DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH PROJECT

Observation: Television Aggression*

On average, children watch three hours of television per day, every day of the week. Hundreds of empirical studies have shown that extensive exposure to television violence can contribute to the learning of aggressive attitudes and behaviors in children. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that the inclusion of .h sicall violent content ma interfere with children's learnin of social-emotional or cognitive-intellectual lessons.

Using the definition of violence offered by George Gerbner, "The overt expression of physical force against others or self, or the compelling of action against one's will on pain of being hurt or killed", select a minimum of three half-hour television programs normally watched by children and count the number of violent or aggressive episodes in each. Extend Gerbner's definition somewhat, however, to count social aggression as well as physical aggression. Social aggression refers to behavior designed to harm another person's self-esteem or social status. Several recent studies have documented that children can learn social aggression from viewing programs that depict and explicitly model such behavior.

Although some may argue that verbaUsocial aggression is necessary to teach social-emotional lessons about appropriate interpersonal behavior, all too often such behavior is used gratuitously as a comedic device rather than as a storytelling device. For example, name-calling and teasing are used to get a laugh, not to teach that they are inappropriate behaviors.

You may select any three programs distributed in the following way:

1. At least one educational television program, such as Sesame Street, Blues Clues, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Dora the Explorer, Between the Lions, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, etc.

2. At least one Saturday morning cartoon. Select at random.

3. At least one early evening adult program that is watched by young children (either purposely or the child is simply in the room when other family members are watching): a family show (Cosby, etc.), a pre-teen show (Hanna Montana, Jonas, etc.), situation comedy, action, drama, a crime film, etc.

For each program you watch, record the number of aggressive episodes, separating the instances of physical and social aggression. For each program you watch, also record the number of pro-social or positive interactions. This is a restricted, non-reactive observation, without intervention.

Type a three to four page summary and analysis. Also include a cover page with the name of your project (Television Aggression), a creative title, your name, student id number, name of the class, days and time class meets, and the date the paper is due (or when you are handing it in) PLEASE MAKE SURE TO ATTACH YOUR NOTES ON THE PROGRAMS TO THE BACK OF YOUR PAPER. 

Include in your paper:

1. An introduction.

2. A brief description of what you observed for each program, and when.

3. What kind of variation in the number of aggressive episodes is there among the types of program that you watched?

4. Are some more verbally/socially aggressive and some more physically aggressive?

5. What about the consequences of aggression in the television programs? Are those who act aggressively rewarded or punished? How often do reward and punishment occur?

6. What behaviors (positive and negative) other than aggression might a child have learned from watching the programs you viewed? This question is particularly relevant for Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers, etc., but applies to more traditional entertainment programs as well.

7. Were positive behaviors and lessons positively reinforced/rewarded? Positive reinforcement would include positive comments such as cheering the character on, rewarding the character for the positive/pro-social behavior, positive outcome, etc.

8. Was there educational content in the programs? Briefly explain.

• Social-emotional programs aim to teach the viewer life lessons about personal feelings and interpersonal relationships

• Cognitive-intellectual programs offer more traditionally academic lessons and information on facts, ideas and concepts related to existing knowledge or ways of thinking.

If so, were the primary lessons presented clearly, explicitly and directly so that even a young child would notice and understand?

9. Rate each show using the findings from your observations to support your ratings from 1 (terrible) to 6 (excellent). Explain your rating. What was your reaction to each program, both before and after the observation?

10. In view of material in the textbook, and your own observations for this project, what guidance, rules or limits (if any) would you place on TV viewing for your own children? Why?

I 1 . Conclusion

*Adapted from Russell, K. (2007) and Bee, H. (1981). The Developing Child. New York: Harper & Row. pp.361.

Appendix: Signorellits report on TV Violence

By far the largest body of research on TV effects has focused on the potential impact of TV on children's aggressiveness, not only because TV programs in the United States are clearly high in aggression, but also because any causal relationship between TV violence and children's aggression would be cause for grave concern.

There is no dispute about the high level of violence on TV, nor about the fact that this level has not declined in the past decades despite many public outcries. Nancy Signorelli (1986) estimates that in 1985, situation comedies averaged about two incidents of physical violence per hour, and action/adventure programs averaged eight. The rate is still higher in children's cartoons and would be far higher for all types of programs if verbal aggression were also counted.

It is also important to point out that the "good guys" are just as likely to be violent as the "bad guys", and that violence on most TV programs is rewarded. People who are violent get what they want. In fact, violence is usually portrayed as a successful way of solving problems. Furthermore, the consequences of violence - pain, blood, damage - are seldom shown, so the child is protected from seeing the painful and negative consequences of aggression, and thus receives an unrealistic portrayal of those consequences.