NCJ Number
191026
Journal
Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 197-214
Editor(s)
Ron Blackburn
Date Published
September 2001
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study investigated whether there was any difference between children’s perception of the frequency of various police activities on TV and in real life.
Abstract
The study examined the relative contributions of age, perceived usefulness of police shows for learning about law enforcement, viewing frequency of police shows, and extent of real life learning experiences in predicting children’s estimations of law enforcement. For many children, opportunities to observe the operations of law enforcement and criminal justice were limited primarily to their television experience. Television police dramas provide viewers with an inaccurate representation of police work, overemphasizing sensational and dramatic activities while underemphasizing routine duties. This study examined whether such misrepresentations are reflected in children’s perceptions of law enforcement activities in real life. Ninety-six children participated in the study. There were children from grade one, grade three, grade five, and grade seven from two local primary schools in an Australian city. In addition, a multiple regression analyses examined the magnitude to which age, amount of viewing, and perceived extent of learning from TV and real life predicted frequency estimates in each condition for both under and over-represented activities. Results indicated that activities over-represented on TV were perceived by children to be relatively frequent in real life police work. Activities under-represented on TV shows were perceived by children to be relatively infrequent in real life. The more children, specifically first graders, reported watching TV police shows, and the more they perceived them contributing to their knowledge about police work, the more inaccurate was their perception of law enforcement in real life. Perceived informativeness of real life models did not predict children’s perceptions of law enforcement in real life. By investigating what children believe on the basis of their media experiences, there is the ability to attain a better-informed basis for intervention via the classroom or other strategies. Data limitations were identified and discussed. Tables and references