Scary World
Hirsch critically examines the statistical evidence that Gerbner and colleagues offered for their claim that television viewing cultivates distorted perceptions of the real world. He points to discrepancies in the items, samples and coding categories used. When controls are applied simultaneously, and not one at a time, he reports no linear relationship between amount of viewing and giving television answers. His reanalysis concludes that the cultivation hypothesis lacks empirical support in the data presented for it.
Hirsch critically examines the statistical evidence that Gerbner and colleagues offered for their claim that television viewing cultivates distorted perceptions of the real world. He points to discrepancies in the items, samples and coding categories used. When controls are applied simultaneously, and not one at a time, he reports no linear relationship between amount of viewing and giving television answers. His reanalysis concludes that the cultivation hypothesis lacks empirical support in the data presented for it.
Written from the abstract as shown on the OpenAlex record, read 2026-11-04.
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
of the Nonviewer and Other Anomalies: A Reanalysis of Gerbner et al.'s Findings on Cultivation Analysis, Part I.' Communication Research, 7(4), 403-456. doi:10.1177/009365028000700401.