Cultivating the “Violent America” in the Minds of Koreans :,The Potential Effects of American Television Shows on Korean College Students’ Crime Estimates in the U.S.

Abstract

The current study was designed to apply cultivation theory to the context of acculturation and cross-cultural communication. Employing a survey design with 176 South Korean undergraduates, we used multiple regression and revealed that Korean students’ exposure to the US television programming was positively associated with their higher estimates of the prevalence of violent crimes in the US. The same was true of the relationship between knowing someone who experienced or witnessed violent crimes in the US and estimates of the prevalence of violent crimes in the US. The study also found that Korean college students’ life experiences, particularly their experience of staying in the US, moderated the cultivation processes. Specifically, the positive relationship between exposure and crime estimates was stronger for those who had an experience of staying in the US. The authors close with a further interpretation of the findings and suggestions for further research.