This study examines the messages presented by fictional characters during the family hour, later prime time, and Saturday morning television in the 1975-76 season. Demographic variables of program attributes include type of program--family or medical drama, situation comedy, or action-crime; attributes investigated for the fictional characters…

Results of this study indicate that violent content in comic cartoon programs is recognized as violent by children, and not regarded as merely humorous. (Author/STS)

Presents a taxonomy of formal features of television and examines ways in which these features are used in current productions for children. Coding categories for formal features include action, pace, visual events, and auditory features. Concludes that commercial producers stress formal features as much or more than content. (PD)

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)

Analyzes the content of 16 hours of children's cartoon television programs. Finds that (1) all programs contained some violence, but especially those programs linked with toy merchandisers; (2) such programs used more theme music; and (3) few Black characters were shown, whereas males predominated and females were victims more often than were men.…

The problem of sex-role stereotyping on television has been studied by trying to develop television materials that are explicitly counter-stereotypic in terms of sex-roles. The development of a new television series "Freestyle," aimed at 9-12 year old children and their families, has led to some important observations about children's perceptions…

Finds that male characters outnumbered female characters by a ratio of 2:1, but that female characters enjoyed far greater representation in cartoons produced in Japan than in cartoons produced in the United States and Great Britain. Shows that characters conformed to gender-related stereotypes, with males being more aggressive, rough, sloppy, and…

Uses the violence of "The Road Runner" cartoon series as a starting point for a mythico-rhetorical analysis of the message system contained in the cartoon. Explores how the cartoon re-enacts the myth of Sisyphus in the context of the post-World War II technological boom. Discusses insights into the meanings of cartoon violence, and into…

Trends in the content and structure of television programs and commercials during children's viewing hours on U.S. network television over the past 20 years reveal a steady decrease in educational programs for children and an increase in violent acts. In addition, characters in both programs and commercials have remained remarkably sex-typed. A…

Children's attention to four cartoons was observed in a laboratory session at the end of a two-year longitudinal study of home television viewing. Age (5 or 7), verbal ability (PPVT-R score) and home viewing history were examined as predictors of visual attention. There were no age differences, but PPVT-R scores were positively related to…

This study investigates pro-social and anti-social behaviors portrayed on prime time and Saturday morning television during the 1975-76 season. An initial review of relevant research in this behavioral area is followed by a description of the basic content categories for pro-social and anti-social behaviors, motives and consequences of these…

A study of changes in children's programing on network television in the United States from 1948 through 1978 is detailed in this report. The first chapter discusses the concepts of "diversity" and "shape" as they apply to television programing, and provides details about the research methodology used in the study. The second, third, and fourth…

Two major objectives of the Alternatives in Children's Broadcasting Project were to determine the extent of the influence of violence in children's television and to determine if children's interest in prosocial programming makes it a viable alternative to violence programming. Both adults and 8-10 year old children were surveyed about their…

This paper reviews ten studies on the effects of television cartoon violence on aggressive behavior in children and discusses possible reasons for the inconsistent results. Methodology and results of field and laboratory studies are compared, and study limitations are noted. The impact of cartoons is discussed in terms of human vs. animal…

This paper discusses research on the effects of formal features of television programs on children's attention, comprehension, and social behavior. Formal features are defined as visual and auditory events which are not primarily a part of the content or message. Three models of the influences of form and content are discussed: (1) the…