This study examined children's media use (i.e., amount of television and Internet usage) and relationships to children's perceptions of societal threat and personal vulnerability. The sample consisted of 90 community youth aged 7 to 13 years (M = 10.8; 52.2% male) from diverse economic backgrounds. Analyses found children's television use to be…

A critique of an article which identified characteristics of children who watch television. (BD)

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of several independent variables in predicting the perception of television's content as real. The relationship between the perception of television violence as real and agressive predispositions of young viewers was analyzed. Two hundred seventy-three Mexican children in the third and…

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)

A survey of 148 children revealed that although the majority of children from both low-income and moderate-to-high income backgrounds understood the selling intent of television commercials for cereals, there were significant differences between income groups in children's ability to evaluate the nutritional value of heavily advertised cereals.…

Results of a study conducted with 721 fourth, sixth, and eighth graders were not supportive of the assumed role of children's perceived reality of television in determining the impact of exposure to television on children's social behavior. (GT)

In the midst of a growing national debate about the role of television as a de facto "sex educator" for young people today, this survey asked parents nationwide in the fall of 1996 about their views on kids and television. A random sample of 853 parents and children ages 6 to 15 were surveyed by telephone (the data reported here focus on…

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,…

Reports that young children characterized as high or medium news watchers, probably watch the news with their parents, watch more as they grow older, have a fairly good idea of the scope and usefulness of television news, prefer stories about topics appearing in popular entertainment programs, and tend to see television news as being about bad or…

Reviews literature on cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral effects of television commercials on children. Both cumulative exposure and heavy viewing effects are discussed. (SB)

Presents a study of the effects, on Australian children, of viewing American television programs. Concludes that the cultivation of beliefs about the world, at least in cases of violence and crime, does occur even when the messages are imported from another country. (PD)

This report summarizes the present state of knowledge about the effects of television advertising on children. After a discussion of children's television viewing patterns, the report reviews the existing research relevant to such issues as children's ability to distinguish commercials from program material; the influence of format and audiovisual…

A study examined differences in television viewing behaviors and attitudes across age groups of children in their home environment. Personal interviews were conducted with 162 children, ages 5 to 12, in a midwestern elementary school. The interview assessed home environment (1) television viewing relationships, including viewing companion and…

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of television advertising on different types of children--specifically, the cognitive responses and extra-product expectations fostered by television commercials in both white and black children. The subjects, 52 middle-class white children and 30 inner-city black children ranging in age from…

Discusses research focused on characteristics of children's TV commercials, the relationship between commercials and children's learning and reasoning, and effects of commercials on children's language, attitudes, and beliefs. (Author/RH)