Introduction
This research will examine the effects of television watching on children. It intends to find out how television influences the behaviors of young children. Television has replaced the school as the key socializing agent apart from the family since a good number of American children spend most of their time watching television rather than going to school (Myers, 2010).
Hypothesis
This study will be guided by a hypothesis stated as; there is a constructive association between watching television and the children’s pro-social conduct. This hypothesis is important because it indicates that children through watching television programs develop the willingness to help others without any profit gain motives (Myers, 2010).
Literature review
Most of the studies conducted on the effects of television watching on children usually talk about the societal violence that has been brought about by violent programs on the television. According to a study conducted by Thakkah, Ronald (2025-2031), children through television programs can learn a lot and this can influence their behavior both negatively and positively. Moreover, educational programs can change children’s attitudes on race and ethnicity hence enabling them to respect all society members irrespective of their races and ethnic groups. On the other hand, children have been known to become aggressive after watching violent programs. Importantly, there has been a gap since studies do not concentrate on how television watching can influence children’s pro-social behaviors. On this basis, this study wants to fill in that gap and find out how children’s willingness to help is influenced by watching television programs (Myers, 2010).
Research design
Data will be collected through experimenting with one group and controlling it with another one. Three two-hour television programs will be set for sixteen children to watch. These programs are; the police and detective series, Pro-social Lessie series and the Brandy Bunch show. All children will be called to help on a certain issue. In this case, the time taken by the children to go to help will be recorded in seconds. Independent variables will be the three two-hour television programs while the independent variables will be the number of seconds taken by a child to go to help. Thirty-two children (16 boys and 16 girls) are the sample population. The experimental group in this research is the first sixteen students (8 girls and 8 boys) who will be personally subjected to one of the three programs. The control group will be the rest sixteen students (8 boys and 8 girls) who will not watch the television. The similarities and differences will be indicated to determine whether children’s pro-social behaviors are affected by watching television (Myers, 2010).
Budget
This research will be conducted by two assistants who will be paid $200 each a day. A DVD containing the three programs will be bought for $20. Some $50 will be used for purchasing writing materials like pens and notebooks (Myers, 2010).
Conclusion
This research will help indicate how television programs influence children’s behavior in terms of their willingness to help. Additionally, this research will fill in the gap left by researchers about the positive influences of television watching on children’s behavior.
Reference list
Myers, D.G. (2010). Social psychology, 10th edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishers.