Cultivation

Let us recap! Agenda Setting tells the audience what the topic is and how important it is based on the frequency of coverage; Priming sets how the audience will assess information presented to them and prepares certain narratives, and Framing accentuates some and suppresses other characteristics in order to shape the information in a particular way to match a particular point of view or established norm. Note that gatekeeping can also be applied to exclude specific facts or opinions from the frame.

Those effects play an essential role in Cultivation. Cultivation itself is divided into first- and second-order effects (Morgan & Shanahan, 2010). The former is also known as memory-based, as they heavily depend on the information, which is already in the recipient’s mind. In those effects, “accessibility” is critical. In other words, the faster and easier the information can be accessed, the stronger the effect, which means that Agenda Setting and Priming are crucial for the activation of those effects. The second-order effects describe how an individual will make a judgment in real-time as new information is acquired. This effect can be used for Priming by introducing specific information when a person is not able to critically analyze it by either making it sound unimportant and mention it in passing or by introducing it at a time when the individual has diminished mental capacity or ability to process (Shrum, 1996).

Unlike the Two-step Flow of Information, which requires an intermediary – the opinion leader, Cultivation is achieved directly, primarily through saturation, as is Agenda Setting, Priming, and Framing.

Recommended Reading

Glynn, C. J., Hayes, A. F., & Shanahan, J. (1997). Perceived support for one’s opinions and willingness to speak out: A meta-analysis of survey studies on the “Spiral of Silence.” Public Opinion Quarterly, 61(3), 452-. Gale Academic OneFile. Morgan, M., & Shanahan, J. (2010). The State of Cultivation. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 54(2), 337–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151003735018
Noelle-Neumann, E. (1974). The Spiral of Silence a Theory of Public Opinion. Journal of Communication, 24(2), 43–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1974.tb00367.x
Shrum, L. J. (1996). Psychological Processes Underlying Cultivation Effects Further Tests of Construct Accessibility. Human Communication Research, 22(4), 482–509. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.1996.tb00376.x