Abstract
For this project, I observed two thirty minute
television shows watched during childhood. I watched one
episode of Dora the Explorer and one episode of ScoobyDoo. While watching these cartoons, I recorded the
number and nature of violent acts, the number and nature of
sex role stereotypes, the number of fast paced, high energy,
non-violent behaviors, and the number of pro-social
actions. I hypothesized that Dora the Explorer, a television
show designed for early to mid childhood, would include
less violent behavior and more pro-social actions than
Scooby-Doo, a television show designed for mid to late
childhood. I also assumed that Scooby-Doo would have
more fast paced, high energy, non-violent behaviors and
more sex role stereotyping. After watching these cartoons,
I found that Dora the Explorer included much more prosocial actions and fast paced, high energy, non-violent
behaviors. Scooby-Doo included much more violent acts
and sex role stereotypes. This project was beneficial
because it allowed me to observe the behaviors that are
being modeled to children through the media.
Purpose
The purpose of this project is to increase our
understanding of how the media affects children’s behavior
and attitudes. By critically observing different television
shows that children watch, we are able to see what
behaviors are being modeled through the media.
Hypothesis
My hypothesis is that Dora the Explorer, a television show
designed for early to mid childhood, will include more prosocial actions and less violent behavior than Scooby-Doo, a
cartoon designed for mid to late childhood. I also
hypothesize that Scooby-Doo will portray more sex role
stereotypes and more fast-paced, high energy, yet nonviolent behaviors than Dora the Explorer.
Method
For this project, I watched one thirty minute episode of
Dora the Explorer and one thirty minute episode of
Scooby-Doo. I used a Dora the Explorer episode that was
on video tape and a Scooby-Doo episode that was on DVD
so that I could watch the shows more than once. While
watching these cartoons, I recorded the number and nature
of violent acts, the number and nature of sex role
stereotypes, the number of fast-paced, high energy, nonviolent behaviors, and the number of pro-social actions.
Background Information
Dora the Explorer is a thirty minute cartoon that is
designed for preschoolers to participate in a play-along,
computer-like adventure. Starring a seven year old Latina
girl and her friends, Dora the Explorer is a very interactive
show. Children watching the show are encouraged to
respond to questions being asked and to participate in the
adventure physically, by jumping and running in place.
Dora the Explorer is also very educational. It teaches
children Spanish words, math skills, and physical
coordination. Dora the Explorer is shown on Nick Jr.
(About Dora the Explorer).
Scooby-Doo is a thirty minute cartoon that was
designed for Saturday morning television. From 1969 to
the present, Scooby-Doo has had several different versions.
Starring a dog named Scooby-Doo and four teenagers:
Freddie, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy, Scooby-Doo is a
mystery adventure. The five characters drive around in a
van called the “Mystery Machine,” and solve mysteries,
usually involving monsters and ghosts. At the end of each
show, the villain of the mystery usually has a rational
explanation for what they have done. The current ScoobyDoo show is called Shaggy and Scooby Get a Clue!, and it
is shown Saturday mornings on The CW. Reruns of the
original series and another version, called What’s New
Scooby-Doo?, are shown on the Cartoon Network and
Boomerang (Scooby-Doo).
Operational Definitions
- Violent Act = any act that could possibly harm
another, either physically or mentally
- Sex Role Stereotype = a portrayal of a person that is
stereotypical of his or her sex
- Fast-Paced, High Energy, Non-violent Behavior = a
fast-paced or high energy act that is not intended to
harm another person
- Pro-social Action = any act that encourages good
manners, safety, friendliness, or learning
Results – Scooby-Doo
After watching an episode of Scooby-Doo, I
concluded that this was a detective-type show, in which a
dog and four teenagers go around solving mysteries. It is
somewhat violent in nature, but is also funny and thrilling.
I noticed several violent acts, some of which were by
people and others that were by monsters or animals. In the
episode that I watched, the violent acts included stealing,
violent bats, someone shooting a gun, the teenagers tripping
a monster, someone shoving another person, killer bees,
ships that were shooting, and a monster threatened people
with death. There was also some sex role stereotyping in
Scooby-Doo. Some of the stereotyping that I noticed
included giggly girls chasing after movie stars, the film
director in the show was male, the cop was male, and the
costume designer was female. There were also several fastpaced, high energy, non-violent behaviors. The most
frequent of these was running. Other high energy
behaviors included riding a motorcycle, jumping off a
building with a rope, riding a horse on top of a train,
dancing, jumping, and swinging from a chandelier. There
were also a few pro-social actions. These included saying
“Thanks,” apologizing, shaking hands, and at the end of the
show, they came up with a solution for everybody.
Behaviors Recorded in Scooby-Doo
# and Nature of
Violent Acts
# and Nature of # of Fast-Paced,
# of Pro-social
Sex
High Energy, Non- Actions
Role Stereotypes Violent Behaviors
- Stealing (3)
- Girls are
- Running (6)
- Says, “Thanks.”
- Violent bats
giggly and
- Riding
(1)
(1)
run after
motorcycle
- Apologizes (1)
- Guns/Shooting
movie stars
(2)
- Shake hands (1)
(1)
(2)
- Jump off
- Find a solution
- Ghost
- Male film
building with
for all (1)
threatens
director (1)
rope (1)
people with
- Female
- Ride horse
death (2)
costume
on top of
- Trip monster
designer
train (1)
(2)
(1)
- Dancing (1)
- One guy
- Male cop
- Jumping (2)
shoves another
(1)
- Swing from
aside (1)
chandelier
- Killer Bees (1)
(1)
- Shooting
Ships (1)
Results - Dora the Explorer
After watching an episode of Dora the Explorer, I
concluded that this was a very positive and educational
children’s show, encouraging interaction, physical activity,
and learning. There were absolutely no violent acts in the
entire episode of Dora the Explorer. There was also very
little sex role stereotyping in the show. The only
stereotyping that I saw was that the baby girl in the show
wore pink and the baby boy was wearing blue. There was a
lot of fast-paced, high energy, non-violent behavior
throughout the entire show. The most frequent of these
behaviors were jumping, running, singing, and dancing.
Other high energy behaviors shown were swinging from a
vine, sliding down a slide, water skiing, playing soccer, and
riding piggy back. There were a lot of pro-social actions
shown also. The most frequent of these behaviors were
saying “Thank you,” sharing, hugging, and helping people.
Other pro-social actions portrayed were wearing seatbelts,
looking both ways and holding hands before crossing the
street, and encouraging each other. Dora the Explorer also
included several interactive learning questions for the
viewers. The episode that I watched taught Spanish words
and phrases, shapes, sounds, directions, animals, numbers,
and colors. This show also encouraged physical activity by
telling the children watching to jump and run in place
Behaviors Recorded in Dora the Explorer
# and # and Nature
Nature of Sex Role
of
Stereotypes
Violent
Acts
- Baby
girl
wore
pink (1)
- Baby
boy
wore
blue (1)
# of Fast-Paced,
High Energy,
Non-Violent
Behaviors
- Jumping
(20)
- Running
(16)
- Singing (9)
- Dancing (5)
- Piggy back
ride (1)
- Swinging
from vine
(2)
- Water
skiing (1)
- Play soccer
(1)
# of Pro-social Actions
- Hugging (7)
- Says, “Thank
You.” (13)
- Sharing (12)
- Seatbelts (1)
- Look both ways
& hold hands
before crossing
the street (3)
- Dora helps people
(4)
- Encouragement
(1)
- Encourages
Physical Activity
(4)
- Learning (38)
Summary
In conclusion, I have found that the behaviors
modeled in children’s cartoons may vary dramatically. Part
of my hypothesis matched my findings and part of it did
not. I hypothesized that Dora the Explorer, a show
designed for preschoolers, would include less violent
behavior and more pro-social actions than Scooby-Doo,
which is designed for mid to late childhood. This turned
out to be true. Dora the Explorer included tons of prosocial actions throughout the whole show and absolutely no
violent behavior. Scooby-Doo, on the other hand, included
very little pro-social actions and a lot of violent behavior. I
also hypothesized that Scooby-Doo would include more
sex role stereotyping and more fast-paced, high energy,
non-violent behaviors than Dora the Explorer. My findings
showed that Scooby-Doo did include more sex role
stereotyping, but it had less fast-paced, high energy, nonviolent behaviors than Dora the Explorer. After observing
these shows, I have concluded that Dora the Explorer is an
excellent show for young children. Not only is it very
educational, but it also promotes physical activity, good
manners, safety, and sharing. Scooby-Doo is somewhat
violent in nature and is not nearly as educational, but it
does promote critical thinking as children try to put the
clues together to solve the mysteries.
References
About Dora the Explorer. NICK JR .com. 20 Feb. 2007
<http://www.nickjr.com/shows/dora/parenting_feature
s/about_dora.jhtml>.
Scooby-Doo. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 20 Feb.
2007 <http://en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo>
Behaviors Modeled Through the Media
90
80
70
# of Occurences
60
50
Dora the Explorer
Scooby-Doo
40
30
20
10
0
Violent Acts
Sex Role Stereotypes
Fast-Paced, High Energy,
Non-Violent Bx
Behavior
Prosocial Actions