Children's vs. Adult TV Violence: A Comparative Study

Introduction and Literature Review

North American culture in 2004 is a media-rich one. In addition to the Internet and magazines, there are literally hundreds of television stations available in nearly every home. This has led to heated debate over the prevalence of violence on television. The wealth of literature on violence in television indicates that this is a matter of great interest to social psychologists. Furthermore, the finding by some studies that violent children's programming leads to violent behavior has fueled calls for greater oversight in the area of violence and aggression as it pertains to children's TV. In this study, the distinction between aggression and violence is examined, along with the incidence of both on programs for children compared to programs for adults.

The topic of television violence and children has generated much research over the past several years. Cantor (2000) examines some of the negative impacts of violence in children's programming. These include an increased likelihood of acting violently, desensitization to violence, as well as increased fear and nightmares. "There is a good deal of research evidence that, in general, violence that is shown to be justified and that is committed by attractive protagonists is more likely to be imitated" (Cantor, 2000).

Simmons et al. (1999) point out that television viewing is an activity typical to everyone in the household. "Television has become the central activity in most homes today... 98% of all households have at least one set... it is watched an average of 7.5 hours per day... [and] children watch more than 28 hours of television each week" (Simmons et al., 1999). Since many adults do not closely monitor their children's television programs, they are often unaware of the content of these shows. Given the level of violence in adult programming, it is interesting to consider whether children's shows are more or less violent, and what the potential impacts of this content might be.

Smith et al. (2002) published an extensive study of prime-time violence and its depiction in programs aimed at both children and adults. They found that children's shows portray a less realistic type of violence, accompanied by more humor and unlikely — if any — consequences. They state:

"Children's programs also contain the most violent interactions per prime-time hour when compared to other genres... children are especially likely to witness repeated acts of violence... these programs are more likely to depict unrealistically low levels of harm and humorous violence than some other genres. Children who view programs designed for them during prime time, therefore, may learn that violence is common, funny, and not very harmful." (Smith et al., 2002)

Peters and Blumberg (2002) examined cartoon violence in particular and questioned whether violent acts seen in cartoons should be interpreted as genuine violence or as fantasy-based behavior with no relation to the real world. Because preschoolers watch so much television — largely cartoon shows — the issue of violence in cartoons and its possible effects is also of great interest. Peters and Blumberg point out that "the NTVS [National Television Violence Study] found that nearly two-thirds of serials for children contained violent acts" (2002). They also mention that the cartoon genre "anime," popularized in Japan, represents an unusually violent and popular style of cartoon among children. Their study concludes that this may actually present a learning opportunity for parents who choose to co-view with their children.

Lazar's (1998) study on social workers and children focused on the impact of television violence on young children. Her conclusion was that violent programming has become so pervasive that many people do not even realize its impact. Furthermore, adults show a preference for violence in their television shows, a preference that may influence the viewing habits of their children.

Society is becoming more concerned with examples of extreme violence. Some experts believe these cases have their roots in the omnipresent media violence that surrounds us. Whether this violence is more prevalent in adult programming or in children's programming, and what form it takes, can have important implications for how much violent TV affects viewers and their children.

Definitions of Aggression and Violence

The variety of conclusions drawn in the scientific literature about the prevalence and effects of television violence has a great deal to do with how violence is defined and measured. Some researchers have chosen to look at acts of violence that have a specific harmful result, defining violence through both intent and effect. Other studies use different definitions of violence and aggression, with some looking only at intent to harm. Still others incorporate additional variables to gain a more complete picture of violence in adult and children's programming.

With the omnipresence of television throughout our culture, there are numerous ways to measure the prevalence of violence in programming. In addition to different definitions of violence and aggression, researchers examine different aspects of the programs themselves. In children's programming, cartoons are often considered separately from other shows. Comedies are examined apart from dramas. Whole new genres of television — such as reality TV — are commanding prime-time slots for both children and adult viewers. Given this abundance of criteria that can affect a study on violence and television, it becomes clear that precisely describing the variables involved and the definitions of key terms is vital.

For the purposes of this study comparing violence in children's versus adults' programming, two factors are examined: aggression and violence. The definitions for these concepts recognize that they exist on a continuum, with aggression being less serious but often developing into violence.

In defining aggression, the focus is on the intent of the act rather than its result. As Aronson et al. (2002) state, "social psychologists define aggression as intentional behavior aimed at causing either physical or psychological pain. It is not to be confused with assertiveness." The first variable considered in viewing both children's and adult programs was instances of aggression. This included verbal aggression or physical aggression such as pushing. Acts of aggression were tracked across six hours of prime-time television. What differentiated aggressive acts from violent ones, according to the definition, was that aggressive acts did not result in physical harm to the victim. Acts of violence were also tracked across the same six hours of prime-time television.

Something was considered to be violent if it resulted in actual physical harm to the target. Using these definitions, three hours of prime-time adult TV shows and three hours of children's shows were viewed to investigate the hypothesis regarding the prevalence of television violence.

Hypothesis

Based on a review of the literature, the hypothesis was that acts of aggression would be more common in children's television programs (compared to adults' programs), whereas acts of violence would predominate in adults' programming.

Acts of aggression were expected to be more common in children's programs because they take into account intent, while programmers were thought to be less inclined to depict violent acts that inflict physical harm on children's shows. In terms of adult programming, television producers were expected to be more inclined to show the actual physical effects of violent actions, on the assumption that adults would be better equipped to understand the context for such violence.

Bibliography

Aronson, E., Wilson, T., Akert, R., & Fehr, B. (2002). Social Psychology. Toronto: Prentice Hall.

Cantor, J. (2000). Media violence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 27S, 30–34.

Lazar, B. (1998). The lull of tradition: A grounded theory study of television violence, children and social work. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 15(2), 117–132.

Peters, K., & Blumberg, F. (2002). Cartoon violence: Is it as detrimental to preschoolers as we think? Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(3), 143–149.

Simmons, B., Stalsworth, K., & Wentzel, H. (1999). Television violence and its effects on young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 26(3), 149–154.

Smith, S., Nathanson, A., & Wilson, B. (2002). Prime-time television: Assessing violence during the most popular viewing hours. Journal of Communication (March 2002), 84–112.