Communication Strategies

Research Question How does the viewing of selected cartoon network programs affect the violence rate committed by children aging from seven to twelve years of age

Key Variables The variables I will be testing include the type of program watched, the frequency of viewing, the duration of viewing, the degree of violence committed, the frequency of violence, the context of the violence, personality characteristics which invite aggressive behavior, factors which lessen the potential of a cartoon to result in violent behavior

Aluja-Fabregat, A.  Torrubia-Beltri, R., (1998) Viewing of mass media violence, perception of violence, personality, and academic achievement, Personality and Individual Differences 25 (5), 973989

This study intended to investigate the relationship between viewing violence in the mass media, personality and academic achievement. 235 teenage boys and 235 teenage girls were asked to fill in questionnaires which assess their personality traits and viewing of and attitude towards violent media. The finding showed that boys who perceive violent cartoon films as being funny and thrilling are deemed more aggressive and excitable by their teachers implying that there is a relationship between viewing cartoon violence and personality traits.

This studying interestingly also took account of attitudes toward violent television and films which was found to correspond to their personality, therefore we can see that this is an important factor in the behavior watching cartoon elicits.

Fouts, G. (2006) Demonizing in childrens television cartoons and Disney animated films, Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 37 (1), 15-23

This study uses a content analysis method to assess the prevalence of demonizing in 34 Disney animated films and 41 after school cartoons. Disney films were found to include a reference to evilness on average 5.6 times per film and 44 of the after school cartoons contained references to evil. The implications of this finding are that children will learn to demonize someone if they see them acting in a bad manner.

This study points out the strong influence of the media in shaping a childs perception of the world and also highlights the potential for childrens cartoons to shape and childs behavior and their moral judgment, this leading to the adoption of un welcome actions.

Kirsch, S. (2006) Cartoon violence and aggression in youth. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 11 (6), 547-557

This article views literature conducted into the effects of cartoon viewing and violence across a range of age groups. The findings suggest that by placing violence in a comedic context or limiting the graphicness of the display of violence the negative effects of viewing them can be reduced as the aggressive thoughts which following such a viewing are not articulated into an actual behavior.

As a result of reviewing literature conducted into this topic the author concludes that by focusing on the feelings of the victims in the cartoon the aggression is less likely to be realized, however he points to a need for more research to conducted into the longer term effect into a childs attitude towards violence if the victims feelings are shown which seems to be a worthwhile area of study.

Krcmar, M.,  Hight, A. (2007). The development of aggressive mental models in young children. Media Psychology, 10 (2), 250-269

This study intended to address why children reported a cartoon clip as being violent when in fact it was non violent. A repeated measures experimental design was used on 33-60 month old children as well as a questionnaire given to parents. The findings indicated that children whose parents reported that they had never been exposed to violent cartoons gave fewer aggressive responses than those who had been exposed to violent cartoons before.  This therefore indicates that children who are more frequently exposed to violence cartoons are more likely to incorrectly define behavior as violent.

We can therefore see from this study that frequency of exposure is an important factor to consider in explaining violent behavior as well as the age of the child which was a variable in the childrens responses to the text.

Linder, J.R.,  Gentile, D.A.(2009)Is the television rating system valid Indirect, verbal, and physical aggression in programs viewed by fifth grade girls and associations with behavior, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology,30(3),286-297

This study researches whether television ratings should take account of non physical displays of aggression. A sample of 99 fifth grade females were asked to give their favorite television programs and their aggressive and pro social behaviors were assessed via teacher feedback. Exposure to televised physical aggression, verbal aggression, and rewarded indirect aggression was associated with higher child aggression and decreased prosocial behavior implying that ratings which did not account for non physical aggression should do so.

This investigation looked into an areas which has received a lesser degree of media attention, that being non physical aggression and the findings therefore suggest that this area is worthy of a greater amount of study as it does affect the behavior of young people.

Manganello, J.A., Taylor, C.A.(2009)Television Exposure as a Risk Factor for Aggressive Behavior Among 3-Year-Old Children, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine,163(11),1037-1045

This study examines the relationship between television exposure and aggressive behavior amongst three year olds. A 36 month in-home survey of 3128 mothers of three year old children was used and the findings show that direct TV exposure and general household use of the TV correlated with childhood aggression.

This study also took account of factors besides television in explaining aggressive behavior and similarly found that being spanked and living in a disorderly neighborhood correlated with aggressive behavior this suggests that factors other than television exposure should be considered to account for aggressive behavior.

Nathanson, A. I. (2004) Factual and evaluative approaches to modifying childrens responses to violent television, Journal of Communication, 54 (2) 321-336

This study examined the effects of two methods for modifying childrens responses to violent television. An experimental method with a sample 123 children who were either 5-7 or 10-12 year old was used. The findings show that the evaluative mediation method was most successful in promoting positive outcomes when watching violent television, particularly in the younger children. Thus, media literacy programs which emphasize a fact based approach may want to shift their emphasis as these were shown to worse the effects of violent television.

This study focuses on how to remedy the effects of violent television something which a plethora of experimental papers have already demonstrated has negative consequences on children. Thus, a solution is attempting to be found as opposed to re affirming facts already proven to be true.

Sanson, A.  Dimuccio, C. (1993) The influence of aggressive and neutral cartoons and toys on the behavior of preschool-children, Australian Psychologist, 28 (2), 93-99

Sanson and Dimuccios study looks at the behavioral effects of viewing aggressive cartoons and playing with the toys associated with in comparison to neutral cartoons and toys. An experimental method was used whereby 60 preschool children were observed playing with a toy after viewing a specific cartoon. The highest levels of aggression were found for children having watching an aggressive cartoon and then playing with an aggressive toy. Thus, reinforcing aggressive cartoons with an associated toy increases the likelihood of viewing leading to aggressive behavior.

From this study we can infer that the potential for an aggressive cartoon to become a trigger for aggressive behavior is increased if the messages relayed through it are reinforced with associated toys, thus, the program alone does not solely contribute to aggressive behavior, there must be an invitation for the behavior to be realized.

Steuer, F.B., Applefield, J.M. and Smith, R., (1971) Televised aggression and the interpersonal aggression of preschool children, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 11 (3), 442447

This study looks at the relationship between viewing aggressive and nonaggressive television programs and interpersonal behavior with peers. Ten preschool children were investigated with a matched experimental method following 110 minutes of exposure over eleven days. The findings showed that participants who viewed an aggressive program displayed more aggressive behavior than a baseline period before the study compared to those who viewed the non aggressive program suggesting a relationship between aggressive behavior and viewing aggressive programs.

By investigating prolonged exposure to aggressive programs over a period of eleven days a more realistic experience is replicated as children are likely to be constantly seeing aggressive images throughout their development, providing a more explicit link between these two variables.

Wilson, B. J., Colvin, C. M. and Smith, S. L. (2002) Engaging in violence on American television A comparison of child, teen, and adult perpetrators, Journal of Communication, 52 (1), 36-60

This study is primarily concerned with the representation of those committing crimes on television. Via a content analysis it was found that youth criminals were often portrayed as being attractive, are less likely to be punished for their behavior and their actions result in fewer negative consequences for the victim. Thus, the behavior is glorified and more likely to be emulated by a teen viewer.

This study looks at the factors within the aggression which make the behavior more likely to be replicated, studying the problem from the roots as opposed to merely commenting on the effects. This seems effective in addressing the problem as it addresses it from the source where changes in the representation can be done to ensure that the watching of a television program doesnt necessarily lead to an aggressive behavior.