Concludes that the social reality effects of television viewing are strongest for elementary school children who are least able to make inferences. (FL)

Finds that 37% of a random sample of children had been frightened by a news story on television; percentage of children frightened by news increased from kindergarten to the elementary school years, whereas the tendency to be frightened by fantastic, unreal content showed a decreasing trend; and tendency to respond with fright to violence between…

Assesses children's cognitive and emotional responses to negative emotions in family-formatted situation comedies. Tests children from two grade levels who viewed a sitcom that featured negative emotions. Reveals that inclusion of a humorous subplot distorted perceptions. Discusses children's social learning from television. (PA)

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…

Conflicting findings on television's impact on reading achievement suggest a need for more sophisticated measurements and methodologies in media research. D. L. Moldenhauer and W. H. Miller's survey of 78 seventh grade students showed no relationship between television viewing and reading skills. These findings were similar to those of J. T.…

Compares Japanese and American television programs most often watched by children and evaluates frequency and quality of portrayal of older characters. American television was found to portray older characters more frequently and more positively than Japanese television. (NRB)

Television viewing has negative effects and positive potential for young children. It is evident that children need to be educated in television viewing in order to understand the differences between fantasy and reality, and sponsor motives. (DF)

Contributes to scholarship on the effects of television on children. Finds that the most important characteristics valued by both Dutch and U.S. children 6 to 11 years old were comprehensibility and action, closely followed by humor, "interestingness,""innocuousness," realism, violence, and romance. Finds boys in both samples…

While "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" has won numerous awards and is currently the number one rate household animated children's television program in the United States, the contradictions and complications of instilling environmental values in children through the medium of television are apparent. A content analysis of 15 episodes…

Ninety-four children, aged 5 to 12 years, were subjects of a study of recall of television literacy messages (drop-ins). The 30-second "How To Watch TV" (HTWTV) segments were designed for broadcast on Saturday mornings by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) to convey to children some information and values about television (e.g., animals do…

Most educators argue that the time children spend watching television detracts from their homework time and leisure time reading, that television watching cultivates skills different from those needed for print literacy and encourages preference for its easier means of acquiring information, and that television content is often nonintellectual and…

Television violence and the impact it has on children is a growing concern in the world today. Although research indicates that violence on television triggers aggressive behavior in children, the characteristics of those children also need to be examined. Factors such as age, intellectual level, identification with television personalities, the…

Describes a 1981 study that compared uses of U.S. television by foreign children residing in the United States and American children in light of theories of acculturation, cultivation, and uses and gratifications. Children's television viewing is discussed, research methodology is described, and results are analyzed. (22 references) (Author/LRW)

Recognizing that some of the lessons educational television teaches children are cultural--how to be members of their own cultural group, for example, or what other cultural groups are like--a study developed qualitative methods for the formative evaluation of the accuracy of an educational television program's cultural content with respect to the…

Television teaches children gender-specific behaviors, attitudes, characteristics, and personality traits. Research indicates that by observing male and female characters on television, children learn to label certain characteristics and behaviors as masculine or feminine and to assign traditional sex-role stereotypes to careers. Content studies…