ABSTRACT
Born in 1919, Gerbner experienced first-hand the growth of mass media, from its early infancy in the 1920s to the television boom of the 1960s and 1970s. It is difficult for contemporary audiences to fully comprehend a world without mass media or to appreciate the impact of widespread television ownership. Gerbner’s research, much like that of his academic contemporary, Bandura, focused on screen depictions of violence and the attitudinal changes that could be induced as a result of watching television conflict. The conclusions that Gerbner formed in response to that research were profound in their suggestion that television viewing can radically change the way we perceive the real world.
