The Payne Fund Studies
Between 1929-1932, a series of research studies was performed
to examine movies and their effects on children. There was a total
of 13 studies financially supported by The Payne Fund, a private
foundation. Each study fell into one of three main categories
of research: film content, audience composition, and effects on
children. The researchers found that there were impacts on children
moviegoers ranging from learning and attitude change to emotion
stimulation and behavior influence. This milestone research built
the foundation for more recent studies involving the effects of
movies, television and video games on children.
At the time of the research, information sources were limited,
and the movies were still a novelty. The experience of sitting
in the movie theater activated multiple senses unlike other media
at the time, such as radio or newspapers, which are dominated
by only one sense. Also, during this postwar period, there was
a continued "legacy of fear" of the power of the media
to influence the masses. The controlling power behind propaganda
had recently been exposed, and was still fresh in many minds.
Finally, this was a time of a perceived erosion of moral standards.
Children, who regularly attended the movies unsupervised during
the Saturday matinee, were seen at risk from the influences of
this powerful medium. The unknown effects of movies (a new technology)
on the next generation frightened many grownups, and researchers
set out to discover the truth about movies and children.
The methodology for each of the Payne Fund studies varied based
on the specific research question being addressed. Qualitative
analysis of the movies was used to determine the categories of
movie content. Census and survey data was used to determine the
actual audience attending these movies. Effects were measured
using experimental design, questionnaires, case studies and personal
interviews. Emotional stimulation was measured using laboratory
techniques.
From the actual attendance of more than fifty Ohio communities,
the researchers projected the national movie attendance figures.
It was found that children attended the movies more frequently
than adults, and between 1929-30 children went to the movies on
average once a week.
The content of the movies being shown at this time (1920-1930)
was derived from an analysis of 1500 films. Ten categories of
content were determined: crime, sex, love, mystery, war, children,
history, travel, comedy, and social propaganda.
Studies of effects included the effects on children's information
acquisition, attitude change, emotion stimulation, health, and
behavior. Children acquired and retained information they received
in the movies. Attitudes concerning ethnic, racial and social
issues were changed by movie viewing. Emotions were stimulated,
especially those related to fear and tension. Health effects were
measured by looking at the sleep patterns of children after watching
movies, and certain movies disturbed healthy sleep. Children who
attended movies regularly were found to behave poorly in school
compared to those who attended less frequently. Children imitated
favorable behavior they saw in movies, but movies also appeared
to play a direct role in delinquent careers. Overall, researchers
found that movies influenced both children's attitudes and behaviors.
These effects were cumulative and persistent over time.
According to Lowery and De Fleur, critics of the Payne Fund studies
"pointed to their lack of control groups, problems in sampling,
shortcomings in measurement, and other difficulties that placed
technical limitations on their conclusions" (1995, 382).
But, to the general public, the Payne Fund studies confirmed their
fears of the movies' negative influences on children.
More than half a century later, however, the findings of this
research are not necessarily significant. Movies are no longer
a novelty, and today, information sources are virtually unlimited.
Children in the 1990s are media savvy, raised on the joystick,
remote control, and mouse. Kids have easy access to an ever expanding
world of media, the effects of which still concern parents. Therefore,
research continues into the effects of mass media on children.
Mortal Komat, Beavis and Butthead, Power Rangers, Teletubbies,
and subliminal messages in Disney movies are just a few recent
examples of media being criticized for their ill effects on children.
One recent media research project to study the effects of mass
media on children investigated the effects of watching the Power
Rangers television show on children's behavior (Boyatzis, Mattillo,
and Nesbitt 1995). The researchers claim that this was the first
study to assess the influences of the Power Rangers on children's
aggressive behavior. Grade school students were observed after
watching an episode of this overtly violent show--the researchers
counted 140 aggressive acts in the half hour episode shown. Compared
to the control group of children who did not view the videotape,
the children in the study committed seven times as many acts of
aggression immediately after the viewing.
The researchers in the Power Rangers study also noted that
children who generally watch more television than their peers
exhibit "a variety of negative development outcomes that
contribute to greater aggression," such as criminal behavior
and abuse (Boyatzis, Mattillo, and Nesbitt 1995). This finding
supports the Payne Fund study conducted by Blumer and Hauser that
found a similar connection between motion pictures and delinquency
and crime.
Although the Payne Fund studies were conducted nearly seventy
years ago, their research is still noteworthy today. As new technologies
emerge, research based on the Payne Fund studies will continue
to be developed to ease (or fuel) the public's concerns with children
and media effects.
Reference List
Boyatzis, C., G. Mattillo and K. Nesbitt. 1995. Effects of The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on Children's Aggression with Peers. Child Study Journal 25:45-57.
Lowery, S., and M. DeFleur. 1995. Milestones in Mass Communication Research: Media Effects. 3rd ed. New York: Longman.
Rebecca L. Ash
JRL 304
3/8/99
