What is the term for the difference in cultivation levels among viewers?

• A. Bardic function
• B. Cultivation differential
• C. Mainstreaming
• D. Resonance

Answer: (B)

The main idea being tested is how long-term media exposure creates differences in how people perceive reality, and how we quantify that gap across viewer groups. In cultivation theory, heavy viewers and light viewers often hold different beliefs about social reality because of the the images and messages they repeatedly encounter on television. The measure of how big that gap is between heavy and light viewers is the cultivation differential. It captures how much more (or less) a group’s attitudes and perceptions align with the televised world compared with another group.

This term fits best because it specifically names the disparity between groups based on their level of TV exposure. Other terms aren’t about that gap: mainstreaming refers to the convergence of opinions across different demographic groups due to heavy television viewing, not the size of the gap between heavy and light viewers; resonance describes when a viewer’s own experiences amplify the televised message; Bardic function isn’t a standard concept in this context.