Reviews research on television and human behavior. Evidence indicates that television affects both the beliefs and behaviors of young people. (MH)

Determining what aspects of television entertainment program content influence a viewer in his decision about the real/pretend nature of that content was the purpose of this study, in which interviews were conducted with children, adolescents, and adults. Interview responses were coded in categories of content cues, with the coding of content…

Among the findings from a survey of 435 third-through seventh-grade children is that substantial numbers of children watch television news in formats designed for both adults and children, that children believe news is produced to serve a number of different functions, and that they receive different patterns of gratifications from viewing. (GT)

Media Panel is a research program directed toward media habits, causes and effects of TV use among children and adolescents, and viewer/media interaction in general. Results of this longitudinal study from 1970 to the present are presented in three sections focusing on the early work of the group, the preschool panel, and the primary school panel.…

Examines a television campaign intended to reduce sex and class differences in buying children's books. Results indicate that the campaign may have contributed to increasing such differences. (MH)

Analyzes sex-role portrayals in various childrens' educational television programs and reveals numerous models of sex-role inequity. (MH)

Theory and research on the processes of early social learning in children has indicated that television and television commercials play an important role in children's internalization of cultural meanings, interpretations, and values, whether or not the commercials children see are intended for or directed at them. Between the ages of 2 and 18,…

A study of the relationships between television use and political socialization indicated that lower levels of political information and understandings of the workings of government are associated with increased quantities of television viewing, but that positive political attitudes and higher levels of political knowledge are associated with…

Studied how children (N=60) understand social interaction portrayed on television, and how their understanding changes with age. Results showed younger viewers structured televised content in terms of overt descriptive features, action, and literal repetition of dialogue; older children considered inferential aspects of social interaction and…

Examines the portrayal of intimate sexual behavior on soap operas and concludes that soap operas have more sexual content than do prime-time programs, but the types of intimacies differ. Notes that soap operas are potentially a major force in the transmission of values and sexual information to youthful viewers. (PD)

Assesses the extent and nature of sexual behavior in daytime soap operas. Concludes that soap operas can be assumed to be presenting a distorted picture of sexual behavior in America, particularly in the ratio of married to unmarried sexual behavior. Suggests that steady viewing may influence young viewers' attitudes and values. (PD)

Annual progress report sums up findings suggesting that fear and inequity may be television's most pervasive lessons. 1978 Index shows violence up in children's hours. (PD)

This report describes the first wave of a research project investigating both the mass media behavior of adolescents in size and character of consumption, and their relations with the TV content consumed. This longitudinal study examines 11- to 15-year-olds through the use of specially developed scales and other traditional measures. Included are…

This text summarizes the proceedings of a 1975 conference of the Prix Jeunesse Foundation which revolved around the question: "What aids can television offer in order to make it easier for young people to socialize in their family and their environment?" Included are: (1) an introduction and the text of the opening speech; (2) separate…

The evidence in behalf of the power of parents and others to modify TV's impact is, in fact, evidence that educators have an equally great--or even greater--role to perform. (Author)