My research focuses on media effects in general and cultivation analysis in particular, in terms of the contribution of television to audience conceptions of social reality. Based primarily on the analysis of large-scale survey data, specific areas examined include violence, sex-roles, aging, health, science, the family, the environment, political orientations, and other issues. I have extended this research to a variety of international and intercultural contexts, most extensively in Argentina. These various strands are connected by a concern about the implications of media for cultural diversity, identity, and democratic principles and practices. I am also interested in new (and "old") media technology and social policy, and the role of media in the family.