ABSTRACT
This chapter explores ideas that popular media have an indirect effect on behavior through the ability to shape norms and influence perceptions. It summarizes effects research on video games. Theories discussed include cultivation theory and its methods (content analysis and survey), the General Aggression Model (GAM), and moral panic. Students should be able to discuss the older, larger concept of cultural hegemony and its relationship to assumptions behind mainstreaming. Sequential Art: “The Gun” illustrates cultivation theory when a grandfather’s fears of television’s mean world inspire him to buy a gun for protection. Key Concepts: cultivation theory, content analysis, survey, mainstreaming, Mean World, resonance, media breederism, cultural hegemony, dominant ideology, General Aggression Model, Moral Panic theory, folk devils.
