CULTIVATION IN THE NEWER MEDIA ENVIRONMENT

The cultivation perspective holds that heavy exposure to television's consistent messages leads viewers to be more fearful and mistrustful o f others. The widespread adoption and use of new television technologi es, however may alter how television, viewing cultivates social realit y beliefs by allowing for greater programming diversity and greater vi ewer control. Two random digit-dialed telephone surveys of adults in t wo U.S. cities were conducted to test the impact of cable, VCRs, and r emote control devices on fear of crime and interpersonal mistrust. It was found that whereas interpersonal mistrust was linked to greater ex posure to cable's broadcast-type channels, both fear of crime and mist rust were negatively related to increased exposure to more specialized and diverse cable channels. Fear of crime was also linked negatively to VCR ownership. The discussion, suggests that mass communication res earchers continue to explore the impact of new television technologies on traditional media effects.