This study examined the relationship between Trinidadian high school students' exposure to U.S. television programming and cultivation indicators. Television viewing was related to liberal social values concerning relationships, family, and authority. It was not related to cultural knowledge and estimations of Americans' material wealth. The findings raise questions about the assumed linear relationship between television viewing and cultivation. Long-standing questions pertaining to reliability in cultivation analysis were also addressed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Beltran, Luis R. (1975a) 'Research Ideologies in Conflict'. Journal of Communication25(2): 187-193.
2.
Beltran, Luis R. (1978b) 'Communication and Cultural Domination: U.S.A.-Latin American case'. Media Asia5: 183-192.
3.
Brown, Aggrey (1987) TV Programming Trends in the Anglophone Caribbean: the 1980s — a study for UNESCO (Kingston, Jamaica: Carimac).
4.
Brown, Aggrey (1990) 'Effects of the New World Information Order on Caribbean Media'. In: Stuart H. Surlin and Walter C. Soderlund (eds), Mass Media and the Caribbean (New York: Gordon and Breach): 251-271.
5.
Carnoy, Martin (1974) Education as Cultural Imperialism ( New York: D. McKay).
6.
Chaffee, Steven H. (1992) 'Search for change: Survey Studies of International Media Effects'. In: Felipe Korzenny, Stella Ting-Toomey and Elizabeth Schiff (eds), Mass media effects across cultures (Newbury Park, CA: Sage): 35-54.
7.
Cohen, J. ( 1960) 'A Coefficient for Nominal Scales'. Educational and Psychological Measurement20: 37-64.
8.
Cronbach, L.J. (1951) 'Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests'. Psychometrika16: 297-334.
9.
Demac, D.A. and R.J. Morrison (1989) 'U.S.-Caribbean Telecommunications: Making Great Strides in Development'. Telecommunications Policy13(1): 51-58.
10.
Demas, William G. (1986) Speech Given at the Caribbean Media Seminar'. Kingston, Jamaica, mimeograph.
11.
Doob, Anthony N. and Graham F. Macdonald (1979) 'Television Viewing and Fear of Victimization: Is the Relationship Causal?' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology37: 170-179.
12.
Dunn, Hopeton S. (1988) 'Broadcasting flow in the Caribbean'. InterMedia16: 39-42.
13.
Dunn, Hopeton S. (1995) 'Caribbean Telecommunications Policy: Fashioned by Debt, Dependency and Underdevelopment'. Media, Culture & Society17: 202-222.
14.
Elasmar, M.G. and Joseph D. Straubhaar (1993, November) 'Toward a Meta-analysis of Foreign TV Effects Research'. Paper Presented at the Speech Communication Association, Miami, Florida .
15.
Gerbner, George, Larry Gross, Michael Morgan, Nancy and Signorielli (1980) 'Some Additional Comments on Cultivation and Analysis' . Public Opinion Quarterly44: 408-410.
16.
Gerbner, George, Larry Gross, Michael Morgan, and Nancy Signorielli (1981) 'A Curious Journey Into the Scary World of Paul Hirsch'. Communication Research8: 39-72.
17.
Hakanen, E.A. (1988) 'The American connection: Telecommunication Planning in the Caribbean'. Howard Journal of Communication1(2): 42-57.
18.
Hirsh, Paul (1980) 'The 'Scary World' of the Nonviewer and Other Anomalies: A Reanalysis of Gerbner et al.'s Findings on Cultivation Analysis, part 1 '. Communication Research7: 403-456
19.
Hoffman-Reim, Wolfgang (1987) 'National Identity and Cultural Values: Broadcasting Safeguards'. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media31: 57-72.
20.
Hosein, Evrold H. (1976) 'The Problem of Imported Television Content In the Commonwealth Caribbean'. Caribbean Quarterly22: 7-25.
21.
Hovic, T. and T. Heilberg (1980) 'Center-periphery Tourism and Self-reliance'. International Social Science Journal32: 75-105.
22.
Kang, Jong Geun and Michael Morgan (1988) 'Culture clash: Impact of U.S. Television in Korea' . Journalism Quarterly65: 431-438.
23.
Kim, Wang Lay and Zaharom Nain (1996, February) 'The Malaysian Media, Youth and Contemporary Myths: A subcultural Critique'. Paper Presented at the Intercultural and International Communication Conference, Miami, Fl.
24.
Knaack, K. (1987, October) 'Foreign media vs. Caribbean culture' . Paper Presented to the Caribbean Broadcasting Union, Plymouth, Montserrat. Felipe Korzenny, Stella Ting-Toomey and Elizabeth Schiff (eds), Mass media effects across cultures (1992) (Newbury Park, CA: Sage).
25.
Korzenny, Felipe, Stell Ting-Toomey and Elizabeth Schiff (eds), (1992) Mass Media Effects Across Cultures ( Newbury Park, CA: Sage).
26.
Lacy, Stephen R. and Daniel Riffe (1993) 'Sins of Omission and Commission in Mass Communication Quantitative Research'. Journalism Quarterly70: 126-132.
27.
Lashley, Lynette M. (1993, February) 'Television and the Americanization of the Trinbagonian Youth: A Study of Four Secondary Schools'. Paper Presented at International Communication Conference, Miami.
28.
Lashley, Lynette M. (1996, February) 'Television and the Cultural Environment in Trinidad and Tobago - A Need for Policy'. Paper Presented at International Communication Conference, Miami .
29.
Lent, John A. (1989) 'Communication Technology in the Caribbean: The Ever Increasing Dependency'. Caribbean Affairs2: 154-179.
30.
Market Facts and Opinions, Ltd. Trinidad and Tobago (1988).
31.
McAnany, Emile G. and Kenton Wilkinson (1992) 'From Cultural Imperialists to Takeover Victims?' Communication Research19: 724-748.
32.
Morgan, Michael and J. Shanahan (1991) 'Television and the Cultivation of Political Attitudes in Argentina'. Journal of Communication4: 88-103.
33.
Mosco, Vincent (1994) 'The Political Economy of Communication: Lessons from the founders'. In: R. E. Babe (ed.), Information and Communication (Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers): 105-123.
Pantin, Abel (1994, February 6) 'Violence Clad as Entertainment'. Sunday Guardian (Trinidad): 1.
36.
Potter, W. James (1991) 'Cultivation Theory and Research: A Conceptual Critique'. Human Communication Research19: 564-601.
37.
Potter, W. James (1994) 'Cultivation Theory and Research: A Methodological Critique'. Journalism Monographs (Columbia, S.C: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication): 147.
38.
Reddock, Rhoda (1993) 'Reflections on Crime and Violence in Contemporary Trinidad and Tobago'. Paper Presented at the Symposium on Violence, Trinidad and Tobago .
39.
Salwen, Michael B. (1991) 'Cultural Imperialism: A Media Effects Approach' . Critical Studies in Mass Communication8: 29-38.
40.
Schiller, Herbert I. (1991) 'Not Yet the Post-imperialist Era'. Critical Studies in Mass Communication8: 13-28.
41.
Servaes, J. (1986) 'Cultural Identity and the Mass Media in the Third World'. The Third Channel2: 299-316.
42.
Signorielli, Nancy and M. Lears (1992) 'Children, Television and Conceptions About Chores: Attitudes and Behaviors'. Sex Roles27: 157-172.
43.
Signorielli, Nancy and Michael Morgan (forthcoming) 'Cultivation Analysis'. In: Michael B. Salwen and Don W. Stacks (eds), Integrating Theory and Research in Communication ( Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum).
44.
Skinner, Ewert C. (1984) Foreign Program Viewing and Dependency: A Case Study of U.S. Television Viewing in Trinidad and Tobago. Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University.
45.
Skinner, Ewert C. (1990) 'Mass Media in Trinidad & Tobago'. In: Stuart H. Surlin and Walter C. Soderlund (eds), Mass Media and the Caribbean (New York: Gordon and Breach): 29-54.
46.
SPSSX User's Guide (1983) (Chicago: SPSS, Inc.).
47.
Stacks, Don W. and J.E. Hocking (1992) Essentials of Communication Research ( New York: Harper Collins).
48.
Tamborini, R. and J. Coi (1990) 'The Role of Cultural Diversity in Cultivation Research'. In: Nancy Signorielli and Michael Morgan (eds), Cultivation analysis: New directions in Media Effects research (Newbury Park, CA: Sage): 157-180.
49.
Tan, Alexis S. (1982) 'Television Use and Social Stereotypes'. Journalism Quarterly59: 119-124.
50.
Tan, Alexis S., Sarrina Li and Charles Simpson (1986) 'American TV and Social Stereotypes of Americans in Taiwan and Mexico'. Journalism Quarterly63: 809-814.
51.
Tan, Alexis S., Gerdean K. Tan and Alma S. Tan (1987) 'American TV in the Philippines: A Test of Cultural Impact'. Journalism Quarterly64: 65-72.
52.
Tapper, John (1995) 'The Ecology of Cultivation: A Conceptual Model for Cultivation Research'. Communication Theory5: 36-57.
53.
Trinidad and Tobago Television Co. Ltd. (1989, March 20 - April 24) Unpublished audience survey.
54.
Ware, William and Michel Dupagne (1994) 'Effects of U.S. Television Programs on Foreign Audiences: A Meta-analysis'. Journalism Quarterly71: 947-959.
55.
Weimann, G. (1984) 'Images of life in America: The Impact of U.S. TV in Israel'. International Journal of Intercultural Relations8: 185-197.
