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Abstract
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Aggression on 2 types of children's cartoons (prosocial and standard) was examined. Overall aggression did not differ but antagonists were more aggressive than protagonists.
RESULTS relate to children's learning of moral messages from television characters and confusion with aggrfessive heros create. VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
This article by Liss and Reinhardt analyzed violence in children's cartoons by comparing "prosocial" cartoons (cartoons that attempt to teach moral messages) with "standard" cartoons.
METHODOLOGY:
A quasi-experimental content analysis was done on 24 children's cartoons which aired the first two Saturday mornings in January 1978. The major networks were randomly selected and programs were classified into two groups: prosocial programs (those with moral message plots such as "Superfriends") and standard programs (shows without prosocial lessons, traditional fare such as "Bugs Bunny"). Coding was done independently by two undergraduates who were ignorant of the hypothesis or program. Coding included both aggressive acts and identification of the aggressor. Interobserver reliability was assessed at.9 using Pearson coefficients. The definition of aggression was "overt expression of physical force against others or self, or the compelling of actions against one's own will on pain of being hurt or killed." Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. The data was subjected to Newman-Keuls planned comparisons.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Number of acts of aggression per program was the dependent measure in a 2 (program type: prosocial/standard) x 2 (character type: protagonist/antagonist) design with repeated measures on the last factor. Analysis of variance showed a significant (p<.001) main effect for character type, indicating that antagonists on both programs engaged in more aggression than protagonists. An interaction of program and character types was significant (p<.001). Within each program type, antagonists significantly aggressed more than protagonists. The antagonists on standard programs were significantly more aggressive than those on prosocial programs. Standard antagonists were significantly more aggressive than prosocial protagonists (p<.01). Contrary to expectations, prosocial villains showed significantly more aggressiveness than standard heroes. These findings indicated that the cartoons do not differ in amounts of aggression. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
Further research on the impact of cartoons on children's learning of aggression and in defining what is meant by a prosocial program was suggested by the authors. EVALUATION:
Children spend a great deal of time watching TV, including cartoons, that includes much aggression and violence. This study can not make any direct suggestions about what effects this viewing has on children; it has shown, however, that there was a great deal of aggression among all characters. This study is difficult to generalize from because there is a very small time period covered in the study (2 weeks in January of 1978). Problems with validity arise in the ambiguity of the coding of the shows, though interobserver reliability was high. Overall, the study raises issues in what cartoons are portraying, but ultimately, this information needs to be combined with empirical studies of the direct effects of such viewing on children. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Prosocial Television
KW - Cartoons
KW - Child Aggression
KW - Media Violence Effects
KW - Television Viewing
KW - Television Violence
KW - Program-Film Content
KW - Program-Film Popularity
KW - Aggression Causes |