The ones that viewed the violent content were more aggressive than the other children, as if the cartoon had changed or altered their behavior process (Gerbner). Do the shows with violent content really affect the way that children act? I am led to believe that is based on how one is to perceive it. If a child were brought up in a home where violence occurs then the child would perceive that this would be the proper or correct way to act. However, if the child was in a more strict and nonviolent home then the child would be more likely led to believe that this was improper and not moralistic. .
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The ASA sights three major effects of having violence on television. "Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, children may be more fearful of the world around them, and children may be more likely to behave in aggressive ways toward others- (ASA). Leonard Eron, Ph. D., from the University of Illinois, compiled information that illustrates those children who watch multiple hours of television with violent content through preschool and elementary school ages were more likely to show aggressive behavior when they become teenagers. Dr. Eron discovered by observing these young children through the age of 30, the ones that had viewed many hours of television in the elementary ages "were more likely to be prosecuted for criminal acts as adults- (Eron).
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John P. Murray, Ph.D, a professor and director in the school of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University, produces a report which I found at the Kansas State University website. His studies show that violence on television is not just a more recent issue with society and that it has been around since nearly the birth of television itself. During the 1950's, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary held hearings to investigate juvenile delinquency and the effect of television programming on children's behavior as one of the first formal hearings.
