The Effects of Watching TV Cartoon Program on the Behavior of Grade One Pupils in Brion-Silva Elementary School

The Effect of T.V. Cartoon Network on the Aggressive Behavior of Grade One Pupils in Brion!ilva Ele"entar# !chool

 A Title Proposal Presented to $%. &OCE'(N CA!T)''O

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements )n E$*C +,- %E!EA%C /ETO$O'OG(

By: MELANNIE D AR!ENA" MAED#EM

CAPTE% ) The Pro0le" and )ts Background

)ntroduction The en$ironment en$ironment in the t%enty#first &entury is media ri&h People of all a'es are surrounded surrounded (y media from mornin' until ni'ht )e hear it 'reet us on our alarm &lo&*s or on the radio in our $ehi&les+ see it on (ill(oards outside or in ma'a,ines %hile %aitin' for the do&tor+ and $ie% it usin' &omputers+ playin' 'amin' de$i&es or %hen %at&hin' tele$ision The Ameri&an A&ademy of Pediatri&s re&ommends that parents s&hool 'oin' &hildren to no more than - to . hours of quality edu&ational edu&ational tele$ision &ontent per day+ and that &hildren under the a'e of t%o not (e e/posed to any type of tele$ision or s&reen time at all 0Anderson 1 Pempe*+ .2234 AAP+ -5534 Anderson et al+ .2267 These limits are pres&ri(ed to allo% for  &hildren8s &hildren8s de$elopin' minds to use ima'ination+ e/plore the %orld and in&rease physi&al a&ti$ity and intera&tion %ith family or friends 0Fun*+ Brou%er+ !urtiss 1 M&Broom+ .2257 9o%e$er+ parents and other adults seem to (e ta*in' this re&ommendation li'htly ne of the lar'est national studies of pres&hool#a'ed media effe&ts+ the ;aiser Family Report 0.2267+ sho%ed that the use of tele$ision amon' the &hildren *eeps risin' 0Rideout+ ority ma>ority of &hildren &hildren are 'ro%in' up in homes %here the tele$ision is at a near#&onstant presen&e 0p ?7@ = of  &hildren a'e si/ and under %at&h T< e$ery day+ 0p C+ &hart 7@ and more than half of parents reported they8$e =seen their ?#C year#olds imitate (eha$iors from T< 0p + &hart -37@ Tele$ision Tele$ision is o($iously a &on$enient %ay to entertain &hildren %hen a parent handles thin's li*e phone

CAPTE% ) The Pro0le" and )ts Background

)ntroduction The en$ironment en$ironment in the t%enty#first &entury is media ri&h People of all a'es are surrounded surrounded (y media from mornin' until ni'ht )e hear it 'reet us on our alarm &lo&*s or on the radio in our $ehi&les+ see it on (ill(oards outside or in ma'a,ines %hile %aitin' for the do&tor+ and $ie% it usin' &omputers+ playin' 'amin' de$i&es or %hen %at&hin' tele$ision The Ameri&an A&ademy of Pediatri&s re&ommends that parents s&hool 'oin' &hildren to no more than - to . hours of quality edu&ational edu&ational tele$ision &ontent per day+ and that &hildren under the a'e of t%o not (e e/posed to any type of tele$ision or s&reen time at all 0Anderson 1 Pempe*+ .2234 AAP+ -5534 Anderson et al+ .2267 These limits are pres&ri(ed to allo% for  &hildren8s &hildren8s de$elopin' minds to use ima'ination+ e/plore the %orld and in&rease physi&al a&ti$ity and intera&tion %ith family or friends 0Fun*+ Brou%er+ !urtiss 1 M&Broom+ .2257 9o%e$er+ parents and other adults seem to (e ta*in' this re&ommendation li'htly ne of the lar'est national studies of pres&hool#a'ed media effe&ts+ the ;aiser Family Report 0.2267+ sho%ed that the use of tele$ision amon' the &hildren *eeps risin' 0Rideout+ ority ma>ority of &hildren &hildren are 'ro%in' up in homes %here the tele$ision is at a near#&onstant presen&e 0p ?7@ = of  &hildren a'e si/ and under %at&h T< e$ery day+ 0p C+ &hart 7@ and more than half of parents reported they8$e =seen their ?#C year#olds imitate (eha$iors from T< 0p + &hart -37@ Tele$ision Tele$ision is o($iously a &on$enient %ay to entertain &hildren %hen a parent handles thin's li*e phone

&alls or dinner+ and many parents say they are li*ely to utili,e T< in this manner 09amlett+ .224 Rideout et al+ .2267 !hildren today are 'ro%in' up %ith se$eral media options in their homes 0Tidar 1 Lemish+ .2264 Rideout et al+ .2267 Tele$ision+ $ideo 'ames+ &omputers and Dor fa&tors No% these different types of tele$ision &ontents in order to (rin' some popular &ulture+ radi&al &han'es in the &ulture+ it should (e understood (ein' presented "iripen 0.2257 to his study+ has a hu'e impa&t on the &hildJs head oal is to &reate a 'ood ha(it of positi$e thin*in' in so&ial life This short#term a''ressi$e &hildren in mind+ not a si'n of de&line or trends+ and has &han'ed the lon'#term potential In the media %orld today+ has &reated a%ard !enter te&hnolo'ies and syndromes %as %hy many &hildren This affe&ts the ne/t 'eneration %ith the a''ressi$e &hara&ters and ne'ati$e minds of so&ia(ility Also (arriers o%n learnin' appropriate (eha$ior "oumya etal 0.2-?7 Per&eption of the parents to the &hildren %at&hin' &artoons this study %as &ondu&ted in t%o famous s&hools and fo&uses on $arious aspe&ts of Assam Di(ru'arh distri&t This %as to in$esti'ate the effe&t of &artoons as per&ei$ed (y the parents of  the &hildren and also try out the $arious pro(lems fa&ed (y &hildren in the 'ro%th phase Des&ripti$e4 study The %or*in' 'roup &onsists of &hildren studyin' in -?2 parents III Le$el I  Assam t%o s&hools Method %as adopted and -?2 parents %ere o(tained from &ensus data  Auto questionnaire de$eloped for this study %as a&&epted The findin's of this study+ the ma>ority of &hildren of the respondents 0.-7 C3 of the parti&ipants and ? &hildrenJs &artoon sho%+ %at&hin' tele$ision e$ery day to %at&h out for 6 of parents feel that the edu&ation of &hildren affe&ted (y tele$ision "pent a si'nifi&ant relationship (et%een mother and %hen o&&upied (y &hildren of parti&ipants %at&hin' &artoons There is a stron' relationship (et%een parti&ipant8s &hild8s routine of imitatin' &artoon &hara&ters and the learnin' pro(lems fa&ed (y the &hild K*earslan 0.2-27 studied the Effe&t of !artoon Mo$ies on !hildrenJs ender  De$elopment 9e ar'ued that Funny &artoon films ha$e the ne&essary resour&es for &hildren edu&ation aspe&ts Inno&ent &artoon ima'es of su(tle messa'es to in&lude se$eral dra%(a&*s

ne of these pro(lems is related to the 'ender of the &hara&ters !hara&ters in animated films %omen+ men+ animals+ and inanimate o(>e&ts )hile the roles of male and female &hara&ters stereotyped (eha$ior patterns (ased on e/istin' models in so&iety+ animal and inanimate &hara&ters are anthropomorphi& features su&h as %al*in' or tal*in' on t%o le's These &hara&ters ha$e their o%n pla&es in the films %ith human#li*e features Animals and inanimate &hara&ters are sometimes stereotyped male and female models and these &hara&ters are sometimes seen as ase/ual or 'ay is desi'ned on the (asis of "ome are+ ta*e &are of the &on$ersion (et%een the se/es For e/ample+ a %oman may (e desi'ned as a male &hara&ter in a ma'i&al pro&ess "u&h &han'es a&&ordin' to 'ender  stereotyped (eha$ior patterns+ ase/uality and &hara&ter representation of &on&ern Espe&ially &hildren spend most of their time %at&hin' tele$ision and mo$ies (y the fa&t that these &on&erns are in&reasin' Ne%s pro'rams or reported and des&ri(ed in this tele$ision dramas+ tele$ision $iolen&e+ and different &ontents for e/ample+ more a&ts of $iolen&e are most people they en&ounter in their daily li$es Therefore+ tele$ision is really a lot more se$ere and a person %ho &an see the %orld as dan'erous Ban'ley+ "almon and !ra%ford 0.22C7 in their study e/amined ho% Physi&al A&ti$ity 0PA7 and tele$ision 0Tust under forty per&ent of autism dia'noses in the three states 0!alifornia+ re'an and )ashin'ton7 studied is the result of tele$ision %at&hin' due to pre&ipitation+ %hile our &a(le tests indi&ate that appro/imately se$enteen per&ent of the 'ro%th in autism in !alifornia and Pennsyl$ania durin' the -52s and -52s is due to the 'ro%th of &a(le tele$ision ;lein and "hiffman 0.22C7 the result of their resear&h has sho%n that there are different $aria(les ha$in' affe&ts su&h as li*in' and disli*in' of &artoon &hara&ters+ (ased on their 'ender+ a&&essories and &ostumes they use+ physi&al attra&ti$eness+ a'e+ intelli'en&e+ anti and pro#so&ial (eha$iors and o$er 'oodness and (adness o*ulsin' 0.2257 in his study &hildren also affe&ted up to a lar'e e/tent (y the different lin'uisti& terms presented on tele$ision in their fa$orite dramas and &artoons Bandura 0-57 states: Learnin' %ould (e e/&eedin'ly la(orious+ not to mention ha,ardous+ if people had to rely solely on the effe&ts of their o%n a&tions to inform them %hat to do Fortunately+ most human (eha$ior is learned o(ser$ationally throu'h modelin': from o(ser$in' others one forms an idea of ho% ne% (eha$iors are performed+ and on later  o&&asions -2 this &oded information ser$es as a 'uide for a&tion 0p ..7@ "LT e/plains ho% people+ spe&ifi&ally &hildren+ mimi& (eha$iors after %at&hin' someone else model it 0Bandura+

-57 !hildren &an o(ser$e all *inds of thin's+ in&ludin' a''ression+ (y o(ser$in' adults+ other  &hildren+ or &hara&ters they li*e in media 0Anderson et al+ .2264 )hita*er+ .227 Aggression and Violence in Cartoons )hen people thin* of $iolen&e+ (eha$iors su&h as hittin'+ pushin' or other physi&al a&ts often &ome to mind )ilson 1 Dro'os 0.227 also identify ='ossipin'+ spreadin' rumors+ (ein' rude and en'a'in' in mean tal*+@ 0p..7 as forms of relational or so&ial a''ression irls ha$e (een found more li*ely to use relational a''ression and (oys more li*ely to e/hi(it physi&al a''ression 09ap*ie%i&, 1 Roden+ -5-4 Bandura+ -54 Friedri&h 1 "tein+ -534 !hrista*is 1 immerman+ .224 9amlett+ .227 9amlett 0.227 points out that (e&ause physi&al a''ression is the most o($ious type of $iolen&e+ adults mi'ht dis&uss &onsequen&es a(out it and disre'ard a&ts of relational a''ression %ithout reali,in' it 0p .-7 )hile &artoons are often &onsidered an inno&ent type of &ontent+ resear&h finds them to &ontain si'nifi&ant amounts of (oth types of $iolen&e !hrista*is and immerman 0.227 found that pro'rammin' desi'ned for &hildren &ontained hi'her le$els of $iolen&e and a''ression than adult pro'rammin' =E$ery sin'le #rated film in theaters in the Hnited "tates up to the year -555 &ontained $iolen&e and half of them sho%ed at least one &hara&ter re>oi&in' in $iolen&e (y &heerin' and lau'hin' 0p 55?7@ "imilarly+ ;irsh 0.22C7 &ondu&ted an o$er$ie% of  pre$ious resear&h a(out youth per&eptions of &artoon $iolen&e as %ell as its effe&ts 9e found that =or mass media usin' audio $isual to &on$er'e messa'e to a %ider audien&e

CAPTE% ))) /ETO$O'OG( %esearch $esign This study uses a qualitati$e method of &ommuni&ation resear&h to in$esti'ate %hat *ind of impa&t+ if any+ $iolen&e or a''ression in &artoons has on &hildren and in %hat &onte/t A qualitati$e approa&h %as &hosen to see inside the li$es of &hildren and &apture $arious interpretations+ stories and e$ents re'ardin' the issue of media &ontent and a''ressi$e (eha$ior In short+ this study aims to (etter understand %hether these &artoons ha$e a su(stantial effe&t+ and if they shape &hildren de$elopin' (eha$ioral patterns in a natural settin'

Qualitati$e resear&h methods are effe&ti$e in puttin' ideas or situations into the %ords and e/perien&es of people in$ol$ed in the so&ial issue 0Lindlof+ -5537 )immer 1 Domini&* 0.2-67 dis&uss the fa&t that quantitati$e te&hniques often limit a resear&herJs a(ility to ad>ust a study %hile itJs in pro'ress and &an also limit parti&ipantsJ responses 0)immer 1 Domini&*+ .2-67 9o%e$er+ usin' fle/i(le inter$ie% questionin' te&hniques+ qualitati$e inter$ie%s &an (e &ustomi,ed to 'ain more personal information from parti&ipants Qualitati$e resear&h methods fall in the interpreti$e &ate'ory of so&ial s&ien&es =The aim of the interpreti$e paradi'm is to understand ho% people in e$eryday natural settin's &reate meanin' and interpret the e$ents in their %orld@0)immer 1 Domini&*+ .2-6+ p --7

The %espondents This study starts %ith a purposi$e sample "in&e &hildren are una(le to des&ri(e their  (eha$ior in detail+ the ne/t (est thin' is usin' their parents and tea&hers as resear&h parti&ipants Parents and tea&hers &onstantly o(ser$e (eha$ior of these &hildren and should (e a(le to pro$ide insi'ht re'ardin' the (eha$iors and personalities of these &hildren Initial in$itations %ere sent to -22 total parents of 'rade one pupils and 6 tea&hers in Brion#"il$a Elementary "&hool as*in' them if they %ere interested in parti&ipatin' in this resear&h $istri0ution of %espondents

Brion!ilva Ele"entar#

Frequen&y of Parent#Respondents

!chool !t. !e0astian

62

!t. &ohn

63

!t. /atthew

63

Total

-,,

The left &olumn of the ta(le sho%s the name of se&tion from %hi&h 'rade one pupils (elon' n the other hand+ the frequen&y of parents %ho %ill ser$e as respondents %as outlined on the ri'ht &olumn

!coring and )nterpretation of $ata Ea&h inter$ie% %as di'itally re&orded and fully trans&ri(ed into a %ord pro&essin' do&ument for referral and analysis Ea&h trans&ri(ed inter$ie% %as &onsidered a set of data and analysis (e'an after &ompilin' ea&h parti&ipant8s data set Responses %ere analy,ed for  patterns or themes+ su&h as similar types of o(ser$ed (eha$ior and similar &ontent in &artoons  Ans%ers %ere first &ate'ori,ed (y ans%ers into three 'roups: parents %ho are &on&erned a(out the effe&ts of media on &hildren+ those %ho are indifferent a(out the effe&ts of media on &hildren+ and those %ho seem &ompletely una%are of possi(le effe&ts of media on &hildren Findin's %ere also &ate'ori,ed (y types of a''ression or la&* thereof Any interpretations made on (ehalf of the parti&ipants refle&t their responses Emer'in' themes and patterns %ere dis&ussed %ith an e/pert in qualitati$e methodolo'y Any disputes or un&lear areas %hen analy,in' findin's %ere handled (y &onta&tin' parti&ipants a'ain to o(tain further &larifi&ation "in&e $aria(les in qualitati$e resear&h are different than in quantitati$e resear&h+ the data &olle&tion and or'ani,ation of ideas are used to stren'then the $alidity of the findin's

$ata Gathering Procedure Most of the in#depth initial inter$ie%s %ith parti&ipants too* pla&e in person in Brion#"il$a Elementary "&hool A fe% inter$ie%s too* pla&e All inter$ie%s %ere &ondu&ted after s&hool hours Parti&ipants %ere inter$ie%ed in person %hene$er possi(le+ usually in their home Inter$ie%s a$era'ed half hour ea&h+ usin' semi#stru&tured questions to 'uide the &on$ersations (ut allo%in' for fle/i(ility pen#ended questions allo%ed parti&ipants freedom to add or 

emphasi,e anythin' they felt %as important to the topi& The inter$ie%s %ere &asual to ease parti&ipants and 'et them thin*in' and tal*in' They %ere ad$ised that they %ere not o(li'ated to ans%er any question that made them un&omforta(le Parti&ipants %ere as*ed to e/plain their  lo'i& (ehind o(ser$ations of the 'rade one pupils8 (eha$ior Any (ias I may ha$e had %as a&ti$ely pre$ented from surfa&in' in inter$ie%s (y not des&ri(in' my o%n &on&erns or  e/perien&e %ith the topi& at hand I also did not 'i$e spe&ifi& e/amples I8$e noti&ed in &artoon &ontent or asso&iated (eha$ior All inter$ie%s %ere re&orded and trans&ri(ed Questions %ere as*ed a(out the &hild8s personality+ li*es and disli*es+ and ea&h parent personal approa&h to media Questions %ere as*ed a(out the amount of e/posure+ %hat types of pro'rams+ &hannels or mo$ies the &hild %at&hes+ and ho% often the tele$ision is left on in their homes in 'eneral Parti&ipants des&ri(ed the &hild8s (eha$ior %hen dealin' %ith &onfli&t or  frustration and ho% the &hild (eha$es durin' pretend play or pretend s&enarios Parti&ipants also des&ri(ed their &on&ept of a''ressi$e (eha$ior and %hat type of &hild they %ould la(el8 as a''ressi$e "ee Appendi/ A for the inter$ie% question outline

!tatistical Treat"ent of $ata In the attempt to arri$e %ith the needed analysis and interpretation of data &olle&ted+ the follo%in' statisti&al tools %ere used: -

)ei'hted Mean This %as the statisti&al tool used in order to find out the assessment

'i$en (y parents on the effe&t of T< !artoon net%or* on the a''ressi$e (eha$ior of 'rade one pupils The formula is: WM = X1f1 + X2f2

X

)here:

N

)M

S

)ei'hted Mean



S

num(er of responses

f

S

%ei'ht 'i$en to the responses

S

num(er of &ases

B)B')OG%AP( A. BOO5!2  Anderson+ !A+ Ber*o%it,+ L+ Donnerstein+ E+ 9uesmann+ L R+ ohnson+  D+ Lin,+ D+ Malamuth+ N M 1 )artella+ E 0.2267 The influen&e of media $iolen&e on youth Psy&holo'i&al "&ien&e in the Pu(li& Interest+ ?067+ -#-25  Anderson+ D R 1 Pempe*+ T A 0.2237 Tele$ision and $ery youn' &hildren The Ameri&an Beha$ioral "&ientist+ ?037+ 323#3.. Bandura+ A 0-5C7 "o&ial foundations of thou'ht and a&tion: A so&ial &o'niti$e theory

9ap*ie%i&,+ )  1 Roden+ A 9 0-5-7 The effe&t of a''ressi$e &artoons on &hildren8s interpersonal play !hild De$elopment+ ?.+ -36#-33

B. &O*%NA'!2 Bryant+ 1 D illmann 0Eds7+ Media effe&ts 9illsdale+ N inmann+ M 0.2267!artoons as informationournal of Information "&ien&e 0.57-: C5# ;emnit,+ TM 0-567 The &artoon as a histori&al sour&e ournal of interdis&iplinary history ? 0-7: -#56 Tandon+ P+ hou+ !+ Lo,ano+ P 1 !hrista*is+ D 0.2--7 Pres&hoolers8 total daily s&reen time at home and (y type of &hild &are The ournal of Pediatri&s+ -30.7+ .5#62-

C. *NP*B')!E$ /ATE%)A'! "aturnine+ R 0.22?7The Ad$erse Effe&ts of !artoons on the Minds of our !hildren Paper  presented at a Toon#a'edy !onferen&e in Estonia Bar(ara+ 9 0-5?37 In )arner 9ome o&om

APPEN$)CE!  Inter$ie% questions used to 'uide the &on$ersations  Part I: 9ome life and media use - )hat is your a'e and 'enderG 0'uardianUparent7 . )hat is the hi'hest le$el of edu&ation you ha$e &ompletedG 6 In %hat ran'e is your household in&ome per monthG  A7 .+222#6+222

B7 ?+222#3+222

? )hat is your o&&upationG 3 9o% many &hildren do you ha$eG

!7 C+222#+222

D7 5+222

C )hat is the &hild8s a'e and se/G  )hat types of a&ti$ities does the &hild en>oyG  )hat is the &hildJs personality li*eG 5 )hat sorts of thin's do you and the &hild do to'etherG -2 )hat sorts of thin's does the &hild do on hisUher o%nG -- )hat the &hild does %hen you ta*e &are of adult thin's8G 0ma*e dinner+ &lean house7 0"ometimes people ha$e their &hild %at&h a tele$ision sho% in the mornin' or in the e$enin' %hile they ta*e &are of household &hores X do you do thatG7  PART II: Media Hse -. 9o% do you approa&h media use or s&reen time %ith your &hildren 0or students7G Do you ha$e any rules a(out itG )hat8s your reasonin'G  -6 Does your &hild %at&h &artoons or animated $ideosUd$dsG  -? )hi&h &hannels+ pro'rams andUor mo$ies does the &hild typi&ally %at&hG -3 Appro/imately ho% many hours per day %ee*days does your &hild %at&hG At day&areG n the %ee*endsG -C f hours e/posed+ ho% mu&h of it do you %at&h %ith the &hildG Do you tal* a(out %hat8s happenin'G 9o% do those &on$ersations 'oG - 9o% often is the tele$ision on in your homeG "ome households li*e to ha$e a tele$ision on in the (a&*'roundXto *eep up %ith the ne%s+ for e/ampleX%hile others only ha$e it on if  someone is %at&hin' it )hat is your household li*eG  Part III: Beha$ior

- 9o% does your &hild deal %ith &onfli&tG -5 9o% does your &hild deal %ith disappointment+ frustration+ or an'erG .2 Does your &hild ha$e si(lin'sG Do you e$er disappro$e of ho% heUshe treats si(lin'sG If so+ in %hat %ay and %hyG .- Do you thin* your &hild *no%s the differen&e (et%een real life friends and &hara&ters they are atta&hed to in the &artoon pro'rams or mo$iesG .. In %hat %ays does your &hild sho% si'ns of &reati$ityG Do they play %ith toys on their o%nG Do they pretend playG .6 In pretend play+ %hat types of s&enarios and (eha$iors do you noti&e (y themsel$es+ or %ith othersG .? 9a$e you o(ser$ed any &opyin'8 types of (eha$ior in the &hildG 0that heUshe sees in &artoons7G .3 Do you allo% your &hild to play %ith toy 'uns+ s%ords+ or other pretend huntin' toysG 62 9o% does the &hild treat animalsG PetsG .C 9o% does the &hild respond %hen someone 'ets hurtG 0Does the &hild display empathyG7 . 9a$e you noti&ed any &han'e in your &hildJs (eha$ior after heUshe has %at&hed a &ertain pro'ram on tele$isionG Do you thin* tele$ision influen&es your &hildJs (eha$iorG If so+ ho%G If  not+ %hy notG . Please identify your personal definition and per&eption of a''ressi$e or $iolent (eha$ior

 Au'ust 62+ .2-3

/%!. EVA T. 'E(E!A Brion!ilva Ele"entar# !chool The !chool Principal )

$ear /ada"2

I ha$e the honor to request permission to &ondu&t an a&tion resear&h entitled =The Effe&t of T