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MICHIGAN sure UNIVERSITY
James A. Harrison

1965

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A STUDY OF MOTHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD CHILD-REARING
AND THE TELEVISION VIEWING HABITS OF THEIR
PRE-SCHDOL CHILDREN

BY

James A. Harrison

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Television and Radio

7 .
Approved by: )%0 ///a\céll

1965

ABSTRACT

A STUDY OF MOTHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD CHILD-REARING
AND THE TELEVISION VIEWING HABITS OF THEIR
PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN

by James A. Harrison

The purpose of this study was to determine if there
is a relationship between mothers' attitudes toward child-
rearing and their pre-school child's television viewing
habits. It was believed possible that mothers who are
strict about child's viewing habits and who have negative
attitudes about television are mothers who score high on
Parental Attitude Research Instrument scales (child-rearing
attitudes not generally approved by psychologists and family
life specialists). The author of this study also recognized
the possibility of no correlation between child-rearing
attitudes and television attitudes and viewing habits.

In order to accomplish this purpose a written
questionnaire was coupled with a Parental Attitude Research
Instrument created by Dr. Earl S. Schaefer and Dr. Richard
Q. Bell. The Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI)
was designed to determine a mother's attitudes on twenty—
three different scales. The author of this study selected
six of the scales to compare with television information

obtained in the study. The six scales or attitudes were:

James A. Harrison

Breaking The Will, Strictness, Irritability, Suppression of

Aggression, Approval 9§_Activit , and Avoidance of Communi-

 

cation.
The second section of the questionnaire dealt with
the viewing habits and preferences of mothers and their
five year old children. The mothers provided the answers
to questions concerning their children's television viewing.
A total of 53 mothers of five year old children
participated in this study. Fifteen mothers completed
the questionnaire in a group situation, twenty-eight parti-
cipated by mail. and the questionnaire was delivered personally
to ten mothers. After the data were collected, the informa-
tion was coded and transferred to computer data cards. The
information was then computer analyzed. The results were
studied and compared with the hypotheses.
Of the ten hypotheses, the results pertaining to
only one were significant to the .05 level. The author
of this study had hypothesized that the higher a mother

scored on the scale, Avoidance of Communication, the more

 

her pre-school child would watch television. The hypothesis
was refuted and significantly so.

The remaining nine hypotheses were neither substantiated
nor refuted, at least to the .05 level. There appeared to
be no relationship between Breaking the Will and a child's
preference for action-adventure types of children's programs:

a mother's education and her attitudes toward television; a

James A. Harrison

mother's score on Strictness and the evening television
viewing curfew hour she establishes for her children; the
mother's Strictness score and the frequency with which she
rescinds the evening viewing curfew hour; the mother's
Strictness score and the number of hours a child watches
television; the mothefs Irritability score and the amount

of the child's viewing; the mother's score on Approval 9;

 

Activity and the number of hours her child watches television;
the mother's score on Suppression 9§_Aggression and the
amount of the child's television viewing; and the mother's
score on Suppression 2f Aggression and the child's preference
for action-adventure category of children's programming.

The most significant conclusion reached by the
author of this study was that there does not appear to be
a relationship between a mother's child-rearing attitudes as
measured by PARI and the television viewing habits of her
pre—school child.

There are at least two possible explanations for
this conclusion. First, it is possible that a mother's
child-rearing attitudes as measured by PARI have no relation-
ship to the television viewing of her child. Second, it is
possible that PARI is not a useful instrument for comparing
its results with the television viewing habits of children.
Either explanation could be true, but additional research
is necessary before a convincing argument for either can be

presented.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is impossible to list the names of all persons
who contributed in some way to the development, implementa-
tion and completion of this study. The author does wish,
however, to express his appreciation to a few persons whose
contributions were especially significant.

Mr. Leo Martin provided the guidance, encouragement,
and support needed to bring this study to fruition.

Dr. Earl S. Schaefer graciously consented to permit
the author to utilize the Parental Attitude Research
Instrument. The suggestions and materials he sent to the
author were most helpful.

Mr. Thomas Banks provided considerable materials,
including a randomly selected list of mothers in the
Greater Lansing Area, and these were of invaluable assistance.

Reverend Truman Morrison made the facilities of the
Edgewood United Church available to the author of this study
for the three evening meetings required for collection of
the data.

There were others who also contributed to this
study in many ways. Among them were Dr. William Marshall,
Dr. Mason Miller, Mr. James Bebermeyer, Mr. William Tedrick,
Mr. Albert Talbott and my secretary, Mrs. Phyllis Olin.

To these and the others who have not been mentioned the

ii

author extends his sincere gratitude.

Perhaps the greater debt is owed to the fifty—
three mothers who participated in this study. Quite
obviously, without their participation this study would

not have been possible.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page

I. BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . 1

Introduction 1
Opinions of Authorities 2
Research 6
Measuring Instrument l6
Hypotheses 19

II. METHOD OF STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Introduction 24
Population 30
Purpose 32

III. RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . 34

MEthod of Analysis 34
Results of Hypotheses 37

IV. CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Analysis of Hypotheses 46
Other Results 54

V. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . 61

Summary 61
Limitations of the Study 62
Suggestions for Further Research 64

BI BLIOGMPEH O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O O 67

iv

CHAPTER I
BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

Introduction

Television viewing is one activity which most
Americans share in common in one manner or another. It
probably has come close to replacing the weather as a topic
of conversation when one cannot think of anything else to
talk about. With such popularity, and perhaps because of
it, television also has become a topic of controversy.

The arguments for and against television are many. Some
persons say that television is a powerful educational force
in our lives. Others believe that television offers a

wide variety of programs and gives their children a broader
view of the world.

There are other persons who feel equally negative
toward television. These people say there are too many
westerns, crime-adventure, panel shows, commercials and
other fantasy-type programs. They often say that television
is making Americans indolent and passive. They believe
that TV is making their children insensitive to murder,
violence and mayhem. Point and counter-point, the argument
continues. The heart of the controversy centers on the
effects of television on those children who spend many
hours watching its fare every week.

1

Opinions of Authorities

 

Many opinions have been expressed by a number of
people; they are opinions that often reflect major public
attitudes toward television. Dr. Isadore Ziferstein, a
psychiatrist, is quoted by the National Association for
Better Radio and Television as having said:

Because of its powerful audio-visual impact and
relative availability, TV could be an important
adjunct in the emotional development and matur-
ing of children by stimulating creativity, pro-
viding emotional release, presenting opportunities
for identification with heroes representing healthy
values, broadening their knowledge and under-
standing of the world and their place in it, and
providing esthetic satisfaction. At present TV
does not fulfill this role but rather in large
part, the prolonged viewing of TV produces
detrimental effects by creating an addiction,
encouraging passivity, stultifying creativity,

and instilling unrealistic and unhealthy values.l

Dr. Lawrence Freedman, another psychiatrist, has
written: "There is, so far, no competent psychiatric
study which demonstrates that schizoid symptomatology in
children has increased since television became widespread:
nor has any careful investigation linked the rise in
juvenile delinquency to the content of television programs
or the act of watching them."2

Walter Lippman has written in one of his columns

that: "There can be no doubt that the movies and televflsion

 

1U.S., Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary,
Testimony before the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile
Delinquency, 84th Congress 1st. Session, April, 1955, p. 1900.

2Wilbur Schramm, Jack Lyle, and Edwin B. Parker,
Television in the Lives of Our Children (Stanford, California:
Stanford University Press, 1961), p. 190.

and the comic books are purveying violence and lust to a
vicious and intolerable degree. There can be no doubt
that public exhibitions of sadism tend to excite sadistic
desires and to teach the audience how to gratify sadistic
desires. Nor can there be any real doubt that there is a
close connection between the suddenness in the increase in
sadistic crimes and the new vogue of sadism among the mass
media of entertainment."3

Dr. Frank Stanton, President of the Columbia
Broadcasting System, refutes the View held by Lippman. He
does not believe there is sufficient evidence for drawing
conclusions about the impact on young people of television
programs which emphasize sex and violence. In May, 1962,
Dr. Stanton testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee:
"I believe it is fair to say that most of the work that
has been done does not establish a causal relationship
between what is on the screen and juvenile delinquency.“4

Former U.S. Attorney General, and now U.S. Senator
from New York, Robert Kennedy once said that he and Newton
Minow, a former chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, both agreed that: "The formerly three greatest
influences on children--church, home and school--are now

5

four: church, home, school and TV." In the same magazine

 

3Leo Bogart, The Age of Television (New YOrk: F.
Unger Publishing Co., 1956), p. 277.

 

4U.S., Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary,
loc.cit., p. 2559.

5Anon., "Television and the Public Interest,"
Newsweek, September ll, 1961, p. 64.

article, Mr. Kennedy stated: "Everybody felt there wasn't
any agency in the government that needed more attention

than the FCC, that the industry had fallen into dispute

in the public eye, that the caliber of its programs needed
attention, that the FCC had failed to meet its responsibility.
We were concerned about its effect on the public and on
children particularly."6

These are only a sampling of representative opinions
which have been spoken and written in recent years. These
are opinions held by professionals in the industry, newspaper
columnists, psychiatrists and sociologists. These are
opinions of people who are in positions of prestige and
possible influence. But how do parents feel about tele-
vision and its effect on their children?

It was the intent of the author of this study to
focus attention on the parents, and specifically on the
mothers of pre-school children. Many parents appear to be
concerned about the effects of television on their children.
Congress had held hearings on the problem and some parents
have protested individually or collectively to stations,
sponsors or Congressmen. Several psychologists, sociologists
and members of numerous other professions have researched
the subject. There is considerable interest in the problem,
but while research is being carried out, the controversy

rages on.

 

61bid., p. 64.

Mrs. Clara Logan, President of the National Association
for Better Radio and Television, said in 1961: "Deplorable
as is the lack of fine programs for children and the broad-
casting of the objectionable children's programs, we have
to be ever more concerned about the overall picture of
children's viewing for we know they listen to far more
adult programs than children's programs."7 Furthermore,
Mrs. Logan testified: "Apparently the great majority of
specialized medical authorities agree with the NAFBRAT
viewpoint that the mass of violence and brutality in tele-
vision programs represents a real danger to the welfare
of our nation's children."8
There are other parental opinions, both pro and
con, which show that there is disagreement about the effects
of television on children and in parental attitudes toward
it.
Most parents have opinions about television and
many have established viewing policies for their children.
It would appear, however, that some parents do not have
any rigid viewing policies that are enforced. There is
evidence to show that most parents who establish rules do

so in terms of amount of viewing and time of program rather

than in terms of content.

 

7U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary,

loc. cit., p. 1874.

81bid., p. 1881.

 

In addition to an interest in the numerous parental
attitudes toward television and their children's viewing
patterns, the author of this study was also interested in
parents', particularly mothers', attitudes toward child-
rearing. The fundamental question in the author's mind,
which led to this study, was this: Is there a relation—
ship between parental child—rearing attitudes and the
television viewing habits of their children? Investigation
of existing evidence led in two directions: (1) to con-
clusions as reported in research literature, and (2) to
an instrument which could measure parental attitudes toward
child-rearing and family life called the Parental Attitude

Research Instrument (PARI).

Research

Paul Witty found in 1950 that about four out of
five parents who owned television sets did not believe
their children watched too much television. The age of
the child was not a significant factor in the attitudes
of the parents. Three of the many parents' comments about
television were as follows:

"TV has increased our happiness at home."

"It has given the children a happier home where

they can laugh."

"My two 16 year olds like to stay home now. I

am so glad, as I would not know where they were

otherwise. They have been backward in school,

but television has helped them a lot."9

In 1950, Witty found two principal reasons why
parents disapproved of television for their children.
First, parents were concerned about the sensationalism and
violence on television. Secondly, they believed that
television was so passive it interfered with the wholesome
physical development of their children.10

A 1954 Gallup Poll showed that 70% of the adults
in the United States blamed comic books, television and
radio, in part, for juvenile delinquency because of the
crime and violence portrayed in each medium. Smythe found
in'a 1955 study that 57% of the adults in his sample ob-
jected to crime and violence on television.11

Schramm, Lyle and Parker in 1961 found that children
prefer fantasy programs such as cartoons, westerns, and
crime shows overwhelmingly over other programs. Yet, 65%
of the parents interviewed said the elimination of crime,
violence and terror was the first change they would recom-
mend in television programming.12

Parental concern about the effects of television crime

and violence programs on their children was reflected in

 

9Paul Witty, "Children's, Parents' and Teachers'
Reactions to Television," Elementary English, XXVII, No. 6
(October, 1950), p. 8.

lOIbid.

llDallas Smythe, "Dimensions of Violence," Audio-

Visual Communications Review, II (1955): PP. 58—63.

12Schramm, Lyle and Parker, op. cit., p. 53.

research reports written since television set ownership
began to increase significantly in the early 1950's. The
National Association for Better Radio and Television,
organized in 1949, reflected this parental concern. NAFBRAT
was organized with the primary objective of improving broad-
cast program standards through an enlightened and active
public participation in the affairs of broadcasting. Its
efforts consist primarily of monitoring programs and tabu-
lating incidents of crime and violence in children's
programs and in programs viewed by children.

The question that appeared to be foremost in the
minds of many parents was: What is television doing to
our children? Several child psychologists and family life
specialists turned the question around and asked: What
kind of children are watching television? More specifically,
they asked: Why do children watch television excessively,
especially action-adventure kinds of programs?

Maccoby wrote in 1951 that young children whose
aggressions were frustrated often expressed considerable
interest in television programs which portrayed crime and
violence.13

Riley and Riley concluded that when relations were
strained between older children and their parents, the

children could be expected to select television programs

 

3Eleanor Maccoby, "Television: Its Impact on
School Children," The Public Qpinionpguarterly, XV, No. 3
(Fall, 1951), pp. 439-440.

of fantasy and violence which would foster their own

created fantasies.14
Shayon wrote that a child whose basic needs are

not satisfied and who is harshly disciplined will develop

15 This child will

an "excessive reservoir of aggression."
develop a thirst for violence and fantasy and will turn to
television to satisfy it. Many child psychologists and
social scientists, Shayon concluded, believe that many
children watch television excessively because they are
excluded from the adult world and/or are harshly disciplined.‘
Maccoby wrote in 1954 that if a child's environ-
ment imposes a strain on him, it could be assumed that he
would escape from it in some fantasy situation. A child's
fondness for violence could possibly reflect suppression
of aggression in his life.16
Himmelweit, Oppenheim and Vince concluded that
excessive television viewing by a child is a symptom of

. . 17
an unsatisfactory enV1ronment.

 

l4Matilda Riley and John W. Riley, Jr., "A Socio-
logical Approach to Communications Research," The Public
Opinion Quarterly, XV, No. 3 (Fall, 1951), p. 455.

15Robert Shayon, Television and Our Children (New
York: Longmans, Green and Company, 1951), pp. 35, 36.

 

 

l6Eleanor Maccoby, "Why Do Children Watch Television?,"
The Public Opinion Quarterly, XVIII, No. 3 (Fall, 1954),
p. 240.

l7Hilda T. Himmelweit, A. N. Oppenheim, and Pamela
Vince, Television and the Child (London, England: Oxford
University Press, 1961), p. 29.

10

Schramm, Lyle and Parker concluded that "During a
child's first ten years, the family is the chief influence
on the shaping of the child's tastes."18 They suggest that
children who are frustrated in their relationships with
other people will often seek satisfaction in escapist
television programs. They recommend that parents make
their children secure in their interpersonal relationships
and attempt to create reality experiences for them both on
television and in real life.19

Steiner found in 1963 that parents are more con-
cerned about viewing circumstances (hours and other duties
the child has, etc.) than with program content. He con-
cluded that many parents express concerns about television
but do very little about it.20

Elmo Roper found in a November, 1963, study that
43% of the people in his sample considered "the bad effects
of TV on children" a serious moral problem.21

While parents were expressing concerns about the
effects of television on children and researchers were

seeking answers to the question: Why do children watch

television?, evidence was also being compiled about the

 

8Schramm, Lyle, and Parker, loc. cit., p. 47.

19Ibid., p. 151.

20Gary Steiner, The People Look at Television (New
York: Knopf, 1963): Pp- 97-98.

21Elmo Roper, New Trends in the Public's Measure
of Television and other Media (New York: Television
Information Office, 1964), p. 5.

11

socio-economic variables influencing attitudes toward
television.
Maccoby found in 1951 that upper income people
were "concerned about the effects of TV on family life
and school work and in general disapproved of television."22
Sweetser (1953) concluded that mothers in working
class families were less critical of television than those
in "white-collar" families.23
In a 1954 study, Maccoby dealt extensively with
the influence of social class on the television viewing
habits of children. She reported that mothers' attitudes
toward television and the frustration of their children
related to television viewing are "functions of social
class." She concluded that mothers in upper socio-economic
classes more often imposed restrictions on the number of
hours their children watched television than did mothers
in the lower groups. Consequently, children in the lower
socio-economic class watched more television than other
children. Maccoby concluded that children in the upper
middle class who were frustrated in their family relation-
ships watched more television than non-frustrated children
in the same class. In the lower socio-economic class,

children who were subjected to severe punishment and lack

of permissiveness in sex tended to have a greater interest

 

22Maccoby, The Public Opinion Quarterly (1951),
op. cit., p. 422.

23Frank L. Sweetser, Jr., Grade School Families
Meet Television Research Report #1, (Boston: Boston
University Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 1953).

12

in television than those children in the same class who
were not.24

Maccoby also concluded that children in the lower
socio-economic class who were required to be neat, quiet
and mannerly and to go to bed at a rigidly enforced time,
spent less time watching television than children who were
given more freedom. Frustration in upper middle class
children was related to television viewing but not in
upper-lower class children. The reason for this conclusion
was that upper middle class parents watched less television
and their children, if frustrated, escaped to it. Lower
class parents watched more television and their children
could be heavy viewers either because they were joining
their parents or because they were escaping to television.25

Maccoby also concluded that mothers in upper-middle
class homes who were strict and non-permissive with their
children: "tend to disapprove of television and place
restrictions on the amount of time their children may watch
on a given day.“ Highly restricted children in upper—middle
class homes tended to watch more television except when
their mothers enforced rigid rules and restrictions on
television viewing.26

Maccoby is quoted extensively in this research

report because her conclusions significantly contributed

 

24Maccoby, The Public Opinion Oparterly (1954),
op. cit., p. 241.

25 26

Ibid., p. 243. Ibid., p. 244.

13

to the hypotheses of this study.

Parker, Berry and Smythe (1955) found that parents
with above average income were about evenly divided, pro
and con, in their opinions about television programs for
children. Parents earning below average incomes were
generally much more favorable (four to one) toward children's

{J
programs. Parker, Bérry and Smythe concluded that people

of higher social positions, income and education were more
critical of television programs. Those parents who were
lower on the socio-economic scale were more receptive to
available programs.27
Witty concluded, after eleven years of surveys
and studies, that television is a problem mainly in homes
where parents allow it to become a problem. He suggested,
though, that possible long range effects are that children
will come to accept violence, hate and destruction as
normal ways of life. He also associated excessive viewing
with lower academic attaniment.28
Steiner (1963) found that the more education parents
had, the less inclined they were to praise television and
the more likely they were to disavow its social or personal

importance. He found that education was a factor in attitude,

especially in those cases where the parent had received

 

27Everett Parker, David Berry, and Dallas Smythe,
The Television—Radio Audience and Religion (New Ybrk:
Harper and Brothers, 1955).

28Paul Witty, "Televiewing by Children and YOUth,"
Elementary English (February, 1961), p. 113.

14

29 Parents with

education beyond completion of high school.
young children were more apt to believe that television's
virtues outweighed its vices than were parents of older

children.30

Roper (1964) found that of those persons who con—
sidered the "bad effects" of television on children a
serious moral problem, 52%»had not received any formal
education beyond grade school. Furthermore, the least
concerned persons were those with children under six and
those with college educations.31

Roper and Steiner essentially came to the same
conclusion about parents of young children; that is, those
parents were more favorable in their attitudes toward
television. They appeared to disagree about the educational
factor. Steiner found that the more education parents had,
the less inclined they were to praise television. Roper
concluded the opposite.

The remaining area of concern which the author of
this research report chose to explore was the relationship
of socio-economic class to child-rearing attitudes.

Bayley and Schaefer concluded that Sears and Maccoby

and Leven each found that working class mothers were less

permissive and more punitive toward their children than

 

29Steiner, op. cit., p. 32.

30Ibid., p. 84.

31Roper, op. cit., pp. 5-6.

15

were middle-class mothers.32 Bayley and Schaefer have also
reported that the Berkeley Growth Study found that mothers
of higher socio-economic status tended to be more warmly
understanding and accepting toward their children. Mbthers
of lower socio-economic status tended to be more controlling,
irritable and punitive toward their children.33
Maccoby reiterated her earlier condlusion in a 1954
article in which she stated that lower socio-economic
mothers were less permissive and more restrictive in child-
training practices in general than were upper-middle class
mothers.34
After reviewing the research literature, the author
of this study decided to focus his attention on three
questions. First, what are the attitudes of a representative
sample of parents toward television and what effects do
socio-economic conditions have on those attitudes? Second,
what relationships are there, if any, between children's
viewing habits and their socio-economic situation and
their relationship with their parents? Third, what is
known about the child-rearing attitudes of mothers in
different socio-economic levels, and is there a relation—

ship between these attitudes and their children's viewing

habits?

 

32Nancy Bayley and Earl S. Schaefer, "Relationship
Between Socio-economic variables-and the Behavior of Mothers
Toward Young Children," The Journal of Genetic Psychology,
xcvx (1960), p. 61.

33Ibid., p. 76.

34Maccoby, The Public Opinion Quarterly (1954),
op. cit., p. 241.

16

Measuringglnstrument

In 1958, Dr. Earl S. Schaefer and Dr. Richard Q.
Bell, both of whom are on the staff of the National Institute

of Mental Health, published an article in Child Development.

 

In this article they reported on an instrument which they
had developed which would measure parental attitudes about
child-rearing and family life. They called this measuring
device a Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI).
After reviewing the article in Child Development and after
correspondence with Dr. Schaefer, the author of this present
study decided to attempt to incorporate PARI into this study
to determine whether it would be useful in correlating
parental attitudes on child-rearing with the television
viewing habits of these same parents' pre-school children.
Schaefer's and Bell's thesis is that "parental
attitudes toward child—rearing and the family life are an
important influence in the personality development of the

child."35

Furthermore, they write: "Since the most
extensive and intensive social interactions of the child'
during crucial developmental stages occur within the family
and especially with the mothers, the mother-child relation-

ship would be of major importance in personality development."36

 

35Earl S. Schaefer and Richard Q. Bell, "Development
of a Parental Attitude Research Instrument," Child Development,
XXIX, No. 3 (September, 1958). P. 339.

36Ibid., p. 340.

17

The authors pointed out that the potential useful-
ness of objective measures to determine the child-rearing
and family life attitudes of the mother "justifies their
development."37 They believe that such an instrument would
contribute to knowledge obtained through the use of inter-
view and observation methods of data gathering. They admit
that the interview--if thoroughly developed and with well-
trained interviews-—wou1d give more valid information, but
that PARI in itself is a desirable method because of the
speed, efficiency and objectivity of the questionnaire.38

Their stated hypothesis is that "objectively measured
attitudes toward child—rearing are significantly related to
personality development of children."39 PARI measures 23
concepts or different scales. Each concept is reliable
only in group comparisons.40 The 23 scales are found in
Appendix B and the six scales used in this study are out-
lined and explained in detail in the next chapter.

PARI is a broad measuring device and should be used
as a preliminary survey instrument in a new area. It

also is an instrument that requires a large sample.41

 

37Ibid., p. 340.

381bid., p. 341.

391bid., p. 344.

4OEarl S. Schaefer and Richard Q. Bell "Informal
Notes on the Use of PARI" (Washington: By the Authors,
December 15, 1960), p. 1.

41Ibid.

18

Schaefer and Bell write that "the most successful studies
have used groups each with fifty or more subjects."42
PARI, they say, is "best used as a phase one instrument in

43 . .
In other words, a more inten81ve

a two—phase program."
study should be planned as a follow-up to the use of PARI.

The authors of PARI researched much of the avail—
able literature pertaining to parental attitudes toward
child-rearing and began to compile a list of concepts or
scales. They found that attitudes which were generally
approved by psychologists were poor discriminators. These
were called "rapport scales" by the authors.44 The rapport
items are: Encouraging Verbalization, Equalitarianism, and
Comradeship and Sharing.

The final form of PARI was tested on several groups
and substantiated as a valid instrument for measuring parental
attitudes toward child-rearing and family life. Five
statements relating to each of the twenty-three concepts
were systematically distributed throughout the instrument.

The total instrument consisted of 115 statements.45

Of the 23 concepts, 20 measure attitudes toward

child-rearing which are usually not approved child-rearing

 

42Ibid.

43Ibid.

44
p. 346.

45Ibid., pp. 344—346.

Schaefer and Bell, Child Development, 99. cit.,

19

opinions as held by child development specialists. The
authors found, as have other researchers, that "scales
which state approved attitudes toward child-rearing
typically have poor reliabilities because there is a
strong tendency for all persons to agree."46

The two most significant sociological variables
are education of the mother and occupation or income of

47

the father. Schaefer and Bell write: "Mothers of the

lower educational levels tend to have less approved attitudes

48 The authors have found that the

toward children."
religion, number of children, and sex of children usually
fail to show an appreciable relationship with the PARI

scale. Results have not been uniform on the age of the

mother as a factor.49

Hypotheses

The conclusions reached by the researchers of the
literature thus far reported in this chapter of this thesis
as well as a study of the PARI scale led the author of this

research project to the following hypotheses:

 

46Ibid., p. 346.

 

47Schaefer and Bell, "Informal Notes," op. cit.,
p. 2.

48Schaefer and Bell, Child Development, op. cit.,
p. 353.

49Schaefer and Bell, "Informal Notes," op. cit.,

p. 3.

20

1. Children of mothers who score high on the PARI
item, Breaking the Will, will score high on pre-
ferences for action-adventure types of children's
television programs.

The findings of both Shayon and Maccoby would
support this hypothesis. If a child is harshly disciplined,
then there is a likelihood that the child will develop a
"reservoir of aggression." This hypothesis applies to
those children who may turn to the action-adventure type
of children's programs in an effort to vicariously divest
themselves of aggression.

2. Mothers who have a high school education or less
will have more favorable attitudes toward television
than mothers who have some college training or more.
Parker, Berry and Smythe support this hypothesis

as does Steiner. Maccoby has found that the upper socio-
economic persons (more education, higher income) are
generally more critical of television than the lower socio-
economic class. Sweetser has reached the same conclusions.
Roper found that those persons with less than an eighth
grade educathan are more critical while college educated
persons were least concerned about the effects of television
on children. The author of this research project, however,
predicates this hypothesis on the findings of Parker,
Berry, Smythe, Steiner, Maccoby and Sweetser. It should

be pointed out, however, that since Roper has reached a

somewhat different conclusion, it is possible that this

21

hypothesis could be refuted. The author of this present
study was interested in determining if the Parental Attitude
Research Instrument is useful in reaching a solution to

this apparent contradiction.

3. Mothers who score high on the PARI Strictness
scale will generally have an earlier evening
television viewing curfew hour for their children
than will mothers who score low on the Strictness
item.

This scale was designed by Schaefer and Bell to
measure the freedom or independence of a child. It is
probable that the mothers who are strict will be more
likely to limit their children's viewing in the evening.

4. Mothers who score high on the PARI Strictness
scale will be less apt to rescind the evening
television viewing curfew hour they have established
for their children than will mothers who score low
on Strictness.

It is likely, since this PARI item measures degree
of allowable freedom or independence of the child by the
mother, that a more strict mother will be less likely to
rescind the rules by which she disciplines her children.

5. The children of mothers who score high on the PARI
Strictness scale will watch less television than
children of mothers who score low on this scale.
Maccoby found that children of mothers in the low

socio-economic level who maintained a rigidly enforced

22

bedtime rule tended to watch less television. She also
concluded that strict, non-permissive mothers in the upper
socio-economic levels tended to disapprove of television.
It may be possible that mothers who disapprove of tele-
vision limit the number of hours their children may watch.
If this assumption is correct, then the hypothesis is that
children of mothers who score high on Strictness will
generally watch less television than will other children.

6. Children of mothers who score high on Irritability
will watch more television per week than children
of mothers who score low on this scale.

The PARI irritability scale was developed to
determine the extent to which a mother rejects or ignores
her children. Shayon and Maccoby have each indicated that
children who are ignored often turn to television for
companionship. As Shayon pointed out, children who are
excluded from the adult world often turn to excessive
television viewing.

7. Children of mothers who score high on the PARI
Avoidance of Communication scale will watch more
television per week than children of mothers who
score low on this scale.

The PARI Avoidance of Communication scale is similar
in purpose to the Irritability scale.

8. Children of mothers who score high on the PARI

Approval of Activity scale will watch less

23

television than children of mothers who score

low on this scale.

The PARI Approval of Activity scale was designed
to determine how much a mother will permit her child to
engage in passive activity.

9. Children of mothers who score high on the PARI
Suppression of Aggression scale will watch more
television than children of low scoring mothers.
Maccoby's conclusion would seem to support this

hypothesis.

10. Children of high scoring mothers on the PARI
Suppression of Aggression scale will have a greater
preference for the children's action-adventure
category of programming than will children of
mothers who score low on this scale.

Maccoby's conclusions would also seem to support

this hypothesis.

CHAPTER II

METHOD OF STUDY

Introduction

 

Two procedures of study were used in this research
project. The first procedure was to investigate the child-
rearing attitudes of a sample of mothers of pre—school
children. The instrument used was the Parental Attitude
Research Instrument, which was described in Chapter I.

The second procedure was to investigate the television
viewing habits and preferences of a sample of pre—school
children and their mothers. The mothers provided the
answers to questions concerning their children's television
viewing. Both procedures of the study were combined into
one questionnaire. The second section in the questionnaire
was formulated by the author of this present report.

After reviewing the literature on children and
their television viewing habits, it was decided to limit
this inquiry to only six of the PARI attitude scales.
Although more than six of the twenty-three scales could be
relevant to the television viewing, the research findings,
as reported in the literature section of this report, are
particularly significant in relation to the six scales which

were chosen for this research project.

24

25

The six attitude scales from PARI selected for this

study were: (1) Breaking the Will, (2) Strictness,

 

(3) Irritability, (4) Suppression pf Aggression, (5) Approval

 

fig; Activipy and (6) Avoidance pf Communication. All twenty-
three of the attitude scales were used in the measurement,
however, because Schaefer and Bell, authors of PARI,
recommended this procedure. The reliability of each concept
could not be predicted if only a segment of the total
instrument were administered.

The six scales selected for thissxudy measured
child-rearing attitudes pp; generally approved by psycholo—
gists and family life specialists.

Breaking the Will was designed to determine how
authoritarian parents are over their children. One of the
five statements related to this concept is: “Children
need some of the natural meanness taken out of them."

Each mother responding to this statement (and each of the

115 statements in the total instrument) was asked to strongly
agree, mildly agree, mildly disagree or strongly disagree.
Authoritarian parents and/or parents of disturbed or mal—
adjusted children would be expected to more often agree

with the statements (strongly or mildly agree) than parents
who are democratic with their children and whose children

are well—adjusted.

The Strictness scale measured the restraint of

 

freedom or independence which a mOther exercised over her

child. One of the statements related to the concept read:

26

"Strict discipline develops a fine strong character."

The Irritability scale was developed by Schaefer
and Bell to determine the extent to which a mother rejects
or ignores her children. This scale could be related to
sources of tension in the home, especially in the marital
relationship. An example of an item on this scale was:
"Children will get on any woman's nerves if she has to be
with them all day."

The Suppression pf_Aggression scale was included
to ascertain the degree of control a mother exercises over
her child's normal aggressive tendencies. This scale was
particularly relevant to this study because of the apparent
relationship between a child's excessive taste for violent
television programs and the degree of control his parents
exercised over his normal aggression. One statement re-
lated to this scale was: "A child should be taught to
avoid fighting no matter what happens."

Approval pf.Activity is a scale that attempts to
determine how much a mother permits her child to engage in
passive activities. Since television viewing is regarded
as a passive activity, as was noted in Chapter I of this
report, some parents are concerned aboutthis characteristic
of the medium. A statement related to this concept was:
"There are so many things a child has to learn in life,
there is no excuse for him sitting with time on his hands."

Avoidance pf Communication was the sixth concept

selected by the author of this report. Schaefer and Bell

27

have written that this concept was devised to determine:
"whether the parent would permit or encourage the child to
talk about his anxieties, conflicts, hostilities, and dis-
agreements with parental policies."1 It was pointed out
in Chapter I that there may be a relationship between a
mother's score on this scale and the viewing habits and
patterns of her children. A statement on this scale was:
"If you let children talk about their troubles they will
end up complaining even more."

These six attitude scales were related to the view-
ing habits of those pre-school children who were tested in
this study. The hypotheses of these relations are found
in the concluding section of Chapter I.

An additional section of the questionnaire was
added for the present study. This section sought to deter-
mine the number of hours pre-school children watch tele-
vision, their favorite programs, parental control over
the child's viewing, parental attitudes toward television
and certain socio-economic information. Eight questions
in this section asked for socio-economic information,
including: the mother's highest educational level, the
father's income and age and the number of children in the
family. Fifteen questions in this section dealt specifi-
cally with television. The mother was first asked to

estimate the number of hours her pre-school child watches

 

1
p. 347.

Schaefer and Bell, Child Development, op. cit.,

28

teleVision.- Each mother was asked to check the particular
program favorites of her pre-school child. Twenty-four
program titles were provided and these were distributed
into seven different categories. The categories (with one
-example of each in parentheses) were: children's action-

adventure (Lassie), children's comedy (Alvin Show),

 

children's educational (Captain Kangaroo), adult action-

adventure (Outer Limits), adult educational (Conversation),

 

adult comedy (Donna Reed) and sports (Sunday Sports

 

Spectacular). The number of categories and titles checked
by each mother were tabulated. The complete list of programs
is included in the questionnaire at the conclusion of this
report (Appendix A). A category breakdown and the programs
in each are listed in Appendix C of this report.

The mothers were asked how late they permitted their
children to watch television and how often they allowed
their children to stay up after the curfew hour if the
children requested permission to do so.

The mothers were also asked to rate television in
general and to state what effects they felt television had
on children. They were asked to evaluate the effects which
each of the previously mentioned program types might have
had on their pre-school children. The mothers were asked
which program categories they would not permit their
children to watch. After scoring the questionnaires, it
was noted that a substantial number of mothers did not

respond to these latter two questions. The questions were

29

therefore not scored nor were the scores tabulated and
reported.

The mothers were asked to indicate their own program
favorites and to indicate which of those programs they did
not want their children to watch. Six program categories
were devised and twenty-three programs were assigned to
these six categories.

The six categories, with an example program title
in parentheses, were as follows: adult action—adventure

(Combat), adult educational (Conversation): Panel (What's

 

My Line), adult variety (Jack Paar Show), adult comedy
(Beverly Hillbillies), and sports (Fight of the Week).
Individual, program and category preferences were tabulated.
The complete list of programs is included in the question—
naire at the conclusion of this report.

The mothers were also asked what criteria they used
to evaluate the acceptability or unacceptability of a
program for their pre-school children. The author of this
study hoped to determine whether mothers use program content
or program production or some other method for evaluating
a television program. The mothers were also asked whether
they had any experience or professional background for
judging the production value of programs.

In an effort to learn whether the mothers were
interested in learning more about program production, they
were asked if they were interested in obtaining such infor-

mation and, if so, how they would like to receive it.

30

Finally, the mothers were asked if they had read
any magazine articles, books or other materials in the past
year on the subject of television and its effects on pre-

school children.

Popplation

 

In early 1963, Mr. Thomas Banks did a study of "The
Television Viewing Habits of Children Under Six Years of
Age."2 His audience was a random sample of mothers of the
21,988 boys and girls born in Lansing Township and the
City of Lansing between June 1, 1957, and NOvember 30,
1960. He selected every eighteenth four and five year old
and every twelfth two and three year old. His total
population consisted of 700 children; 185 five year olds,
175 four year olds, 169 three year olds and 169 two year
olds.

The present study concentrated on a sample of those
children who were three years old at the time of Mr. Banks'
study. At the time of this present study, those same children
were between the ages of four and one—half and five years
of age.

Mr. Banks had reached the mothers of 125 three year
olds by telephone and by personal interview. The list of
names, addresses and telephone numbers from the Banks'

study was used for this research study.

 

2Thomas Lee Banks, "The Television Viewing Habits of
Children Under Six Years of Age" (unpublished Master's disser-
tation, College of Communication Arts, Department of Television
and Radio, Michigan State University, 1963), p. 15.

31

An attempt was made to reach the 125 mothers by
telephone and invite them to come to a designated place at
a specified time to respond to a written questionnaire.

Each mother was given a choice of one out of three evenings.
A total of 111 of the 125 mothers were reached by telephone.
Thirty-eight mothers out of a possible 125 agreed to parti-
cipate. An additional 30 mothers seemed willing to partici—
pate but were unable to come to the designated meeting place.
Their reasons for being unable to do so were varied, but
primarily fell into three general categories--1ack of
transportation, husband working nights, or illness of either
the mother or the children. Because it appeared that
mothers in the lower socio-economic levels were being
eliminated from the sample, it was decided to send them

a questionnaire in the mail. The total potential audience,
then, was sixty-eight. The other 57 mothers either refused
or were not reached.

The sample was further divided when only fifteen
mothers out of the 38 who said they would come to a desig-
nated place did so. Seven of the 38 called prior to the
meeting and said they would be unable to come. These
mothers were asked if they would participate through the
mail and each replied affirmatively.

The remaining sixteen mothers did not respond
further. An attempt was made to reach these sixteen people
on the telephone. Fifteen were reached and asked if they

would participate in their homes. They were specifically

32

asked if a stop could be made at their homes to leave a
questionnaire and then come back for it in two or three
hours. Ten replied yes and five asked that it be mailed to
them.

The total sample for this study, including the
mailed questionnaires and those which were completed in a
group situation, was fifty-three. Fifteen mothers com-
pleted the questionnaire in a group situation, twenty-
eight participated by mail, and the questionnaire was
delivered personally to ten mothers.

After the questionnaires were filled out by the 53
mothers, the information was coded and transferred to
computer data cards. The information was then computer
analyzed. The author of this study, with the assistance
of persons who were qualified to interpret data in computer-
analyzed form, studied the results, then reviewed his hypo-

theses and compared them with the results.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine if there
is a relationship between mothers' attitudes toward child-
rearing and their pre—school children's television viewing
habits. It was believed possible that mothers who are auto-
cratic about their child's viewing habits and who have
negative attitudes about television are mothers who score
high on the Parental Attitude Research Instrument scales

(child-rearing attitudes not generally approved). It also

33

was believed possible that there might be no correlation
between child-rearing attitudes and television attitudes

and viewing habits. This study was an attempt to find out.

CHAPTER III
RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSIS

Method of Analysis

The data obtained by the author of this report
were coded and keypunched on computer cards. The data were
coded so that a chi square analysis could be made of it.
The fifty-three subjects were rated high or low on each
of the eight variables (i.e., mother's education, father's
income, breaking the will, strictness, irritability,
suppression of aggression, approval of activity and
avoidance of communication).

Those mothers who had graduated from high school
but had not had any college training were classified as
low in the education variable. Those who had at least
some college were classified as high. There were 34 low
mothers and 19 high mothers on the education variable.

On the father's (or husband's) income item, 28
mothers were in the low category and 25 were in the high
group. The low group was comprised of those homes whose
heads earned $7,499 or less. The high group had incomes
of $7,500 or more.

The six child-rearing attitude scales selected

for the purposes of this research comprised the remaining

34

35

six variables. Each mother was scored on each attitude

scale. The lowest possible score was five and the highest

possible score was twenty. The lower the score, the more

positive were the mother's child—rearing attitudes. The
higher the score, the less the mother's attitudes and
opinions agreed with child psychologists and family life
specialists. The scores of all fifty-three subjects on
each of the six scales were added and the mean score on
each attitude scale was determined. Those persons whose
scores were under the mean were labeled low and those whose
scores were equal to or above the mean were put in the

The total score, mean and number of

high group. range,

high and low subjects were as follows:

Total

 

Attitude Score* Range Mean High Low
Breaking the Will 553 5—18 10.43 25 28
Strictness 820 10-20 15.47 28 25
Irritability 807 11-20 15.23 24 29
Suppression of Aggression 533 5-16 10.06 19 34
Approval of Activity 623 6-17 11.75 29 24
Avoidance of Communication 515 5-16 9.72 31 22

 

*Total score of the fifty-three subjects.
possible total score was 1,060 and lowest possible total

score was 265.

Highest

These, then, were the eight variables which were

used for comparison with the television data. The mother
was asked to indicate the number of hours her child watched

television per week. Again using the mean as the determinant,

36

the subjects were divided into high and low categories.
Those mothers who indicated that their children watched
ten or less hours per week were put into the low category.
Those who marked eleven or more hours per week were placed
in the high category. There were twenty-seven mothers in
the high group and twenty-six in the low group.

The mothers were then asked to indicate the
favorite programs of their pre-school children. The
program categories were described more fully in Chapter I
of this report. The twenty-five programs in the list can
be found in the questionnaire (Question #27) in the Appendix
of this report. The children's action-adventure category
included four programs--Lassie, Mighty Mbuse, Roy Rogers,
and The Lone Ranger. If the mother marked three or more
programs, she was placed in the high group. There were a
total of seventeen in the high category. Thirty-six were
in the low group; those mothers who indicated less than
three programs. This was the only program category analyzed
and dealt with in the hypotheses found in Chapter I. For
this reason, the scores and means were not determined for
the other six categories. The information was retained on
computer cards in the event that someone might be interested
in further investigation of the data.

The mothers were asked, in an open—ended question,
to indicate how late they permitted their children to watch
television. The range was from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The mean was determined and those mothers who indicated

37

8:00 p.m. or earlier were placed in the low category.
Those who marked 8:30 p.m. or later were placed in the
high group.

The mothers were then asked to indicate how often
they rescinded the television viewing curfew hour if their
children requested it. Twenty-four mothers were placed
in the high group. Twenty—nine were placed in the low
group. The low mothers rescinded the viewing curfew less
often than the high group mothers.

Those mothers who rated television either generally
excellent or good were placed in the high group. Those
who indicated either fair or poor comprised the low group.
The high-low division on the general television rating
question was 28 mothers and 25 mothers, respectively.

The various data on the questionnaire were coded
and punched on cards, with the exception of questions eight
and nine in Section Three. The small number of mothers who
responded to these questions did not seem to warrant
coding them.

The only information from the data which was perti-
nent to this study consisted of correlations and numerical

analyses.

Results on Hypotheses

Correlations and chi square significances were
obtained in order to test the eight hypotheses. The signifi-
cance of the findings will be reported in Chapter IV of

this report in the form of analyses of the findings.

38

Hypothesis number one states that children of
mothers who score high on the PARI item, Breaking the Will,
will tend to prefer more action-adventure types of children's
television programs. The author of this report found that,
according to the mother's indications of their children's
favorite action-adventure children's programs, 2.7% of
the children's preferences were accounted for by the mother's
score on the Breaking the Will scale. The motherS' scores
on each of the PARI items were reflections of their attitudes
on a negative-positive continuum. The chi square, with one
degree of freedom, was 1.416 and was significant to the
.125 level. The product moment correlation was -.163.

The high-low breakdown on the two factors in

hypothesis number one was as follows:

Breaking the Will

High Low Total

H
g 6 ll 17
Children's H
Action-Adventure
Preferences L
0 l9 17 36
W
T
O
T 25 28 53
A
L

Hypothesis number two stated that mothers who have

a high school education or less will have more favorable

39

attitudes toward television than mothers who have more than
a high school education. The results were that .009% of
the variability of the mother's rating of television in
general is accounted for by her education. The chi square
was .000 and the product moment correlation was -.003.

The high-low breakdown was as follows:

Mother's TV Rating

High Low Total

H

I

G 10 9 19
Mother's H
Education

L

O 18 16 34

W

T

O

T 28 25 53

A

L

Hypothesis number three was that mothers who score
high on the PARI Strictness scale will have an earlier
evening curfew hour on their children's television viewing
than mothers who score low on this scale. The results
showed that 4.45% of the variability of the curfew on
evening viewing is accounted for by the degree of the
mother's strictness as measured by PARI. The chi square
was 2.369 and significant to .125 level. The product
moment correlation was .211. The high-low breakdown was

as follows:

4O

Strictness

High Low Total

16 9 25
Evening
Viewing
Curfew
12 16 28

28 25 53

IT‘D’HOFB SCI.“ :11on

Hypothesis number four stated that mothers who
score high on Strictness will score low on frequency of
rescinding the curfew viewing hour for their children.
The results show that .27% of the variability of the fre-
quency of rescinding the curfew hour is accounted for by
the mother's degree of Strictness. The chi square was
.141 and was significant to the .375 level. The product
moment correlation was —.052. The high-low breakdown was
as follows:

Strictness

High Low Total

12 12 24

Frequency of
Rescinding
Curfew

16 13 29

28 25 53

L'HP'I-JOD-a SOL" EQHI'I!

41

The fifth hypothesis was that children of mothers who
score high on the PARI Strictness scale will watch less
television. The results showed that 2.9% of the variability
of the number of hours viewed by the child as reported by
the mother is accounted for by the mother's degree of
Strictness as measured by PARI. The chi square was 1.553
and was significant to the .125 level. The product moment

correlation was -.171. The high-low breakdown was as follows:

Strictness

High Low Total

H

I

G 12 15 27
Hours H
Viewed

L

O 16 10 26

W

T

O

T 28 25 53

A

L

The sixth hypothesis was that children of mothers
who score high on the Irritability scale will watch more
television per week than children of mothers who score
low on this scale. The chi square was 1.510 and was
significant to the .125 level. The product moment
correlation was -.169. As measured by PARI, 2.9% of the
variability in hours viewed per week by the pre-school

child is accounted for by the mother's Irritability scale.

42

The high-low breakdown was as follows:

Irritability

High Low Total

10 17 27

Hours
Viewed

14 12 26

24 29 53

F‘FP9C>H EiOtfi mcntIm

The seventh hypothesis was similar to the sixth.
Children of mothers who score high on Avoidance of Communi-
cation will watch more television per week than children
of mothers who score low on this scale. It was found that
8.4% of the variability in hours spent viewing per week is
accounted for by the mother's Avoidance of Communication
with the child, as measured by PARI. The chi square was
4.472 and was significant to the .025 level. The product
moment correlation was —.290. The high low breakdown Was

as follows:
Avoidance of Communication

High Low Total
H
I 12 15 27
G
Hours H
Viewed L
0 l9 7 26
W
T
O
T 31 22 53
A
L

43

Hypothesis number eight was that children of mothers
who score high on Approval of Activity will score low on
the number of hours they View per week. As measured by
PARI, .35% of the variability in the number of hours viewed
by the child per week as reported by the mother is accounted
for by the mother's attitude on Approval of Activity scale.
The chi square was .182 and was significant to the .375
level. The product moment correlation was .059. The high—

low breakdown was as follows:

Approval of Activity

High Low Total
H
I
G l4 13 27
Hours H
Viewed
L
o 15 11 26
W
T
O
T 29 24 53
A
L

The ninth hypothesis was that children of mothers
who score high on Suppression of Aggression will score high
on the number of hours viewed by those children per week.
Of the variability of hours viewed per week by the child,
as reported by the mother, 3.3% is accounted for by the
mother's attitude on Suppression of Aggression, as measured

by PARI. The chi square was 1.768 and was significant to

the .125 level.

44

The product moment correlation was .183.

The high—low breakdown was as follows:

Hours
Viewed

EWHOH 20b mQHm

Suppression of Aggression

High Low Total
12 15 27
7 19 26
19 34 53

The tenth hypothesis was that children of mothers

who score high on Suppression of Aggression will have

higher preferences for children's action-adventure programs.

Of the variability of the child's preference for action-

adventure children's programming, as reported by the mothers,

.006%Iis accounted for by the mother's attitudes on

Suppression of Aggression as measured by PARI. The chi

square was .003 and the product moment correlation was

-.008.

The high—low breakdown was as follows:

45

Suppression of Aggression

High Low Total
H
I
G 6 11 17
Children's H
Action—Adventure
Preferences L
O 13 23 36
W
T
O
T 19 34 53
A
L

These were the results of the data pertaining to
the ten hypotheses as stated in Chapter I of this report.
The significances, if any, of the correlations, together
with the conclusions of the author of this report, are

presented in the next chapter.

CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSIONS

Analysis of Hypotheses

Hypothesis number one was significant to the .125
level, which is not regarded by communications research
specialists as being significant enough to discuss with
much confidence. Research specialists in communications
generally will not consider any correlation significant if
it falls below the .05 level. The author of this report
did reach some possible conclusions, however, about all
eight hypotheses even though most of then did not reach a
significant chi square level of .05.

. There was a negative correlation on hypothesis
number one, although it was a slight one. In essence, the
conclusion is that there is a possibility that the higher
the score on the PARI item, Breaking the Will, the lower
the child's preference will be for action-adventure children's
programs. If this is true, and not much confidence can be
placed in the results, then the first hypothesis stated by
the author of this report in Chapter I is refuted. It
was hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation

between the two items.

46

47

There are at least two possible conclusions one
could reach about the results on hypothesis number one.
First, since the chi square was significant only to the
.125 level, it is possible that this conclusion is caused
by chance. The chi square correlation of .125 means that
if the experiment were repeated one hundred times, the
results would be the same eighty—seven and one-half times.
In other words, the results would be different twelve and
one-half times. Once out of every eight times, the results
would be different. It is possible that this is one of
those times. The results on this hypothesis are certainly
not sufficient to refute it with confidence.

Second, it may be possible that the mother, either
purposely or inadvertently, did not reflect the actual
action-adventure favorites of her pre-school child. It is
possible that mothers who score high on Breaking the Will
will not, for some unknown reason, permit their children
to watch these types of programs.

One interesting and possibly significant result
shows up in the four cell tables on hypothesis number one.
There were more than twice as many mothers in the low group
as in the high group on the children's preference for
action-adventure programs. The break—down on Breaking
the Will was about equal. This would seem to indicate
that pre—school children, at least for the sample in this
study, are not heavy viewers of action-adventure children's

programs. More than two-thirds (36) of the mothers reported

48

that their children watch two or less of the four action-
adventure children's programs listed in the questionnaire.

The results on the second hypothesis were even less
conclusive than for the first one. For all practical pur-
poses, there was no correlation between the two factors:
mother's education and mother's rating of television.
Almost twice as many mothers were in the low education
group. The high—low TV rating groups were about equal.
Perhaps the most significant conclusion is that there appears
to be no correlation between education and opinion of tele—
vision. The author of this report found divided opinion
in his research of the literature. Parker, Berry, and
Smythe as well as Steiner found that education and income
were factors and that persons in the higher socio-economic
levels were more critical of television. Roper concluded
the opposite. The author of this report is led to conclude
that, at least for the sample of fifty-three mothers in
this study, education is not a significant factor in a
mother's high or low rating of television.

It is possible that some bias occurred. The subjects
in the study did know that the author of this report was a
graduate student in the Department of Radio and Television
at Michigan State University. This may have affected their
responses, although opinion was almost evenly divided (high-
low TV rating) for both the high and low education groups.
The knowledge that the author of this report was affiliated,

though indirectly, with the television industry may have

49

tempered the responses of those persons who are more critical
of television, although previous studies have shown no
such reticence on the part of highly educated people.

The results of the phlgg hypothesis seem more indi-
cative of a possible trend, although they did not approach the
.05 level of significance. According to the chi square test
measurement, the same results would be achieved eighty—seven
and one-half times out of a hundred. There was a positive
correlation and the hypothesis would be refuted if these
results are accurate. The higher the mother's score on
Strictness, the later the curfew hour she placed on her
children's evening television viewing. One possible explan-
ation for this result is that perhaps the mother is strict
about many of the children's activities and behavior patterns,
but not about their television viewing. One of the original
purposes of this study was to determine if there is a
correlation between parental attitudes about child-rearing
and the television viewing habits of the child. It appears
in this instance that such is not the case, although the
author of this report is cautious about assuming this con-
clusion. Since these same results would occur by chance
once every eight times, no certainty can be ascertained.
There does, however, appear to be a possible slight positive
correlation between the two items.

There appears to be no correlation between Strictness
and frequency of rescinding the curfew viewing hour, which
was hypothesis number £235. Although the correlation was

negative, it was so low and the chi square so inconsequential

50

that the same results would occur by chance thirty-seven
and one-half times out of a hundred. In other words, the
same results would occur by chance every third time. The
division between high and low were about equal in both
items. The only observable statistical difference was in
the high-Strictness/low-frequency cell. This accounts for
the very slight negative correlation. A much stronger
negative correlation would have been required to substantiate
the fourth hypothesis. There appears to be no relationship
between the mother's strictness and the frequency with
which she will permit her child to watch television later
than the usual curfew hour.

The correlation between the two items was stronger
in the flfpp hypothesis, although again not to the .05
level of signifiCance. The chi square was again .125,
or a chance possibility of the same results occurring once
every eight times. The correlation was negative. If
it had been stronger, it would have confirmed the hypothesis.
The higher the mother's score on Strictness, the lower the
number of hours viewed per week by the child. There was
an almost even high-low split on both items. It is again
possible that the correlation was not more significant be—
cause mothers are strict about most disciplines concerning
their children but not strict about television viewing.
The author again cannot be certain about any conclusion
because of the relatively strong possibility that the results

may have been a chance occurrence.

51

The plxph hypothesis was also significant to the .125
level and any conclusion reached can only be tenuous. If
the results were valid and not the one chance occurrence
in eight, then the hypothesis would be refuted. This
conclusion cannot be determined without further research.
The correlation was slightly negative. In other words,
the higher the score on Irritability, the less hours viewed
per week by the child. The author of this report based
this hypothesis on the assumption, supported by Shayon
and Maccoby, that if the mother tended to have a low
irritability point, the child would escape to television.
The possibility now exists, as a result of the slightly
negative correlation, that television also causes the mother
to become more irritable and she may refuse to permit her
child to view it as often. She may still be ignoring the
child, but the child may be escaping to something else.
such as outdoor play or some other activity.

The results on the seventh hypothesis are the most
significant and the only results in the study which came
within the acceptable .05 level of significance. The
author of this report concluded with a respectable degree
of certainty that this hypothesis was refuted. The higher
the mother's score on Avoidance of Communication, the less
the child watched television. Among the low-ranked mothers
on Avoidance of Communication, the high viewers outnumber
the low viewers by two to one. This would seem to indicate
that the children of mothers who scored high on Avoidance

of Communication in this study may not escape to television

52

as was hypothesized. They may escape to other activities,
but it does not appear that their viewing increases as
communication with the mother diminishes. It would again
seem possible that there is no relationship between this
PARI item and a child's viewing habits.

It would appear that the eighth hypothesis is refuted
although the reverse of it is certainly not substantiated.
The chi square was .375 and insignificant. The same results
would appear by chance every third time. The high-low
division on both items was about equal. The author of this
report assumes that the most important conclusion is that
there appears to be no relationship between the mother's
score on Approval of Activity and the number of hours spent
viewing by the child every week. It is possible that the
mothers in this study do not regard television as a passive
activity. This could account for a mother scoring high
on Approval of Activity and for her having a child who
placed in the high viewing group.

The results pertaining to the plppp hypothesis were
significant to the .125 level. The product moment corre-
lation was an even less significant .183. The correlation
was positive and, if it is valid and not the one in eight
chance occurrence, the hypothesis was substantiated.

It is possible that those mothers in the high group
on Suppression of Aggression have children who are in the
high viewer group. The low group of mothers on Suppression

of Aggression outnumber the high group by almost two to one,

53

but the high and low viewer groups were about even. The
strongest difference was between the high and low viewer

in the high Suppression of Aggression group. This accounts
for the slight indication that the higher the score on
Suppression of Aggression, the more hours spent per week
viewing.

There appears to be no correlation between Suppression
of Aggression and the children's preferences for action-
adventure children's programs, which was stated as hypothesis
number Egg. The most important conclusion reached by the
author of this report was that there appeared to be no
relationship between a mother's desire to suppress aggression
in her child and the child's preferences for action-
adventure programs on television. If this is true, then
the child whose aggressive behavior is suppressed by the
mother either retains his aggression within himself or
expresses it in some manner other than television viewing,
perhaps through some less passive activity.

These are the results and some of the possible
interpretations of those results. One hypothesis was
significantly refuted. Two were supported though only at
the .125 level which is not regarded as a significant level
by communications research specialists. The remaining seven
hypotheses were refuted, but the conclusions were insignifi-
cant in either a positive or negative direction. The most
important conclusion regarding these same hypotheses is

that there appears to be no relationship between a mother's

54

child-rearing attitudes and the television viewing habits
of her pre-school child.

There were at least two over-all possible con-
clusions reached by the author of this report. Actually,
the two conclusions assume possible either/or positions.
It is possible that a mother's child-rearing attitudes
as measured by PARI have no relationship to the television
viewing of her child. It is also possible that PARI is
not a useful instrument for comparing its results with the
television viewing habits of children. Either could be
true, but additional research is necessary before a con-

vincing argument for either can be presented.

Other Results

 

There were other results obtained which the author
of this report believes should be included in this chapter.
One question asked of the mothers was: "What criteria do
you use to judge the acceptability or unacceptability of a
television program for your pre-school child?" The possible
answers were "program content," "program production" and

"other." In the coding of the answers, categories of no
response" and "content and production" were added. Program
content was defined in parentheses on the questionnaire as
being "crime, violence, sex, etc." Program production was

defined as "staging, lighting, pacing, camera shots,

music, etc."

55

The purpose of this question was to determine the
bases by which these mothers evaluated television programs.

It was believed by the author of this report, though
without any supportive evidence, that most mothers would
select program content and that very few would select
program production. In the opinion of this writer, however,
program production factors are at least as important as
content factors. The difference between a second rate
Western and an Academy award-winning Western is, quite often,
as much the result of production methods as of story.
Again, these are subjective opinions of the writer and they
are not intended to be factual statements. At any rate,
program production is possibly at least equal in importance
as program content and the author of this report was
interested in finding out what criteria the mothers used
to judge television programs for their pre-school children
and if there were any differences between mothers according
to the amount of education they had received and according
to the income of their husbands.

The results were as follows:

Program Evaluation Criteria

0 l 2 3 4 5 Total
Mother's H 0 15 0 O 3 l 19 H
Educat1°n L 6 23 0 3 2 o 34 L
0 = response: 1 = program content: 2 = program evaluation:
3 = other: 4 = content pp production and other: 5 = content
and production.

56

Perhaps the most obvious revelation is that not one
mother selected program production as a criterion. The
second result from this question is that education does
not appear to be a factor as a criterion in the selection
of program content. Seventy-nine per cent of the mothers
in the high education group selected program content.
Sixty-eight per cent of the low education mothers selected
program content.

The major differences between the high and low
educated groups were in "no response" and "other." The
numerical differences between these two criteria were
quite small. It is quite possible that the most signifi-
cant conclusion to be drawn from the answers to this
question is that it appears that education of the mother
was not an important factor in determining these mothers'
criteria for evaluating television programs for their
pre-school children.

The mothers' answers to the program criteria question
were also compared to their high-low classification accord-
ing to their husband's income. The results were as follows
(the program criteria numbers mean the same as in the
previous table):

Program Evaluation Criteria
0 1 2 3 4 5 Total

Fathers' H l 20 o 1 2 l 25 H
Income 18 o 2 3 o 28 L

b

57

The percentages approximate those for the education
results. Eighty per cent of the high mothers indicated
program content and sixty-four per cent of the low mothers
marked the same criterion. Not one mother in either group
selected program production.

Essentially the same conclusion as that reached
in the previous comparison between education and program
evaluation criteria might be reached here. The income of
the husband does not appear to be a significant factor in
determining the mothers' criteria for evaluating television
programs for their pre-school children.

Another question asked of the mothers was: "What
background or experience, if any, do you have for judging
the production value of a program?" The mothers' answers
were again compared with their education and with the

income of the husband. The results on education were as

follows:
Mothers' Background or Experience
0 l 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Mothers' H O 8 0 O 4 4 3 19
Education L 2 26 0 0 3 2 1 34

0 = no response: 1 = none: 2 = TV or film courses:
3 = TV or film production experience: 4 = discussion
groups; 5 = other: 6 = TV or film courses pp
experience 9; discussion and other.

Not one mother in each category had taken any

television or film courses nor had she had any professional

experience in television or film. Forty-two per cent of the

58

high mothers and seventy-six per cent of the low mothers
said they had no experience or baCkground for judging the
production value of a program. Numerically, the high and
low mothers were close in their selection of other factors.
Again, it could be concluded that the mothers' levels of
education achievements do not appear to be significant
factors in the background of experience she has for judging
television programs.

The answers to the same question were compared with
the income of the husband. The results were as follows
(numbers on the mothers' background or experience mean the

same as in the previous table):

Mothers' Background or Experience
0 l 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Husband's H l 13 0 0 4 4 3 25 H
InCOme L l 21 o o 3 2 l 28 L
Fifty-two per cent of the high mothers and seventy-
five per cent of the low mothers indicated that they had
no experience or background for judging the production
values of programs. The other results were about the same
as those obtained on the education comparison. It may be
concluded that the income of the husband does not appear
to be a significant factor in predicting the background or
experience a mother may have for judging a television program.
The results obtained from answers to another question
were significant enough to include in this report. The

question was: "If given the opportunity, would you like

59

to learn more about TV program production?" The answers
were compared to high and low mothers in terms of both
education and income. The results, when compared with

education were as follows:

Desire to Learn More

No
Response Yes No Total
Mothers' H 0 18 l 19 H
Educatlon L 2 21 ll 34 L

Here, there was a slight positive correlation.
In other words, the higher the education of the mother,
the greater was the desire to learn more about television
program production. The product moment correlation was .217.
About 4.7%.of the mothers' desire to know more is accounted
for by the amount of formal education she has received.

The chi square was 6.869 with two degrees of free-
dom. The chi square was significant to the .05 level and
would therefore probably occur 95 times out of 100. This
is regarded as an acceptable level of significance by
communications specialists.

The author of this report was not surprised with
these results. It would seem to be predictable that,
generally, a mother who had received at least some formal
education beyond high school would have acquired a greater
desire to learn more about many things. Television should

be no exception.

60

The results were more surprising when the income
of the father or husband was compared with the desire to
learn more about television program production. The high-

low breakdown on both items was as follows:

Desire to Learn More

No
Response Yes No Total
Husband's H 1 l9 5 25 H
I
ncome L 1 20 7 28 L

The product moment correlation was .057 and was
not significant. The chi square, with two degrees of
freedom, was .190 and also was not significant. The same
results would appear by chance 95 times out of 100. What
is significant in comparing the two items, income and
education, with desire to learn more is that education
appears to be a factorbut income does not. In many
studies, the two socio-economic factors of income and
education are linked together. In this study on this
particular question, they obviously were not. The numerical
high-low breakdown was two to one (low-high) on education
and about even on income. It is obvious that some of the
low-group mothers in terms of education were in the high
income group. This resulted in a "leveling—out" of the

desire to learn more about the income correlation.

CHAPTER V
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

The author of this study stated in an earlier
chapter that the basic purpose of this study was to
determine whether there is a relationship between parents'
attitudes toward child-rearing and the television viewing
habits of their pre-school children. The author decided
to utilize a measuring device called the Parental Attitude
Research Instrument to obtain the child-rearing attitudes
of the mothers in his sample. 'This instrument was coupled
with a series of questions devised by the author of this
study. Hypotheses were formulated which were based upon
a review of the literature on the subject of children's
television viewing habits and the psychological impli-
cations thereof.

In summary, there appears to be little or no
relationship between a mother's score on the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument and the viewing habits and
program preferences of her pre-school children. Neither
the education of the mother nor the income of the father
seem to be significant factors either, when relating them

to pre-school children's television viewing habits. It is

61

62

also possible that PARI is not a useful instrument for
comparing its results with the television viewing habits
of pre-school children.

The author of this study also found that mothers
were almost unanimous, regardless of income and education,
in their selection of program content as the only criterion
for judging the acceptability or unacceptability of a
television program for their children. The mothers in the
study also had very little background or experience for
judging the production values of a program. Finally,
the author found that the mothers' education was signifi-
cant when related to the desire of the mothers to learn
more about television program production, but the income
of the father was not significant. More specific data
pertaining to the hypotheses, as well as other conclusions,

have been answered in previous chapters.

Limitations of the Study

The author of this thesis believes there were at
least five major limitations to this study.

The first limitation was that the sample was a
relatively small one. The authors of PARI recommended
that the number in each group be at least twenty-five.

In some cases, this was not so. On the high-low education
breakdown the number in the high group was only nineteen.
It is.suggested by the author of this report that a study
of this kind should include at least the minimum suggested

audience size by the authors of PARI.

63

The second limitation of this study was the audience
participation requirement. The original request which was
made of the mothers was that they select one of three
possible evenings to come to a centrally located place to
answer the questionnaire. In the opinion of the author
of this thesis, this request tended to discourage mothers
in the low income group. The need for babysitters and for
a means of transportation could possibly have prevented
greater attendance by those mothers in the low income
group.

In recognition of the possibility of this develop-
ment after the original sample was selected, a decision
was made to mail questionnaires to some of the mothers.
This action introduced another unknown factor into the
study. It was impossible to determine whether the mothers
who responded by mail answered the questionnaire unaided
by other members of the family or friends. This could have
resulted in a different response from that which was given
by the mothers who came to the designated location and
answered the questionnaire alone.

The third limitation of this study was the need
for a dependence upon the mothers to indicate how many hours
their children watched television every week and what the
children's program preferences were. Working mothers and
those who do not pay much attention to their children's
viewing might find it difficult to give accurate answers

to these questions.

The fourth limitation of this study was that the

64

chi square method of analysis did not sharply differentiate
between high and low classifications. The product moment
correlation method is a little more reliable, however.

The fact remains that when respondents are divided into
high-low classifications, it is possible that the distinction
is not a sharp one. The responses could congregate in

the center of the continuum and the difference between

high and low may not be a substantial one.

The fifth major limitation of this study, in the
opinion of its author, was that the program classifications
were subjectively determined by the author of this report,
with some assistance provided by television program guides.
It is quite possible that some television program producers
and some mothers of pre-school children would disagree
with the author's classifications.

These limitations lead the author of this report
to offer several suggestions for further research on the
subject of parental attitudes toward child-rearing and

pre-school children's television viewing habits.

Suggestions for Further Research

The author of this report suggests that there are
at least three avenues for further research on this
problem.

First, a similar study could be made with a larger
sample and with greater assurance of universality in the
sample. A method of sampling should be devised that would

insure a representative sample of clearly defined educational

65

and income differences. This larger study should include

a representative sample of mothers of three and four year
old children as well as five year olds. It could be
possible to determine whether mothers treat children of
varying ages differently and whether the children's viewing
habits and preferences differ as a result.

Second, it is suggested that a future study might
include interviews with the children themselves in order
to assure greater accuracy in determining children's
tastes and preferences. The fathers of the children might
also be interviewed as well as other members of the immediate
family. This procedure would undoubtedly result in a
more accurate reflection of pre-school children's pre-
ferences than could be gained from a study of mothers
alone.

Third, an attempt could be made to devise a content
analysis of the different types or classifications of
programs. Program types could then be explicitly defined
and a general consensus reached among researchers and
mothers of pre-school children. This would result in
greater accuracy in labeling programs as adult action—
adventure, children's action-adventure, etc.

It is possible that these suggestions for further
research would result in more conclusions about the degree
of usefulness, if any, of the Parental Attitude Research
Instrument in predicting the television viewing habits

and preferences of pre-school children. The author of this

66

report did not reach any conclusive opinions about the
usefulness of PARI in this regard. The results of this
present study would seem to indicate that there are few,
if any, significant correlations between a mother's PARI
score and her pre—school child's viewing habits. The
author of this thesis would need additional and more
conclusive proof before he would reject PARI as a valid

instrument for television research.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Banks, Thomas Lee. "The Television Viewing Habits of
Children Under Six Years of Age." unpublished
Master's dissertation, College of Communication
Arts, Department of Television and Radio,
Michigan State University, 1963.

Bayley, Nancy, Schaefer, Earl 8. "Relationship between
Socio—economic variables and the Behavior of
Mothers toward Ybung Children," The Journal of
Genetic Psychology, XCVI (1960), p. 61.

Bogart, Leo. The Age of Television. New Ybrk: F. Ungar
Publishing Company, 1956.

Himmelwert, Hilda, Openheim, A. N., and Vince, Pamela.
Television and the Child. London: Oxford
University Press, 1961.

Maccoby, Eleanor. "Television: Its Impact on School
Children," The Public Opinionyguarterly, XV,
No. 3 (Fall, 1951).

. "Why Do Children Watch Television?,“
The Public Opinion Quarterly, XVIII, No. 3 (Fall,
1954).

 

Parker, Everett, Berry, David, and Smythe, Dallas. The
Television—Radio Audience and Religion. New York:
Harper and Brothers, 1955.

Riley, Matilda, and Riley, John W. "A Sociological
Approach to Communications Research," The Public
Opinion Quarterly, XV, No. 3 (Fall, 1951).

 

Roper, Elmo. New Trends in the Public's Measure of
Television and Other Media. New York: Television
Information Office, 1964.

Schaefer, Earl S., and Bell, Richard Q. "Development of a
Parental Attitude Research Instrument," Child
Development, XXIX, No. 3 (September, 1958).

 

"Informal Notes on the Use of PARI,"
Washington: By the authors, December 15, 1960.

 

67

68

Schramm, Wilbur, Lyle, Jack, and Parker, Edwin. Television
in the Lives of Our Children. Stanford: Stanford
University Press, 1961.

 

Shayon, Robert. Television and Our Children. New York:
Longmans, Green and Company, 1951.

Smythe, Dallas. "Dimensions of Violence," Audio-Visual
Communicators Review, II (1955).

 

Steiner, Gary. The People Look At Television. New York:
Knopf, 1963.

Sweetser, Frank L., Jr. Grade School Families Meet
Television, Research Report #1. Boston: Boston
University Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
1953.

Witty, Paul. "Children's, Parents' and Teachers' Reactions
to Television," Elementary English, XXVII, No. 6
(October, 1950).

. "Televiewing by Children and Youth,"
Elementary English, February, 1961.

 

. ”Television and the Public Interest,"
Newsweek, September 11, 1961.

 

. Testimony Before the Subcommittee to
Investigate Juvenile Delinquency, U.S. Congress,
Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 84th Congress,
First Session, April, 1955.

 

APPENDIX A

QUESTIONNAIRE

SECTION ONE

"I am Jim Harrison. In cooperation with The Department of
Radio and Television at Michigan State University, I am
studying what mothers think about how children should be
brought up. A lot is written on this subject in various
newspaper and magazine articles. Frequently these articles
are not in agreement. I thought it would be a good idea

to find out what mothers themselves think. YOu can help

in the study by passing on your own ideas. This is volun-
tary. Be frank and give your own personal views regardless
of what others may think. YOu do not need to give your
name. I would, however, like you to fill out the questions
in the first section for research purposes (Children, edu-
cation, etc.). So as not to use too much of your time, in
section two we have a list of ideas which other mothers
have contributed. If you have any ideas which you feel
should be included jot them down at the end. We would
appreciate having them. Others who have given us their
ideas say that it is best to work rapidly. Give your

first reaction. If you read and reread the statements it
tends to be confusing and you can't finish in the amount

of time we have. Section three deals more specifically
with television and your opinions about it. If you have
any questions, please raise your hand and I will try to
answer them for you. You may begin."

1. Name

 

2. Address

 

3. Telephone

 

4. HOW many children do you have?

a. One

b. Two

c. Three

d. Four

e. Five or more

5. HOW many children do you have who are 6 to 12 years in

age?
a. None b. One
c. Two d. Three
e. Four e. Five

70

6. How many children do you have who are 3 to 5 years of

age?

a.
b.
c.

7. What is the highest educational level completed by

71

One
Two
Three

the mother?

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

g.
h.

8th grade or less

9-11 years

High school graduation
1-3 years college
College diploma

Some graduate work
Master's degree
Doctoral degree

8. What is annual income of the father?

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

$4,999 or less
$5,000 - $7,499
$7,500 - $9,999
$10,000 - $12,499
$12,500 - $14,999
$15,000 or more

PLEASE PROCEED TO SECTION TWO

72

SECTION TWO

PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

Read each of the statements below and then rate them as
follows:

A a d D
strongly mildly mildly strongly
agree agree disagree disagree

Indicate your opinion by drawing a circle around the "A" if
you strongly agree, around the "a" if you mildly agree, around
the "d" if you mildly disagree, and around the "D" if you
strongly disagree.

There are no right or wrong answers, so answer according
to your own opinion. It is very important to the study
that all questions be answered. Many of the statements
will seem alike but all are necessary to show slight
differences of opinion.
Disa-
Agree gree

1. Children should be allowed to disagree A a d D
with their parents if they feel their
own ideas are better.

2. A good mother should shelter her child A a d D
from life's little difficulties.

3. The home is the only thing that matters A a d D
to a good mother.

4. Some children are just so bad they must A a d D
be taught to fear adults for their own
good.

5. Children should realize how much parents A a d D
have to give up for them.

6. Ybu must always keep tight hold of baby A a d D
during his bath for in a careless moment
he might slip.

7. People who think they can get along in A a d D
marriage without arguments just don't
know the facts.

,8; A child will be grateful later on for A a d D
strict training.

10.

ll.

12.

13.

14.

'15.‘

16.

17.
18.

19.

20.

’ 218

73

Children will get on any woman's
nerves if she has to be with them
all day.

It's best for the child if he never
gets started wondering whether his
mother's views are right.

More parents should teach their
children to have unquestioning loyalty
to them.

A child should be taught to avoid
fighting no matter what happens.

One of the worst things about taking
care of a home is a woman feels that
she can't get out.

Parents should adjust to the children
some rather than always expecting the
children to adjust to the parents.

There are so many things a child has to
learn in life there is no excuse for
him sitting around with time on his
hands.

If you let children talk about their
troubles they end up complaining even
more.

Mbthers would do their job better with
the children if fathers were more kind.

A young child should be protected from
hearing about sex.

If a mother doesn't go ahead and make
rules for the home the children and
husband will get into troubles they
don't need to.

A mother should make it her business to
know everything her children are think—
ing.

Children would be happier and better
behaved if parents would show an
interest in their affairs.

Agree
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a

Disa-
gree

d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

74

Most children are toilet trained by
15 months of age.

There is nothing worse for a young
mother than being alone while going
through her first experience with a
baby.

Children should be encouraged to tell
their parents about it whenever they
feel family rules are unreasonable.

A mother should do her best to avoid
any disappointment for her child.

The woman who wants lots of parties
seldom make good mothers.

It is frequently necessary to drive the
mischief out of a child before he will
behave.

A mother must expect to give up her own
happiness for that of her child.

All young mothers are afraid of their
aWkwardness in handling and holding
the baby.

Sometimes it's necessary for a wife to
tell off her husband in order to get
her rights.

Strict discipline develops a fine
strong character.

Mbthers very often feel that they can't
stand their children a moment longer.

A parent should never be made to look
wrong in a child's eyes.

The child should be taught to revere his
parents above all other grown-ups.

A child should be taught to always come
to his parents or teachers rather than
fight when he is in trouble.

Agree
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a

Disa—
gree

d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

75

Having to be with the children all the
time gives a woman the feeling her
wings have been clipped.

Parents must earn the respect of their
children by the way they act.

Children who don't try hard for success
will feel they have missed out on things
later on.

Parents who start a child talking about
his worries don't realize that sometimes
it's better to just leave well enough
alone.

Husbands could do their part if they were

less selfish.

It is very important that young boys
and girls not be allowed to see each
other completely undressed.

Children and husbands do better when the
mother is strong enough to settle most
of the problems.

A child should never keep a secret from
his parents.

Laughing at children's jokes and tel-
ling children jOkes makes things go
more smoothly.

The sooner a child learns to walk the
better he's trained.

It isn't fair that a woman has to bear
just about all the burden of raising
children by herself.

A child has a right to his own point of
view and ought to be allowed to express
it.

A child should be protected from jobs
which might be too tiring or hard for
him.

A woman has to choose between having
a well run home and hobnobbing around
with neighbors and friends.

Agree
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a

Disa-
gree

d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

76

A wise parent will teach a child early
just who is boss.

Few women get the gratitude they deserve

for all they have done for their children.

Methers never stop blaming themselves if
their babies are injured in accidents.

No matter how well a married couple love

one another, there are always differences

which cause irritation and lead to argu—
ments.

Children who are held to firm rules grow
up to be the best adults.

It's a rare mother who can be sweet and
even tempered with her children all day.

Children should never learn things out-
side the home which make them doubt
their parents' ideas.

A child soon learns that there is no
greater wisdom than that of his parents.

There is no good excuse for a child
hitting another child.

Most young mothers are bothered more by
the feeling of being shut up in the
home than by anything else.

Children are too often asked to do all
the compromising and adjustment and that
is not fair.

Parents should teach their children that
the way to get ahead is to keep busy and
not waste time.

Agree
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a

Children pester you with all their little A a

upsets if you aren't careful from the
first.

When a mother doesn't do a good job
with children it's probably because
the father doesn't do his part around
the home.

Children who take part in sex play be-
come sex criminals when they grow up.

A a

Disa-
gree

d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

77.

78.

79.

77

A mother has to do the planning be-
cause she is the one who knows what's
going on in the home.

An alert parent should try to learn all
her child's thoughts.

Parents who are interested in hearing
about their children's parties, dates
and fun help them grow up right.

The earlier a child is weaned from its
emotional ties to its parents the
better it will handle its own problems.

A wise woman will do anything to avoid
being by herself before and after a new
baby.

A child's ideas should be seriously con-
sidered in making family decisions.

Parents should know better than to
allow their children to be exposed to
difficult situations.

Too many women forget that a mother's
place is in the home.

Children need some of the natural
meanness taken out of them.

Children should be more considerate
of their mothers since their mothers
suffer so much for them.

Most mothers are fearful that they
may hurt their babies in handling them.

There are some things which just can't
be settled by a mild discussion.

Most children should have more disci—
pline than they get.

Raising children is a nerve-wracking
job.

The child should not question the think—
ing of his parents.

Agree
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a

Disa—
gree

d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D

80.

81.

82.

83.

84.

85.

86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

78

Parents deserve the highest esteem
and regard of their children.

Children should not be encouraged to
box or wrestle because it often leads
to trouble or injury.

One of the bad things about raising
children is that you aren't free enough
of the time to do just as you like.

As much as is reasonable a parent should
try to treat a child as an equal.

A child who is "on the go" all the time
will most likely be happy.

If a child has upset feelings it is
best to leave him alone and not make
it look serious.

If mothers could get their wishes they
would most often ask that their husband
be more understanding.

Sex is one of the greatest problems to
be contended with in children.

The whole family does fine if the
mother puts her shoulders to the wheel
and takes charge of things.

A mother has a right to know everything
going on in her child's life because
her child is part of her.

If parents would have fun with their
children, the children would be more
apt to take their advice.

A mother should make an effort to get
her child toilet trained at the
earliest possible time.

Most women need more time than they
are given to rest up in the home after
going through childbirth.

When a child is in trouble he ought to
know he won't be punished for talking
about it with his parents.

Agree
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a

Disa-
gree

d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D

94.

95.

96.

97.

98.

99.

100.

101.

102.

103.

104.

105.

106.

107.

108.

79

Children should be kept away from all
hard jobs which might be discouraging.

A good mother will find enough social
life within the family.

It is sometimes necessary for the
parents to break the child's will.

Mothers sacrifice almost all their own
fun for their children.

A mother's greatest fear is that in a
forgetful moment she might let some—
thing bad happen to the baby.

It's natural to have quarrels when two
people who both have minds of their
own get married.

Children are actually happier under
strict training.

It's natural for a mother to "blow her
top" when children are selfish and
demanding.

There is nothing worse than letting a
child hear criticisms of his mother.

Loyalty to parents comes before any-
thing else.

Most parents prefer a quiet child to a
"scrappy" one.

A young mother feels "held down" be-
cause there are lots of things she
wants to do while she is young.

There is no reason parents should have
their own way all the time, any more
than that children should have their
own way all the time.

The sooner a child learns that a wasted
minute is lost forever the better off he
will be.

The trouble with giving attention to
children's problems is they usually just
make up a lot of stories to keep you
interested.

Agree
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a

Disa—
gree

d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D

109.

110.

111.

112.

113.

114.

115.

80

Few men realize that a mother needs some
fun in life too.

There is usually something wrong with a
child who asks a lot of questions about
sex.

A married woman knows that she will have
to take the lead in family matters.

It is a mother's duty to make sure she
knows her child's innermost thoughts.

When you do things together, children
feel close to you and cantalk easier.

A child should be weaned away from the
bottle or breast as soon as possible.

Taking care of a small baby is something
that no woman should be expected to do
all by herself.

Agree
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a
A a

Disa-
gree

d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D
d D

81

SECTION THREE

It is permissible to indicate more than one
answer on several questions in this section.

1. How many hours do you estimate that your pre—school
children watch television per week?

a. Less than 5 hours
b. 6-10 hours

c. 11-15 hours

d. 16-20 hours

e. 21-25 hours

f. 26-30 hours

g. Over 30 hours

2. Which programs are particular favorites of your pre-
school children?

a. Lassie

b. Mighty Mouse

c. Roy Rogers

d. The Lone Ranger

e. The Flintstones

f. Alvin Show

9. Quick Draw MbGraw

h. Captain Kangaroo

i. Romper Room

j. Culver's Clubhouse

k. Outer Limits

1. Combat

m. Naked City

n. Rawhide

o. Gunsmoke

p. Conversation

q. Perspective

r. Len Stuttman

s. Chuck's Alley

t. Donna Reed

u. Lucy Show

v. Beverly Hillbillies

w. Sunday Sports Spectacular

x. Live Sports Coverage (Baseball, football,
golf, etc.)

y. Other (Please specify)

 

3. Do you explain to your pre-school child why he may not
watch certain programs?

a. Yes
b. No

82

How late in the evening do you permit your child to
watch television?

 

If the child asks to watch some programs after the curfew
hour you have established, how often do you permit him
to do so?

a. Usually

b. Occasionally
c. Rarely

d. Never

How do you rate television in general?

a. Excellent
b. Good
c. Fair
d. Poor

What effect do you feel television has on children
generally?

a. very harmful

b. Slightly harmful

c. Not harmful - not beneficial
d. Slightly beneficial

e. Very beneficial

What do you feel is the effect of the following program
types on your pre-school child? (See examples in
parentheses in question nine if you don't understand
categories) 7
Slightly very
very Slightly No benefi- benefi-
harmful harmful Effect cial cial

 

Children's
Action—Adventure

 

Children's
Comedy

 

Children's
Educational

 

Adult Action-
AdventuretDrama

 

Adult Education-
a1

 

Adult Comedy

 

Very
harmful harmful

83

Slightly No

Effect

Slightly very

benefi-
cial

bene
cia

fi-
1

 

9.

Sports

 

h.

Musical-
Variety Programs

 

10.

Which, if any,

you not let your child watch?

a.

b.
c.

d.

e.
f.
shows,
9.
h.

 

Kangaroo,

(Westerns,
Comedy programs for adults.
Educational programs for adults (Discussion
histories,
Sports programs.
Musical-variety programs.

cartoon adventure,

Romper Room,

crime,

etc.).

etc.).

Action—adventure programs for children (e.g.,
Westerns,
Comedy programs for children (Cartoons, etc.).
Educational programs for children (Captain
Culver's Clubhouse,
Action-Adventure-Drama programs for adults
courtroom shows,

etc.).

Which of the following programs do you enjoy watching
and which ones do you not want your children to watch?

of the following program categories will

etc.).

Don't Want

Enjoy

Children
To Watch

 

Combat

 

Perry Mason

 

Gunsmoke

 

Rawhide

 

Conversation

 

Perspective

 

What's My Line

 

I've Got a Secret

 

Jadk Paar

 

Tonight

 

Jackie Gleason

 

84

Don't Want
Enjoy Children
To Watch

 

Beverly Hillbillies

 

Dick Van DYke

 

McHale's Navy

 

Fight of the Week

 

Baseball Game of the Week

 

Championship Bridge

 

Red Skelton

 

Jack Benny

 

The Defenders

 

Bob Hope Theater

 

Great Adventure

 

Dr. Kildare

 

12.

l3.

14.

Other (Please specify)

 

What criteria do you use to judge the acceptability or
unacceptability of a TV program for your pre-school child?

a. Program content (crime, violence, sex, etc.)

b. Program production (staging, lighting, pacing,
camera shots, music, etc.)

c. Other (Please specify)

 

 

What background or experience, if any, do you have for
judging the production value (see 11) of a program?

a. None

b. TV or film courses
c. TV or film production experience

d. Discussion groups (PTA, church, etc.)
e. Other (Please specify)

 

 

If given the opportunity, would you like to learn more
about TV program production?

a. Yes
b. No

I

HOW would you like to receive this training?

a. Newsletter

15.

85

b. TV programs

c. Classroom attendance, including workshops
d. Other (Please specify)

 

Have you read any magazine articles, books, or other
materials concerning the effect of TV program content
on pre-school children within the past year?

a. Yes

b. No

APPENDIX B

SCORE SHEET FOR

PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

NAME

SCORE SHEET FOR SAMPLE

23 SCALE 5-ITEM QUESTIONNAIRE (FINAL FORM IV)
’ PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

 

24 47 7O 93

 

10

11

12

13

14

.‘~._)

r/
11‘

Date:

Number:

 

Scale score

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:15?

 

 

87

Sub-Test Title

Encouraging verbali-
zation

Fostering Dependency

Seclusion of the
Mother

Breaking the Will
Martyrdom

Fear of Harming the
Baby

Marital Conflict
Strictness J
Irritability

Excluding Outside
Influences

Deification

Suppression of
Aggression

Rejection of the Home—
making Role

Equalitarianism

Approval of Activity

88

 

 

Scale Score Sub-Test Title
16 39 62 85 108 Avoidance of Com-
munication
17 " Inconsiderateness of

 

 

the HUsband

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 ~ Suppression of
Sexuality

19 "' Ascendancy of the
Mother

20 “- Intrusiveness

21 ‘;p_ Comradeship and
Sharing

22 a Acceleration of ..
Development

23 Dependency of the
Mother

Instructions: Enter the number 4, 3, 2, or 1 on each square
according to whether the response was Strong Agreement, Mild
Agreement, Mild Disagreement, or Strong Disagreement respective-
ly. Thus, if the subject responded with Mild Disagreement

to item #25, a 2 would be entered in the second cell of the
second row. Total score is merely the sum of entries across
rows. Since items are arranged in a cyclical order by

scales all items in a given row belong to the same scale.

Hence, summing across gives the score for that scale.

APPENDIX C

PROGRAM CATEGORIES FOR QUESTION 'IWO

IN SECTION THREE OF QUESTIONNAIRE

PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Question Two, Section Three:

"Which programs are particular favorites of your
children?"

1.

Children's Action-Adventure

a. Lassie

b. Mighty Mbuse
c. Roy Rogers
d. Lone Ranger

Children's Cartoon

a. Flintstones
b. Alvin Show
c. Quick Draw McGraw

Children's Educational

a. Captain Kangaroo
b. Romper Room

c. Culver's Clubhouse
d. ChuCk's Alley

Adult Action-Adventure

a. Outer Limits
b. Combat

c. Naked City
d. Rawhide

e. Gunsmoke

Adult Educational
a. Conversation
b. Perspective
c. Len Stuttman
Adult Comedy

a. Donna Reed

b. Lucy Show
c. Beverly Hillbillies

90

91

Sports

a. Sunday Sports Spectacular
b. Live Sports Coverage

Other (Please Specify)

   

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