Provides in-depth content analysis of six 1985-86 prime-time television shows which featured single professional women sharing the lead with a male partner in a working relationship. Concludes that these programs show a less stereotypical portrayal of working women than in the past and demonstrate a serious attempt to present the problems of…

Noting that previous research has shown that television content influences attitudes and behavior, a content analysis of 269 television commercials broadcast during prime time was conducted to examine whether male sex role stereotyping existed in the commercials and, if it did, to determine the characteristics of that stereotyping and whether the…

This study was a replication of one that investigated sex-role stereotyping of occupations and behaviors of music video characters shown on MTV (Music Television) in 1987. It employed a random sample of 91 MTV music videos broadcast in 1993, and found a continuation of male and female characters shown in sex-typed jobs. Contains 56 references.…

To understand how children respond to and make use of portrayals of the sexes on television, 192 third and eighth grade students participated in a study to determine what they notice and how important these distinctions are to them. The study obtained children's same/different paired comparisons of eight concepts--me, my mother, an average woman,…

Explores the role children's cartoon programs may play in forming sex role identities in children through the presentation of sex-typed personality attributes of the cartoon characters. Fourteen dependent variables of cartoon character personality were analyzed by sex of the character and sex of the viewer. (JVP)

Investigates the image of the contemporary American woman as currently presented on television through viewing approximately 34 hours of programing and recording the following characteristics: regularity of character, occupations of characters, general demographics, and themes and topics discussed. (CWM)

Investigates the effect of television viewing on perceptions of sex-role stereotypes. Finds partial support for both the high impact image (the "Drench") and the frequent viewing ("Drip, Drip") theories. (RS)

The mass media appear to have an influential role in the socialization of children by exposing them to a world far beyond the limits of their immediate experience. Because children must depend on mass media models for learning about adult sexual intimacy, a content analysis of daytime soap operas, to which many children are exposed daily without…

Sesame Street programs are perpetuating the subjugated role of females by presenting a picture of male-dominated society while portraying females in roles of following, cleaning, mothering and imitating, and as being of limited intelligence, subservient and passive. Analysis of a randomly chosen Sesame Street program (#189) shows how the series…

Presents a cognitive-developmental analysis of the effects of televised, sex-stereotypic information on children's behavior and attitudes towards toy play. Subjects were 100 children, ages four to six divided into groups exhibiting high and low gender-constancy. (Author/CM)

This report describes a follow-up study of the persistence of the effects of the FREESTYLE experiment, which had indicated that this television series was capable of bringing about large changes in the sex role orientation of 9-to-12-year-olds. Designed to determine whether the effects associated with a 4 month media intervention could be found to…

Assesses third-grade children's comprehension of traditional and nontraditional female sex-role portrayals in television programs. For both programs, children demonstrated accurate memory for role-relevant information, but children with higher levels of sex-role stereotyping remembered less role-relevant information than did children with lower…

Identified patterns that characterized soap operas, cartoons, and prime-time drama: (1) the predominant form of interaction was dyadic; (2) the most frequent speakers and receivers of messages were males; (3) the most pervasive message was an assertion of dominance; and (4) the concept of power was not sex-linked. (PD)

Studies the behaviors of women and men represented in interpersonal arguments in prime-time television dramas. Finds a weak link between actual argument behaviors and those on television, thereby socializing viewers in a manner inconsistent with reality. Suggests that television arguments are guided more by the needs of the medium that a need to…

This study examined the portrayal of women over the age of 50 on television, analyzed the demographics of older female television characters and compared them with their real-life counterparts, and examined the social message presented by the characters and programs. Analyses of data gathered from prime time network entertainment programs…