Implications of the mental models approach for cultivation theory BEVERLY ROSKOS-EWOLDSEN, JOHN DAVIES and DAVID R. ROSKOS-EWOLDSEN Abstract Mental models are dynamic mental representations of situations, events, and objects. We argue that the mental models approach can expand our understanding of cultivation theory. We survey the research on mental mo- dels, situation models including the event indexing model, and cultural mo- dels. Based on this literature, we propose several ways in which cultivation theory can be expanded to provide a richer understanding of how the media influence people’s perception of their social reality and understanding of their culture. Keywords: cultivation, mental models, situation models, event indexing models, schemas “Television is likely to remain for a long time the chief source of repeti- tive and ritualized symbol systems cultivating the common consciousness of the most far-flung and heterogenous mass publics in history” (Gerbner and Gross, 1976: 174). Nearly thirty years have passed since Gerbner and Gross’ prediction, and despite technological and cultural revolutions, television, the so- called central storyteller in modern culture, appears to have survived. In the United States, over 98 % of all homes owned a television in 2000; the average home possessed 2.4 TVs (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). In ad- dition, the Census Bureau estimated that the average person watched more than 1,630 hours of TV in 2000. If a person spends an average of 16 hours awake each day, this translates into the average person watch- ing the equivalent of over 102 days of TV. Furthermore, the Census Bureau predicts that the average person in the United States will be watching the equivalent of about three more days of TV in 2005 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). It is clear that TV has been and will con- tinue to be a major part of our social reality. Communications 29 (2004), 345-363 03412059/2004/029-0345  Walter de Gruyter