It has been most commonly used to catalog the mechanisms present in violent programs, but has recently been applied to the effects television may have on its audience's sexual behavior. He states, " . . . most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action."" (Bandura 77) The correlation between viewing and reenacting is calculated by the results of the actions and attitudes of the viewer following the stimuli (TV). In the article "Television Viewing and Early Initiation of Sexual Intercourse,"" the authors Peterson and Moore state " . . . viewing [sexually explicit material] will increase the possibility of sexual behavior by defining contexts in which it might be appropriate and providing scripts for how it develops."" (Wolf 96) By seeing certain sexually explicit material multiple times, a teenage viewer is more likely to repeat those actions themselves.
The cultivation theory also links TV watching with altered behaviors. It is based on George Gerbner's hypothesis which attempts to explain how heavy exposure to cultural imagery will alter a viewer's concept of reality. This theory focuses on the way viewers "come to cultivate or adopt attitudes and expectations about the real world that coincide with [television's] portrait of reality."" Through prolonged viewing, audiences begin to accept television's version of reality over their own. When sexual situations are repeatedly absorbed by teenagers' impressionable and immature minds, the T.V. reality in which no bad consequences are depicted becomes the teens' reality. .
While repeated reinforcement of promiscuous behavior is necessary to fully affect a teenager's mind, most researchers involved in this topic believe that quality is more important than quantity. The quality of entertainment is determined by viewer involvement and interest.
