Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ethical Issues And Consequences As Portrayed By Medical Dramas: An Analysis Of The Effect Of Cultivation Theory, Molly Johnson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Television medical dramas, like American Broadcasting Company’s Grey’s Anatomy, strive to make the program as accurate as possible while creating a dramatic and entertaining program. Grey’s Anatomy, since the first episode in 2005, has employed medical consultants to help write episodes in order to make the television program as realistic as possible (Otto, 2014). Although there are some realistic aspects of Grey’s Anatomy, as a whole it is a fictional medical drama with plotlines and characters used for entertainment purposes only. However, previous research shows that fictional programs can still have an effect on its viewers. Cultivation Theory states that …