Is aggressive behavior linked to television violence? According to Centerwall (1992), the average child between the ages of 2 and 5 in 1990 watched 27 hours of television per day, or nearly 4 hours per day. When much of what is broadcast on television, including cartoons and television programs aimed at children, contains violence, it becomes important to know whether watching violence on television can lead to or increase aggressive behavior. Social learning theory tells us that children shape their behavior based on who they see. It is reasonable, therefore, to infer that watching violence on television leads to violent behavior, due to the modeling effect. The present study reviews some relevant previous research, then investigates the hypothesis that children who watch violent television behave more aggressively than children who watch less violent television. Centerwall (1992) performed an intriguing study that strongly suggests a positive correlation with television viewing and aggressive and violent behavior. behavior. This study examines the effect that the introduction of television has had on the populations of three countries: the United States, Canada, and South Africa. Centerwall compared homicide rates in these three countries in the years 1945, 1974, and 1987. In 1945, the United States and Canada were blessed with television, so the 1945 homicide statistics were the last statistics to not have the influence of television. South Africa, in contrast, did not receive television until 1975. Before 1975, South Africa had introduced other media, radio and cinema, for example, so these statistics isolate the effect of television as the cause of increase in the homicide rate. In the center... in the center of the paper... on cartoons of emotionally disturbed children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 12:413-427Huston-Stein, A., Fox, S., Greer, D., Watkins, B. A., & Whitaker, J. (1981). The effects of television action and violence on children's social behavior. Journal of Genetic Psychology 138:183-191Wiegman, O., Kuttschreuter, M., & Baarda, B. (1992). A longitudinal study on the effects of television viewing on aggressive and prosocial behaviors. British Journal of Social Psychology31:147-164Centerwall, B. S. (1992). Television and violence: the scope of the problem and where to start. The Journal of the American Medical Association 267:3059-3063Singer, M.I., Miller, D.B., Guo, S., Flannery, D.J., Frierson, T., Slovak, K. (1999).Contributors to violent behavior in elementary and middle schools children. Pediatrics104:878