Citation

Saito S. J. Commun. 2007; 57(3): 511-531.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, International Communication Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1460-2466.2007.00355.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study examines whether television viewing cultivates traditional gender-role attitudes and contributes to the maintenance of the status quo. Data from a sampling survey conducted in Tokyo reveal that the direction and magnitude of cultivation relationships vary across different subgroups. The results suggest that television tends to decelerate social change by cultivating traditional views among many viewers (especially females) but may “liberate” the most conservative viewers. The results also produced mostly unsupportive evidence in relation to the mainstreaming hypothesis; the patterns of interaction found in this study are more complicated. This article discusses the theoretical and methodological implications of these findings.