<P> Developed by George Gerbner and Larry Gross in 1976, cultivation theory derived from several large - scale research projects in a comprehensive project entitled Cultural Indicators . The Cultural Indicators Project began as a stand - alone study commissioned by Lyndon B. Johnson for the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence . The commission was formed to address issues of violence in American culture; one specific area of interest for the Johnson administration was the effects of television violence on audiences . Gerbner subsequently began work on the federally funded Cultural Indicators Project at the Annenberg School of Communications . Congress then facilitated the creation of the Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior in 1972 . This new committee funded a number of studies on the effects of television: Gerbner's Cultural Indicators was one of those chosen . Through Gerbner's involvement with Cultural Indicators, he began to produce the Violence Index, a yearly content analysis of prime - time television that would show how violence was portrayed on television, from season to season . This allowed viewers the access to data regarding the frequency of violence in television shows but also raised questions regarding the accuracy of the study and the research hypotheses used . While the Violence Index received criticism, Gerbner and his team updated the Index to make sure that the data being produced was accurately composed, and addressed any criticisms posted . Gerbner's research found that violence was portrayed in prime time more frequently compared to violence in the real world . </P> <P> Gerbner's project came about during an increasing divide between political conservatives and private commercial investors in the late 1960s . Performing the task of middleman, Gerbner and his team acted as impartial researchers, examining the effects and implications of television consumption without having any vested political or financial interest in its outcome . This standpoint allotted Gerbner access to a number of grants that continued to fund the Cultural Indicators Project throughout the 1970s . </P> <P> Cultivation theory holds three core assumptions . The first assumption highlights the medium, the second, the audience, and the final assumption deals with the function of the medium on audiences and their ability to react to it . </P> <Ul> <Li> Television is fundamentally different from other forms of mass media . </Li> </Ul>

Cultivation effects of television broadcasting and online media