A longitudinal study of the effects of television viewing on aggressive and prosocial behaviours

Abstract

A longitudinal study investigated the extent to which children's exposure to aggressive and prosocial television models in drama programmes influences their aggressive and prosocial behaviour. In The Netherlands we did not find significant positive correlations between prosocial behaviour and the viewing of prosocial behaviour on television. Positive correlations were found, however, between aggression and television violence viewing. This relationship disappeared almost completely when corrections for the starting level of aggression and intelligence were applied. The hypothesis, formulated on the basis of social learning theory, that television violence viewing leads to aggressive behaviour could not be supported. Our findings are further discussed and compared with the results found in the other countries participating in the international study.