Using cultivation theory to analyze college student attitudes about the dating process following exposure to romantic films

Cultivation Theory is a theoretical approach that is concerned with establishing a connection between the amount of television a person views and viewer conceptions adopted due to televised portrayals. By addressing recent criticism, this study is focused on romantic films, as a genre-specific context that has not been previously analyzed by cultivation theory. This research study is interested in knowing if individuals who view romantic films consider themselves low or high romantics, if these individuals believe beauty is a form of power, and if these individuals feel dyadic power should be exercised in romantic relationships. First-year college students have been given a 32-item survey that deal with these questions. A factor analysis was computed on the data. Results indicate that female students as opposed to their male counterpart are inclined to be more romantic, and view romantic films more frequently. However, no significant correlation has been established when asking if viewers think beauty is a form of power. The third question has been omitted because it did not meet the standards for factor analysis