Cultivation theory, which examines the influence of television on viewers' conceptions of social reality (= "cultivation") developed by Gorge Gerbner and his colleagues, has three decades' research history. During the period, it has been exposed to various critiques and has been elaborated to get two findings. One is "mainstreaming", which makes the differences between sub-groups smaller by cultivation on their perceived reality and their beliefs or attitudes. The other is "resonance", which is a phenomenon that a particular sub-group is cultivated more by far among others. Mainstreaming has a function to homogenize and conventionalize of heterogeneous people. Resonance, which is difficult to confirm its appearance because the method to testify it is problematic, could contribute to risk perception research. The aim of cultivation theory has been misunderstood because its methodology does not conform to its aim. However, it has possibility to bridge between empirical studies and critical theories if the limitations could be overcome.

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