Reports on an experiment that examined the independent effects of television content (violence) and television formal features (action) on preschool boys' attention to programs and their postviewing social behavior. Shows rapid character action facilitated visual attention to the programs and that television action level had no systematic effects…

This review of recent empirical research on the effects of television on children and teenagers begins by examining the results of two surveys which were conducted to determine the opinions of experts in the field. A brief statement of the findings indicates that experts generally agree that television harms formal scholastic achievement while…

Decribes age trends in television viewing time and visual attention of children and adults videotaped in their homes for 10-day periods. Shows that the increase in visual attention to television during the preschool years is consistent with the theory that television program comprehensibility is a major determinant of attention in young children.…

Points out that the world of television activates, cultivates, and alters the gender schemata that children bring to the viewing situation. Finds that viewing can also promote creation of new schemata or modification of existing ones. (Author/RWB)

Suggests typology as initial framework for study of patterns of computer use in the home, along with four sets of independent factors--social status, technical features, sociocultural setting, and personal attributes. This approach integrates patterns of computer utilization with technological, social, and psychological factors to account for…