Cultivation update #3: The analysis
For those of you who are interested ... here is the conclusion of my research into Cultivation Theory and its potential applications to understanding the persuasive power of political television advertising ...
Hypothesis 1, which predicted those who watch more television would have a higher level of willingness to rely on television advertising in making voting decisions, was not supported by these findings. As the highest hourly mean score (2.423) was for those who watched an average of two hours of television daily, increased exposure to television did not increase the overall willingness to rely on political television advertising.
Hypothesis 2, which predicted that the willingness to believe positive claims about candidates made in political television advertising would generally increase along with viewing time, was supported. As the highest mean score (3.122) was for those who watched five hours of television daily, there was a general upward trend in the willingness of respondents to believe these advertisements.
Hypothesis 3, which predicted that the willingness to believe negative claims about candidates made in political television advertising would generally increase along with viewing time, was not supported. As with Hypothesis 1, the highest mean score was for two-hour viewers (2.08), followed by an overall decline in believability. Therefore, the willingness to believe negative political advertising did not increase with viewing time.
Overall, the research findings presented here did not show a significant cultivation effect to be present with regard to political advertising. However, as there is much research which shows that television programming, including advertising, can have cultivation effects upon viewers, these findings alone cannot be assumed to deny that such an effect exists.
There are a number of factors which were not examined in the course of this research that could affect willingness of voters to consider the claims made in political television advertising. These factors include personal viewing interests and motives, as well as the amount of political advertising in programming that viewers watched. For example, a voter who views television for purely entertainment motives may largely disregard political advertising (as well as other forms of advertising), while one who watches news programming regularly might pay closer attention to such advertising.
Another point worth considering is that while voters may claim to have a low level of willingness to rely upon political advertising, research indicated that there may be subliminal processes at work which allow messages to be processed and stored in the minds of viewers without conscious thought (Posner & Snyder, 1975; Jamieson, 1992). Further research into what takes place in the minds of television viewers who are exposed to political television advertising can help determine if these findings are an aberration, or an indication of the shortcomings of cultivation theory in this area.
There exists considerable research which shows that political advertising has a significant influence upon voters who are exposed to it, even if such effects may not be fully understood. While this alone presents sufficient justification for further research, the knowledge that campaign tactics used in American political campaigns may later be used in political campaigns in other nations should serve as caution that these methods of political communication can have effects on a global scale. Given the potential global reach of these effects, the need to better understand this form of political communication presents a challenge which should not be taken lightly.
With many of the survey participants having indicated a willingness to participate in future research, as well as the number of questions which my research raised, this project may well end up becoming the subject of my thesis project, to begin next summer.
As always, your thoughts on this subject are welcome ...
Hypothesis 1, which predicted those who watch more television would have a higher level of willingness to rely on television advertising in making voting decisions, was not supported by these findings. As the highest hourly mean score (2.423) was for those who watched an average of two hours of television daily, increased exposure to television did not increase the overall willingness to rely on political television advertising.
Hypothesis 2, which predicted that the willingness to believe positive claims about candidates made in political television advertising would generally increase along with viewing time, was supported. As the highest mean score (3.122) was for those who watched five hours of television daily, there was a general upward trend in the willingness of respondents to believe these advertisements.
Hypothesis 3, which predicted that the willingness to believe negative claims about candidates made in political television advertising would generally increase along with viewing time, was not supported. As with Hypothesis 1, the highest mean score was for two-hour viewers (2.08), followed by an overall decline in believability. Therefore, the willingness to believe negative political advertising did not increase with viewing time.
Overall, the research findings presented here did not show a significant cultivation effect to be present with regard to political advertising. However, as there is much research which shows that television programming, including advertising, can have cultivation effects upon viewers, these findings alone cannot be assumed to deny that such an effect exists.
There are a number of factors which were not examined in the course of this research that could affect willingness of voters to consider the claims made in political television advertising. These factors include personal viewing interests and motives, as well as the amount of political advertising in programming that viewers watched. For example, a voter who views television for purely entertainment motives may largely disregard political advertising (as well as other forms of advertising), while one who watches news programming regularly might pay closer attention to such advertising.
Another point worth considering is that while voters may claim to have a low level of willingness to rely upon political advertising, research indicated that there may be subliminal processes at work which allow messages to be processed and stored in the minds of viewers without conscious thought (Posner & Snyder, 1975; Jamieson, 1992). Further research into what takes place in the minds of television viewers who are exposed to political television advertising can help determine if these findings are an aberration, or an indication of the shortcomings of cultivation theory in this area.
There exists considerable research which shows that political advertising has a significant influence upon voters who are exposed to it, even if such effects may not be fully understood. While this alone presents sufficient justification for further research, the knowledge that campaign tactics used in American political campaigns may later be used in political campaigns in other nations should serve as caution that these methods of political communication can have effects on a global scale. Given the potential global reach of these effects, the need to better understand this form of political communication presents a challenge which should not be taken lightly.
With many of the survey participants having indicated a willingness to participate in future research, as well as the number of questions which my research raised, this project may well end up becoming the subject of my thesis project, to begin next summer.
As always, your thoughts on this subject are welcome ...
I know, don't quit the day gig for comedy writing.