Gerbner & Gross’ (1981) Cultivation theory has been used to study the effects of television on people’s perception of reality, showing that heavy viewers of television develop a more unrealistic view of reality than light viewers. This unrealistic perception of reality also transcends to false views of romantic relationships. As a result, individuals who are heavily exposed to television begin to adopt and develop dysfunctional relationship beliefs and romantic ideals. They begin to have high expectations and standards for their own relationships.
The focus of this thesis was to study the effects of romance novel consumption on relationship beliefs and romantic ideals. Results showed that women in their late teens and early twenties had very high ideals and expectations when it came to relationship characteristics, but did not have many dysfunctional beliefs or romantic ideals. They tended to be very satisfied in their romantic relationships, and were more satisfied when their actual relationship resembled their ideal relationship. Results of this study also indicated that women were not just solely drawn to romance novels that supported their currently held beliefs, but postulated that such an attraction could also have originated from their own hopes and desires for their actual relationship. The content of these books influence the thoughts and perceptions of million of readers around the world, making it into a very powerful medium. Similar to television, romance novels portray reality in many unrealistic ways, therefore influencing the perceptions that readers have about social constructs and relationship standards and expectations.
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