A content analysis of the 23 prime time and Saturday morning television programs most popular with children suggested that in prime time programs, assertive and helping behavior were more frequent than aggression in efforts to solve problems, but that the rate of aggression was higher in Saturday programs. (GT)

Explores the content and structure of music videos, focusing on the pervasiveness of aggressive cues (objects or events representing physical harm or the threat of harm), gender portrayals within a context of aggression, and the pacing of music videos. Finds that aggressive cues in music videos are less prominent than critics indicate. (MM)

Investigates the relationship between undergraduate students' communication tendencies for sending and receiving verbally aggressive messages with their opinions and feelings about a verbally aggressive television show. Shows that verbally aggressive subjects tended to watch more television weekly, did not report being hurt by receiving verbally…

The independent contributions of action and violence in television programs to children's attention and social behavior were investigated. Pairs of preschool children were assigned to one of four television conditions (1) high action-high violence, (2) high action-low violence, (3) low action-low violence, or (4) no television. Action was defined…

Concludes that adolescent aggression increases with perceived reality of television violence. (FL)

Presents data on the kinds of physically intimate and sexual behaviors dealt with on prime-time television during the 1977-1978 season. Results indicate an increasing tendency to tease the audience behaviorally (through flirting), verbally (through innuendo), and visually (through contextually implied intercourse). (JMF)

Examines violence in music video programming. Reveals that 15% of music videos feature violence, and most of that aggression is sanitized, not chastised, and presented in realistic contexts. Discusses the findings in terms of the risk that exposure to violence in each channel and genre may be posing to viewers' learning of aggression, fear, and…

Differences in formal aspects of television commercials aimed at boys and those aimed at girls were investigated. Formal attributes were defined as production techniques such as action, pace, visual effects, dialogue and narration, background music and sound effects. Two aspects of content were also examined: aggressive behavior and the gender of…

Using a modified television set that required them to depress a foot pedal in order to view the material, 77 subjects watched a nonviolent segment of the film, The Chase, and either a violent sequence with consequences to the victim or violence without consequences. Subjects were randomly assigned to each treatment on the basis of Buss-Durkee…

Pairs of preschool children saw television commercials that varied in formal features (high versus low perceptual salience) and placement in a television show (dispersed through the program versus clustered at the beginning and end). Sixty-four subjects (32 female and 32 male) from a university preschool participated in the study. (Author/RH)

Second and fifth graders viewed one of two edited versions of a commercial action-adventure television program portraying an aggressive action associated with antisocial motives and punishing consequences. The versions differed only in the amount of time elapsing between the focal action and the motives for that action. Children's comprehension of…

This article presents the results of a public attitude survey of a quota sample of approximately 4,000 age 18 and older Canadians, in which respondents were asked to express their opinion on who should own and operate professional athletics, national and international amateur athletics, and school/amateur sport. Attitude was also assessed on what…

Content analyses of the depiction of aggression and images of reality on Canadian television were performed on 109 program tapes of top-rated Toronto programs. Content was coded in terms of global messages communicated, character portrayals, context and setting of the program, amount and nature of conflict portrayed, and detailed information on…

This is a review of research relating to the attributes of portrayals which play a role in affecting aggressive behavior. The effects of portrayal can occur at any of three successive stages: acquisition, disinhibition/stimulation/arousal, performance. The older the individual, the more likely the influence is to be in all three stages of…

This 2-wave panel survey of young people was conducted to explore the relationship between attitudes and viewing over time, examining aggressiveness and viewing of programs portraying physical and verbal aggression. Questionnaires were administered to 227 children in the fourth, sixth, and eighth grades in 1976 and again one year later. The…