Citation

Mustonen A, Pulkkinen L. Aggressive Behav. 1993; 19(3): 175-183.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, International Society for Research on Aggression, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A detailed coding system was constructed to study the frequency and salience of aggression in TV programs broadcast on Finnish television. Salience of aggression was measured by the brutality index which consisted of ratings concerning the 1) program context, 2) seriousness, 3) justification, and 4) dramatization of aggressive acts. When compared to previous studies of TV-violence, the rate of aggression in Finnish TV was moderate with 3.5 aggressive acts per program hour. Only 14% of aggressive acts portrayed brutal aggression, which was mostly seen in fictional films and serials. A clear 9 pm watershed was not seen in Finland, since aggressive acts were distributed quite evenly during the TV time. Aggressiveness of a program was not related to its popularity among viewers.