Data_Sheet_2_Positive Effects of Prosocial Cartoon Viewing on Aggression Among Children: The Potential Mediating Role of Aggressive Motivation.doc

Prosocial cartoon is characterized by helping others solve difficulties, including helping, donating, sharing, comforting, and cooperating. The current study examined whether viewing a prosocial cartoon decreases aggression immediately upon exposure and the potential mediating role of aggressive motivation. Participants involve 168 children (Mage = 5.87 years, SD = 0.41) nominated by teachers as aggressive from three Chinese kindergartens. Children in the treatment group watched a prosocial cartoon (American cartoon “Handy Manny”), while children in the control group watched a nonprosocial cartoon (Chinese cartoon “Fruity Robo”). Afterward, the Hot Sauce Task (HST) was employed to assess aggressive behavior, and Aggressive Motivation Questionnaire (AMQ) was employed to assess aggressive motivation. Results revealed that viewing a prosocial cartoon (vs. a nonprosocial cartoon) did reduce children’s aggression immediately upon exposure. Specifically, males showed less aggressive behavior than females upon prosocial cartoon exposure, while males showed more aggressive behavior than females upon nonprosocial cartoon exposure. Mediational analysis suggested that the prosocial cartoon effect on aggression was partially mediated by aggressive motivation, especially for males. Consistent with general aggression model (GAM), findings of the study indicated that short-term exposure to a prosocial cartoon decreased children’s aggression by reducing aggressive motivation.

亲社会漫画以其助人解决困难而著称，包括助人、捐赠、分享、安慰和合作等方面。本研究旨在探讨观看亲社会漫画是否能在接触后立即降低攻击性，以及攻击动机在其中的潜在中介作用。参与研究的对象为168名儿童（平均年龄为5.87岁，标准差为0.41），这些儿童被三位中国幼儿园的教师提名，被认为具有攻击性。治疗组的儿童观看了亲社会漫画（美国漫画《Handy Manny》），而控制组的儿童观看了非亲社会漫画（中国漫画《Fruity Robo》）。随后，通过热酱任务（HST）评估攻击性行为，并使用攻击动机问卷（AMQ）评估攻击动机。研究结果揭示了观看亲社会漫画（相对于非亲社会漫画）确实能在接触后立即降低儿童的攻击性。具体而言，在观看亲社会漫画时，男性儿童的攻击性行为低于女性儿童，而在观看非亲社会漫画时，男性儿童的攻击性行为则高于女性儿童。中介分析表明，亲社会漫画对攻击性的影响部分地通过攻击动机进行中介，尤其是对男性儿童而言。与一般攻击模型（GAM）一致，本研究的结果表明，短期接触亲社会漫画通过降低攻击动机来减少儿童的攻击性。