Date of Award

2008-01-01

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Communication

Advisor(s)

Thomas Ruggiero

Abstract

Children's television programming falling within the traditional Saturday morning time slot for four continuous Saturdays on five Spanish language networks in a southwest border city in the United States constituted the sample for this study. Each of the programs in the study was broken down and analyzed for character demographics, character behaviors and consequences received for those behaviors. Eight categories of behavior were scored, including four traditionally male behaviors (aggression, autonomy, construction, dominance) and four traditionally female behaviors (deference, dependence, harm avoidance, nurturing). The analysis of demographic data revealed male characters clearly outnumbered female characters and female characters were significantly more likely than male characters to be portrayed as having children. Behavioral data illustrated that male characters exhibited significantly more aggressive and constructive behaviors than female characters. Male characters also received more positive consequences for exhibiting stereotypical male behavior and more negative consequences for exhibiting stereotypical female behaviors. Finally, male characters received significantly more total consequences for their actions when compared to female characters, thus suggesting female characters' actions went unnoticed or were ignored more often.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

86 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Carlo Andre Romo

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