Professional Researcher
Children’s Television Shows and their Correlation with Moral Values in Early Adulthood
Kaitlyn Bozzo, Isha Sethi, Kelsie Sudsiri, Samantha Tom, and Arabella Williams
Psychology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz
Introduction
Method
Television viewership, a specific type of media consumption, is extremely prevalent among children. This provides authority to programs in establishing children’s understandings of the world around them. We define television viewership as the amount of time spent watching animated or live-action videos.
Many television shows display skills and messages that may influence children (Christensen & Myford, 2014). Researchers have also established that media consumption in childhood is positively correlated with differences in cognitive development (Jinqiu & Xiaoming, 2010). One researcher also found positive correlations in behavioral and physical development in children, specifically in the areas of pro/antisocial behaviors, academic performance, and disordered eating (Jordan, 2004). Some research has been done on media and morals, as demonstrated by a research study that was conducted on college students that found students paid more attention to movies that questioned morality versus movies that did not (Chen, 2018).
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However, no studies acknowledged the relationship between childhood media consumption and moral values, which we have defined as a set of beliefs concerning what is acceptable behavior towards various situations.
Our research intends to address this link, particularly concerning if the specific values presented in popular children’s television shows consumed in childhood are correlated with moral values held in adulthood. We speculate that the moral values held in adulthood are positively correlated with morally similar values to what was presented in television shows self-reported to be watched in childhood.
Procedure: We had participants fill out a short, 3-part questionnaire on ‘Google Forms’. The form took on average five minutes to complete. The first part asked the participants to select which television show they watched the most as a child out of Scooby-Doo, Spongebob Squarepants, and Clifford. There was also a ‘None of the above’ option that collected demographic information from the participants, but did not allow them to rank moral values. Those who selected ‘None of the above’ were not included in the analysis and results. The second part asked participants to rank the degree that they agree or disagree with eight statements on a Likert-type scale. The third part asked participants about their gender, ethnicity, and age. Any responses with age demographics outside of our target age-range (17-24) were not included in the study results.
The morals associated with Spongebob Squarepants and Scooby Doo were chosen from an opinion blog called The Asian Parent while the morals for Clifford came from the PBS website. We created the eight statements (2-3 measuring each moral value) based on our own interpretation of what someone who had those moral values would agree with the most. For Spongebob Squarepants, the moral is positivity; so, we created statements aimed to measure positivity, such as “People would generally describe me as a positive person”, “I like to maintain a positive outlook no matter the circumstances”, and “In tough situations I am known to be optimistic”. For Scooby-Doo, the moral value was helping others and teamwork; so, we chose statements such as “I prefer teamwork over working alone”, “It is important to work together for the greater good”, and “When someone needs help I do not hesitate to assist them”. For Clifford, the moral value was respecting individual differences; therefore our statements were “I believe it is important to respect others even if they are different than me” and “It is important to appreciate friends and community regardless of individual differences”.
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Results
Measures
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Forced choice for the show selection
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8 morality statements rated on Likert-type scale
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Free response demographic questions
Participants
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University of California, Santa Cruz students, ages 17-24
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Sample size: 42 students
There was no correlation between the moral values that participants held at age 17-24 and the show that they watched the most as children. We completed three ANOVAs comparing the scores between those who watched Spongebob Squarepants, Scooby-Doo, and Clifford in childhood and found no statistically significant differences between groups (p>.05).
Participants who watched Spongebob Squarepants and Scooby-Doo the most typically scored lower on the statements that pertained to each show, respectively, compared to statements pertaining to other popular shows. This comparison had a medium effect size, with Scooby-Doo (d=0.55) and Spongebob Squarepants (d=0.69).
As per our hypothesis, those who watched Clifford most in childhood generally had higher scores in statements associated with the show as compared to statements associated with other shows. This comparison had a large effect size of 1.59. However, participants scored highest on the moral statements associated with Clifford regardless of which show they watched most in childhood. The Spongebob Squarepants group had good internal reliability (É‘=.89), while the Scooby-Doo (É‘=.34) and Clifford group (É‘=.58) each had weak internal reliability.
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Discussion
Overall, we found that young adults do not necessarily hold the moral values that are presented in their most watched television show from when they were younger, ages 4-8. They tended to gravitate towards those moral values as being correct, but did not necessarily showcase these morals in their everyday lives. This is consistent with the findings from Chen’s article in regards to young adults believing that certain moral values were correct in different Chinese movies (2018). We also noticed that despite the show chosen, most of the participants scored higher on the statements associated with Clifford than the other statements. This could potentially be due to the fact that Clifford intentionally incorporates life lessons aimed to educate children on prosocial behaviors, while Spongebob Squarepants and Scooby-Doo are both shows created solely for entertainment purposes (“Clifford”; “SpongeBob SquarePants”; “The Kids are All Right”).
One limitation of this study was that we had a relatively small sample size that only consisted of students from the University of California, Santa Cruz. This lessens external reliability because it does not generalize our results to other people and situations. Some recommendations for future research would be to distribute this survey randomly to students in other universities; this would allow for a more representative sample. In addition, expanding the number of cartoons included within the survey would more accurately predict which shows are correlated with which moral values.
Despite these limitations, this study gave more insight into possible correlations between childhood television watching and adult morals, which has never been a topic of research before. Contrary to research establishing strong correlations between television consumption and cognitive development in children, such as Jordan (2004) and Jinqiu & Xiaoming (2010), our research illustrates that childhood shows are not likely to predict future moral values. This information is important for parents to consider for years to come, as it may help them guide their children on what or what not to watch.
References
Castro-Cuyugan, P. (n.d.). 7 Life lessons your kids can learn from their favorite children's cartoon [Website Page]. Retrieved from https://sg.theasianparent.com/7-life-lessons-kids-can-learn-favourite-tv-shows.
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Chen, Z. (2018). Study on the application of film and television education in cultivation of college students’ values. Kuram Ve Uygulamada EÄŸitim Bilimleri/Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 18(5), 2419-2429. doi:10.12738/estp.2018.5.141
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Christensen, C. G., & Myford, C. M. (2014). Measuring social and emotional content in children's television: An instrument development study. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 58(1), 21-4. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2013.875024
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Clifford. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2019, from https://www.pbs.org/parents/shows/clifford.
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Jinqiu, Z. & Xiaoming, H. (2010). Parent-child co-viewing of television and cognitive development of the Chinese child. International Journal of Early Years Education, 12(1), 63-77. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/0966976042000182389
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Jordan, A. (2004). The role of media in children's development: An ecological perspective. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 25(3), 196-206. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004703-200406000-00009
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SpongeBob SquarePants - Official TV Series: Nickelodeon. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2019, from https://www.nick.com/shows/spongebob-squarepants.
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The Kids Are All Right: The Goofiest And Greatest In Classic Children's TV Shows. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2019, from https://www.cbs.com/shows/watch_magazine/photos/1008789/the-kids-are-all-right-the-goofiest-and-greatest-in-classic-children-s-tv-shows/134665/scooby-doo-where-are-you-1969-1976-/.