DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 386 774 CS 509 042

AUTHOR Crump, Charla A.

TITLE Television Violence and Behavior: The Effects of
Television Violence on Children.
PUB DATE Sep 95
NOTE 19p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
Texas Speech Communication Association (Houston, TX,
September 1995).
PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150) Information
Analyses (070)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.

DESCRIPTORS Behavior Problems; *Child Behavior; Early Childhood
Education; Elementary Education; Literature Reviews;
*Mass Media Effects; *Mass Media Role; *Television
Research; *Television Viewing; *Violence

ABSTRACT
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 total amount of television watched, and
the belief that television is realistic affect the influences of
television violence on behavior. Intervention techniques such as
child and parent training have proven successful in diminishing the
negative of television violence. (Contains 30 references.)
(Author/RS)

***********************************************************************
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *
from the original document. *
 Television Violence 1

Running Head: TELEVISION AND BEHAVIOR

Television Violence and Behavior:

The Effects of Television Violence on Children

Charla A. Crump
"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U.8 DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION
and improvement
MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Ottice 01 Educationai Research
West Texas A&M University EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION
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C., Nirwp /Ms document bee Open reproduced as
received from the parliOn Or organization
originating It
boon mad* to improve
ID MInOr Chen9en1 Neve
reproduction
stated in this docu-
TO THE EDUCAlIONAL RESOURCES Points 01 view or oproons represent othcral
ment do not necesserdv
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). OER1 position or poecy

Charla A. Crump received a B.S. from West Texas State

University in Speech Communication ana Theatre Arts in

1937. She is currently a graduate student and a

Professor of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts at

Clarendon College.

Mailing address: P. 0. Box 644, Clarendon, TX 79226

Telephone: (806) 874-5360

Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Texas

Speech Communication Association, Houston, 1995.

BEST COPY AVAILA

 Television Violence 2

Abstract

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 total amount of

television watched, and the belief that television is

realistic effects the influences of television violence

on behavior.
 Television Violence 3

Television Violence and Behavior:

The Effects of Television Violence on Children

The overall pattern of research findings indicates

a positive association between television violence and

aggressive behavior. Television violence is one of the

things that may lead to aggressive, antisocial, or

4

criminal behavior (Smith, 1993). Several

characteristics of viewers have been shown to effect

the influence of television violence on behavior.

Aggressive behavior is related to the total amount of
television watched, not only to the amount of violent

television watched (Smith, 1993). Other factors such

as age, identification with television personalities,

and intellectual achievement influence the effect of

television violence on behavior. A critical factor is

the extent to which television is perceived as real or

make-believe (Feshbach, 1983). This study will help

isolate the characteristics of children whose

aggressive behavior is triggered by television

violence.

The public is enormously interested in the effects

of television on children (Neuman, 1984; Phillips,

1986; Rosenthal, 1986). By the time children graduate

 Television Violence 4

from high school, they have spent more time viewing

television than any other activity with the exception

of sleep (Christo, 1988). Therefore, there is a need

to examine the negative impacts of television, and to

find the common characteristics of the children who are

effected negatively by television.

History of Research

The first congressional hearing on television

programming took place in 1952, when the House

Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce

investigated television entertainment to ascertain if

it was excessively violent and sexually provocative and

if it had pernicious effects (National Institute of

Mental Health [NIMH], 1982). Violence in the media has

increased since 1952 and continues to increase

(Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1984).

During the period from 1952 to 1967, analyses of

programs found a great deal of violence on them. One

analysis in 1954 reported an average of eleven threats

or acts of violence per hour (Pearl, 1984). Later

analysis confirmed that violence on television was

increasing and that it was increasing more rapidly on

 Television Violence 5

programs with large numbers of children viewers (NIMH,

1982).

The initial research efforts of numerous

investigators led to the Surgeon General's research

program on television and social behavior in the late

1960s and early 1970s. The Surgeon General's

conclusion that television violence does have an

adverse effect on certain members of our society

stimulated a torrent of research, congressional

hearings, and expressions of public concern (Huesmann &

Malamuth, 1986).
The late 1970s and early 1980s also saw the

emergence of cable television and the video cassette as

major media forces. Many teenagers and even

preadolescents became frequent viewers of scenes that

graphically couple sex and violence (Huesmann &

Malamuth, 1986). A new research focus developed on the

effects of such media stimuli.

In 1982, the National Institute of Mental Health

commissioned a comprehensive review of the recent

scientific literature on television and social behavior

as a 10-year follow-up to the Surgeon General's report.

This study indicted television violence in even

 Television Violence 6

stronger terms than did the earlier report. The

National Association for the Education of Young

Children (NAEYC) 1990 reported that air time for war
cartoons increased from 1.5 hours per week in 1982 to

43 hours per week in 1986. In 1980, children's

programs featured 18.6 violent acts per hour, that

number rose to about 26.4 violent acts each hour

(NAEYC, 1990).

Smith (1993) concluded that by the time children

leave elementary school, they will have witnessed at

least 8,000 murders and more than 100,000 other

assorted acts of violence. It seems fair to say that

the majority of researchers in the area are now

convinced that excessive violence in the media does

exist.

Results of Research

Most of the scientific evidence reveals a

relationship between television and aggressive

behavior. Television violence is one of the things

that may lead to aggressive behavior, however, it

usually works in conjunction with other factors.

 Television Violence 7

Characteristics of Viewers

Intellectual Achievement.

Children of lower intellectual achievement

generally watch more television, watch more violent

television, believe violent television reflects real

life, and behave more aggressively than children of

higher intellectual achievement (Huesmann, 1986).

Singer and Singer (1986) found that children who show

greater verbal intelligence and greater overall mental

abilities watch less television and are less

aggressive. Brighter children are less prone to naive

imitation of television material and adopt a more

discriminating approach to it (Singer & Singer, 1986).

Poor intellectual achievement contributes to the

association between violence viewing and aggression,

but it does not fully account for it.

Aatl.

A relationship between television violence and

aggression has been observed in children as young as

three (Singer & Singer, 1986). Longitudinal data

suggests that the relationship is much more consistent

and substantial for children in middle childhood than

at earlier ages (Smith, 1993).

 Television Violence 8

Adults can be affected as well as children.

Aggression in early adulthood is related to the amount

of violence watched in middle childhood (Eron,

Huesmann, Lefkowitz, & Walder, 1972). The great,

majority of studies have shown that media depictions of

violence can have a socially adverse impact on the

behavior of young adults and these people are often

capable of doing more harm than children (Berkowitz,

1986). Turner, Hesse, and Peterson-Lewis (1986)

demonstrated that the level of exposure to television

violence in the third grade is associated with

increased rates of aggressive behavior when viewers

achieve adulthood.

Amount of Television Watched.

Aggressive behavior is related to the total amount

of television watched, not only to the amount of

violent television watched. Aggressive behavior can be

stimulated also by frenetic, hectic programming that

creates a high level of arousal in children (Wright &

Huston, 1983). Huesman (1986) found that more

aggressive children generally watch more television and

prefer more violent television.

People who view the greatest amounts of television

 Television Violence 9

have been reported to exhibit the highest levels of

perceived reality resulting in high levels of

aggression (Elliott & Slater, 1980). As a result of

repeated exposure to media violence, people may

eventually perceive violence as an effective means of

solving personal or social problems, and accept

violence as a way of life (Rule & Ferguson, 1986).

Realistic Violence Vs. Fictional Violence

Significant relationships have been found between

children's belief that television violence is

realistic, their aggressive behavior, and the amount of

violence they watch (Huesmann, 1986). According to

Atkin (1983), adolescent aggression increased with

perceived reality of television violence.

The findings that real violence elicits more

arousal than fictitious violence suggest that it is

probably processed as a more intensive informational

input. Realistic violence may therefore be more likely

to occupy the observer's attention, and thus to elicit

associated aggression-related thoughts, emotions, and

action tendencies (Geen & Thomas, 1986).

For a script to be encoded and maintained through

rehearsal, it must be real to the viewer (Huesmann,

10
 Television Violence 10

1986). A violent action that a child perceives to be

totally unrealistic is unlikely to receive the

attention necessary to be encoded and maintained. The

relationship between violence viewing and aggression is

exacerbated for children who believe the violence is

representative of real life (Huesmann, Eron, Lefkowitz,

& Walder, 1984).

Perceptions of reality are a matter of individual

interpretation, and message effects must be measured

instead of assuming that certain message cues will make

the reality obvious to all viewers (Potter, 1988).

Potter (1988) suggested that perceived reality should

be treated as an attitude that varies across people

rather than as a characteristic of media content.

Identification With Television Watched

Huesmann, Lagerspetz, and Eron (1984) found that

identification with a character substantially increases

the likelihood that the character's aggressive behavior

will be modeled. Aggressive behaviors are likely to be

modeled if cues in the portrayal of violence on

television resemble those likely to be encountered in

real life. Television violence-induced aggression

tends to be directed most strongly against those

 Television Violence 11

persons associated in the viewers' mind with the victim

of the observed violence (Berkowitz & Geen, 1967).

Therefore, if a victim on television has the same name

or characteristics as someone towards whom the viewer

holds animosity, violence is likely to result.

Interventions

The most obvious place to intervene in order to

diminish the effect of television violence would be at

the programming level. However, the television

networks have never conceded that there is a relation

between violence displayed on the screen and the

viewer's subsequent aggressive behavior (Chaffee, et

al., 1984; Wurtzel & Lometti, 1984a; Wurtzel & Lometti,

1984b).

Since parents in our society bear the major

responsibility for the training, education, and

socialization of their children, it would be logical

for attempts at intervention to start with them. Eron

(1986) concluded that if parents could be informed as

to the negative effect that the viewing of violence on

television can have on their children, and at the same

time be taught how to control and shape their

children's television habits, that would be a major
 Television Violence 12

contribution.

Much stronger evidence for the weakening of the

link between television violence and aggressive

behavior as the result of an intervention was through

child training. Eron (1986) found that the effect of

television violence could be reduced by changing the

children's attitudes, both about the influence of

television and about the appropriateness of aggressive

behavior.

Summary

The overall pattern of research findings indicate

a positive association between television violence and

aggressive behavior. Theorists generally agree that

serious antisocial aggression is determined by multiple

factors (Peterson & Peters, 1983). Factors such as

intellectual achievements, age, amount of television

watched, whether the violence is perceived as real or

make-believe, and whether the viewer identifies with

the character must converge for aggression to emerge.

Intervention techniques such as child and parent

training have proven successful in diminishing the

negative of television violence.

Li
 Television Violence 13

Hypotheses

Based upon this literature review, I present the

following hypotheses:

H1: Television violence triggers aggressive

behavior in children as moderated by the

following characteristics: age, intellectual

achievement, amount of television viewed, and

perceived reality of television.

H2: The effects of television violence in triggering

aggressive behavior in children can be diminished

through parent and child training.

1,4
 Television Violence 14

References

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violence vs. fictional violence on aggression.

Journalism Quarterly, 60(4), 615-621.

Berkowitz, L. (1986). Situational influences on

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Berkowitz, L, & Geen, R. (1967). Stimulus

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Christo, D. H. (1988). Children and television.

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 Television Violence 15

Eron, L. D. (1986). Interventions to mitigate the

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Eron, L. D., Huesmann, L. R., Lefkowitz, M. M., &

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 Television Violence 16

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