one hour a doctor
identifies a rare disease and cures it,

15. a lawyer is able to win a huge case, and a crime is solved from
start to finish. These over
exaggerations of events on television may lead the public to
believe these inaccuracies are the
truth. "Cultivation theory posits that frequent viewing of these
distortions of reality will
increasingly result in the perception that these distortions
reflect reality" (Shrum 511). People
that frequently watch these shows with an exaggerated reality
may truly believe that what they
are watching reflects what really goes on in the life of a doctor,
lawyer, or police officer. These
distorted realities could lead to complications in the real world
as people try to apply what they
see on television to the real world.
Shows that involve the medical profession are very popular
amongst television viewers;
however, what is seen on these shows is not always realistic.
Medical dramas offer people
insights into the world of medicine and are where they get a lot
of their information. "Numerous
studies have noted the popularity of medical dramas, as well as
the ways in which viewers use

16. entertainment programs as a basis for their knowledge about
medicine" (Strauman and Goodier
32). Just as most shows, the hero always saves the day, in
medical shows, the doctor is the hero
and has all the answers. However, there is "concern from
physicians that overly positive
representations set unrealistic expectations for patients"
(Strauman and Goodier 33). In real life
doctors cannot save every patient and they definitely do not
have all the answers. These
television shows that constantly portray the heroic doctors may
lead people to expect more from
their doctors than is actually possible. Although the writers try
to be as accurate as possible by
having experts in the field available for consultation it does not
mean that certain aspects are not
exaggerated or always feasible.
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Lawyers are also predominant fixtures on television. One can
turn on the television and
somewhere they can find a show that involves lawyers. People
learn a lot about lawyers from

17. what they see on these television shows. A study conducted by
Pfau, Mullen, Diedrich and
Garrow found that, "television's portrayals of attorneys
influence the public's perceptions of
attorneys" (Pfau and Mullen). Many people have not had a lot of
experience with lawyers, so
almost all of their information comes from what they see on
television. The lack of overall
experience with lawyers, combined with frequent viewing of
legal shows, may lead to viewers
having an exaggerated view of lawyers.
Along with the medical and legal fields, the forensics field is
also a popular and
misrepresented career. Many times in shows, like CSI: Crime
Scene Investigation, viewers will
see characters do things that cannot actually be done. "The
inaccuracies in these shows have to
do with stretching the science beyond what normally occurs, or
taking computer graphics and
making science do something it can't" (qtd. in Stanton). The
main goal of a television show is to
entertain and these shows take a lot of creative liberties when
writing. Although these shows

18. often exaggerate what science can actually do, sometimes the
science depicted does actually
exist. However, most labs would not have access to the tools
needed to make use of the
procedures. According to Kathy Reichs, a forensic
anthropologist and producer on the television
show Bones, "some of the things that we use, does any crime
lab that I've ever seen have them?
No, because it is too expensive, but they do
exist"(watchmojo.com). Sometimes the science does
exist; however, the cost of the using it is too high for most labs.
The exaggerations of these
forensic shows have also even been known to influence jurors
on criminal cases.
In 2003, the CSI Effect was introduced to demonstrate the
effect that shows like CSI can
have on jurors. "The CSI Effect is the notion that crime show
viewing influences jurors to have
Sample Student Paper10
unrealistic expectations of forensic evidence, which then affects
their trial decisions" (Hayes and
Levett 216). Viewing television shows that revolve around

19. criminal investigation could lead the
jurors to expect things that are just not realistic. For example,
they may always want forensic
evidence, which is not always possible (Hayes and Levett 216-
17). When no forensic evidence is
available, doubts in the prosecution may arise in the minds of
jurors. In shows like CSI they
always find all the answers and there is always that smoking
gun that points them directly to the
bad guy. However, in the real world, evidence just does not
work that way.
As these examples show, television plays a major part in a lot
of people's lives and it is
important to understand what the effects television viewing can
have. The theories of cultivation
and social learning introduce reasons for why television can
have such an impact on someone.
People watch a good amount of television everyday and they get
a lot of information about areas
that they would not otherwise be familiar. The information
gained from watching television can
cause people to develop an unrealistic perception of themselves,
others, or even a potential
career. The effects that television can have should not be taken

20. lightly and they are important to
understand in order to limit the negative effects that they could
potentially have on someone's
life.
The purpose of this study is to determine how cultivation and
social learning theory affect
people's perception of society. Other research has studied how
television viewing can influence
certain things such as body image and stereotypes. However,
not a lot of research has been done
on whether or not those who watch more television are likely to
believe what they see on
television, causing them to be more affected by its content.
Those who watch more television
have a higher exposure to the images and messages presented on
television, which should result
in them believing these portrayals to be accurate. They will also
have more opportunities to learn
Sample Student Paper11
from the examples set forth by these shows. Based on research,
the hypothesis for this study is

21. that those who watch more television will be more likely to
accept what is shown on television
as the truth and be more susceptible to the affects of television.
Method
An online survey was conducted of adults ages eighteen to
forty-nine. The reason this
survey targeted those between the ages of eighteen and forty-
nine is because this demographic is
seen as the most valuable among television networks because it
brings in the most money from
advertisers. The revenue, from advertising, that can be brought
in from this age group often
causes television networks to cater their shows towards them
(Pomerantz 40). This survey was
purposive in focusing on a targeted age group; however, the
survey was not random and thus
cannot be representative of a population. The survey also uses a
rating scale so participants were
not able to explain why they chose the answers they did.
The participants were asked a series of questions designed to
show how their perceptions
were affected by television. They were asked questions
pertaining to four specific areas: realism,

22. body image, stereotypes, and job glorification. The questions in
the realism section were
designed to measure how accurate and realistic people believe
television shows to be. Some of
these questions were based on questions asked in earlier
research, specifically Busselle's article
"Television Exposure, Perceived Realism, and Exemplar
Accessibility in the Social Judgment
Process". The body image section asked people to think about
how television affected the
perceptions of their own bodies as well as others. The questions
pertaining stereotypes were
designed to see how people felt their race and gender were
portrayed on television. It also
attempts to see if people assume certain people will act a certain
way based on what they see on
Sample Student Paper12
television. Finally, the questions on job glorification were
designed to get a sense of the
participants’ perceptions of different careers, specifically
doctors, lawyers, and police officers.
Results

23. Participants
A total of twenty-two people took the online survey, 55 percent
of them were female and
45 percent male. A majority, 59 percent of the participants,
were between the ages of eighteen
and twenty-five, 18 percent were twenty-six to thirty-three, 9
percent were thirty-four to forty-
one, and 14 percent were forty-two to forty-nine. Most of the
participants would be considered
light to moderate television viewers, with 32 percent watching
less than one hour of television a
day and 45 percent watching one to two hours daily. Only 18
percent reported watching three to
four hours and 5 percent said they watch four or more hours of
television a day.
Participants were asked to rank the order in which they
watched certain genres, one being
the most frequently and six being the least frequent. The genres
that were ranked one to three
were considered the most frequently watched. The top three
genres watched were comedies,
crime dramas, and reality.

24. 0%
50%
100%
Comedy Crime Drama Reality News Medical
Drama
Science
Fiction
Frequency Genre Most Watched
Sample Student Paper13
Realism
Based on the data received from the survey, all of the
participants understand that
television does take creative liberties. Four questions were
asked pertaining to the accuracy and
realism of television shows and none of the participants
strongly agreed with any of the
questions regarding televisions accuracy or realism. Fifty-five
percent of the participants agreed

25. that the crime shown on television is similar to the crime in the
real world, 36 percent disagreed
and 9 percent strongly disagreed. However, the participants that
reported watching crime dramas
the most frequently were less likely to agree with the accuracy
of the crime on television. Only
42 percent agreed, 50 percent disagreed, and 8 percent strongly
disagreed.
Most of the participants did not believe that the illnesses and
procedures shown on
medical dramas were common in the real world, 33 percent of
the participants agreed, 59 percent
disagreed, and 9 percent strongly disagreed. None of the
participants that reported medical
dramas as one of their most frequently watched genres agreed
that the illnesses and procedures
were common, 60 percent disagreed and 40 percent strongly
disagreed.
Most of the participants, 68 percent, felt that the portrayal of
cops was somewhat accurate
and 32 percent believed it was not accurate. Of the participants
that watched the most crime
dramas, 58 percent believed that the portrayal of cops was
somewhat accurate and 42 percent felt

26. it was not accurate.
Participants' feelings towards the accuracy of television did not
increase with the amount
of television that they watched. Overall most participants, 82
percent, felt that television shows
were somewhat accurate. Eighty percent of the participants who
watched the most television,
three or more hours a day, considered television shows to be
somewhat accurate and 82 percent
of those who watched two hours or less felt that television
shows are somewhat accurate.
Sample Student Paper14
Body Image
It is clear from the results that females are more likely to
believe that actors and actresses
have the ideal body, 83 percent of females agreed, 8 percent
strongly agreed and 8 percent
disagreed. However, men were split over actors and actresses
having the ideal body. Fifty
percent of them agreed but 40 percent disagreed, 10 percent

27. strongly disagreed, and no men
strongly agreed.
Females were also more likely to compare themselves to those
on television. 41 percent
of females agreed or strongly agreed that they often compare
themselves to those on television
while 30 percent of men said they compare themselves to those
on television. Most participants
said that they did not compare members of the opposite sex to
people on television, only 18
percent agreed, 25 percent of females and 10 percent of males.
Stereotypes
Those that watch reality television shows the most frequently
are not as comfortable with
how their race or their gender is being portrayed on television.
None of the participants who said
they watched reality television less frequently than other genres
felt uncomfortable with how
their race or gender is portrayed. However, 27 percent of those
that most frequently watched
0%
20%

28. 40%
60%
80%
100%
Not Accurate Somewhat Accurate Very Accurate
Perceived Accuracy of Television
2 Hours or Less
Three or More Hours
Sample Student Paper15
reality television did not feel comfortable with how their race
was portrayed. Also, 63 percent
said they disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement: I
feel comfortable with how my
gender is portrayed on television.
Only 32 percent of participants felt their values were similar to
those shown on
television, while 45 percent disagreed and 23 percent strongly

29. disagreed. Most participants, 59
percent, either disagreed or strongly disagreed, that reality
television is a true representation of
how people act while only 41 percent agreed. However, most
did believe that reality television
did increase stereotyping, 95 percent agreed or strongly agreed.
Job Glorification
The survey analyzed how the participants felt the position of
doctors, lawyers, and police
officers are portrayed on television. Most participants felt that
each of these professions were
0%
50%
100%
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
Comfortable with Race
Portrayal
Most Reality

30. Least Reality
0%
50%
100%
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
Comfortable with Gender
Portrayal
Most Reality
Least Reality
Sample Student Paper16
over glamorized on television. At 77 percent, the position of a
doctor received the highest
number of participants believing that it was over glamorized,
followed by lawyers at 68 percent,
and finally police officers at 64 percent.
Discussion

31. With all of the television people consume it is important to
understand how what is
shown on television affects peoples’ lives and how they
perceive the world. The purpose of this
study was to determine if those who watched the most television
were more susceptible to its
effects. This study analyzed the amount of television the
participants watched and how
frequently they viewed certain genres: crime dramas, medical
dramas, and reality and how it
affected their perceptions. The study focused on how television
affected peoples' views on body
image, stereotypes and job glorification. Despite the research
the findings of this study did not
fully support the hypothesis that the more television one
watches the more they will be affected
by it.
This study only included people between the ages of eighteen
and forty-nine. However, a
study …