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Most research on the effects of television viewing has addressed itself to the problem of assessing the relation of television to aggressive behavior in children and adolescents but has failed to address how television viewing influences socialization within the family. The present study was designed to assess how family interaction patterns are influenced by television viewing. Twenty-seven middle-class families were observed for 20 minutes in a familiar living room setting within a child and family center. During half of this period a television program selected by the child in each family was shown. During the remaining time the families were free to interact with toys, magazines, and newspapers that were available in the living room. Half of the families viewed television first, while the order for the remaining families was reversed. Results revealed that children oriented toward their parents less, talked less, and were less active and that fathers oriented toward their children and spouses less, talked less and made fewer positive facial expressions during television-viewing than family play. Little behavioral difference, however, was found for mothers between the television-viewing and family play phases.
Brody et al. (Tue,) studied this question.