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…

The question of how children perceive TV and film violence incidents in justified and unjustified contexts in comparison with already known adult perceptions is the basis for this study. (Author)

Children's discussion of television horror shows is the basis for examining television's effect on children and the relationship between television and reading. It is recommended that more attention be paid to the importance of social contexts in which both reading and responding to television occur. Implications for classroom instruction are…

With regard to sexual content, an argument is often made that sexual jokes, innuendoes, and behavior on television "go over kids' heads." To address this issue, focus groups were conducted with children between the ages of 8 and 13. Children viewed a tape of a selection of clips containing sexual content from programs aired in 1996…

Reports studies concerning: (a) the characteristics of television program content; (b) the characteristics of the audience--Who watches what? For how long? and, (c) the potential impact of televised violence on the attitudes, values, and behavior of the viewer. (Author/JM)

A study explored the means by which children apply knowledge of the television medium and of the real world in distinguishing among the levels of reality and fantasy presented on television. Fifty-four second-, fourth-, and sixth-grade children were presented with a series of paired (reality/fantasy) television shows. They were asked to choose…

Finds that the private dialog between parents and children closely approximated the public dialog about TV family portrayals by focusing on TV family realism, structure, and relationship models. Shows that a social learning model was implicit in participants' arguments, and that most participants argued that family portrayals affect expectations…

Over 300 verbal and behavioral associations between television and real life were recorded by observing three preschool children for three years and gathering supplementary information from five other children. The children's associations to real life experience made during television viewing occurred consistently earlier than associations to…

The major question of this study is: Does the time context of a TV program affect children's conclusions about the action? If violent or aggressive behavior is viewed on television by children, how will they respond to the action when they know the action takes place in either the past, the present, or the future? Fifth and sixth grade boys viewed…

This series of studies focused on the content of television programming about sexual activity and sexual relationships, examining what messages are communicated in the so-called "family hour," the first hour of prime time broadcast television (8-9 p.m. in most areas of the country). First, a content analysis documented the nature of…

This research study examines the types of social behaviors portrayed by families in various television series and explores children's impressions of the TV family members. Content analysis of nine family-oriented TV series was employed to describe the ranges of behaviors of fathers, mothers and children on television. Eleven shows from each series…

Recent research into television crime programs has revealed startling industry attitudes that directly contradict either generally accepted television research methods, i.e. Nielson ratings, or conventional ethical and moral codes. Interviews with 48 producers, writers, and directors indicated stunning misconceptions and irresponsible attitudes…

A study of 64 Canadian 7-12-year-olds and of adults who might influence their television viewing habits was made to measure the receptivity and acceptability of "Monkey Bars," a children's television program created as an alternative for Saturday morning viewing. A 50-minute composite tape of program segments was shown, after which…

A study to test the appeal, reception, and response quality in the case of programs screened at the 1st. Prix Jeunesse contest in Munich by the observation of children and juveniles (age-grouped 6 to 12, 12 to 15, and 15 and over) is described in this paper. Specific questions considered are: 1. What conditions govern appeal? 2. Are age and sex…

Groups of boys and girls at two summer day camps in 1970 were interviewed on the manner in which they viewed television, thought about it, and talked about it among themselves. The areas explored were: (1) the types of programs which they reported liking or disliking, (2) the types of programs which they felt informed them, (3) their attitudes…