ABSTRACT
Daniel is a marginal student who would rather spend his time watching horror movies and playing Dungeons and Dragons with a small group of friends. Many laypersons assume that only realistic aggression affects children, and that unrealistic or humorous portrayals of aggression, such as cartoon aggression, is inconsequential. Studies using experimental designs provide compelling evidence that television viewing has an effect on children's behavior, but have important limitations. Huesmann and Eron conducted a second longitudinal study, this time sampling 1,683 1st grade children from five countries — Australia, Finland, Israel, Poland, and the United States. Social impact studies investigate the impact of television violence on communities using a variety of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. One study examined the rate of children's aggression in a remote Canadian community shortly after it had acquired television. Social impact studies like those by Centerwall and Phillips attempt to demonstrate a causal connection between television violence and violent behavior on a large scale.
