Children's Programs and Violence

Paper Summary:

North American culture of 2004 was a media-rich one. In addition to the Internet and magazines, there were literally hundreds of television stations in nearly every home. This has led to heated debate over the prevalence of violence on television. The wealth of literature on violence in television indicates that this is a matter of great interest to social psychologists. Furthermore, the indication by some studies that violent children's programming leads to violent behavior has fueled calls for greater oversight in the area of violence and aggression as it pertains to children's TV. This study looks at the distinction between aggression and violence and examines the incidence of both in programs for children compared to programs for adults. The paper includes tables.

From the Paper:

"On the other hand, Peters and Blumberg examined cartoon violence in particular (2002) and questioned whether the violent acts seen in cartoons should be interpreted as genuine violence, or a fantasy-based behavior with no relation to the real world. Because preschoolers watch so much television, largely cartoon shows, the issue of violence in cartoons, and its possible effects is also of interest. Peters and Blumberg point out that, "the NTVS [National Television Violence Study] found that nearly two-thirds of serials for children contained violent acts." (2002). They go on to mention that the cartoon genre "anime," popularized in Japan was an unusually violent (and popular) style of cartoon with children. This study on cartoon violence goes on to conclude that this may actually present a learning opportunity for parents who choose to co-view with their kids."

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