Study Finds Most TV Fare Promotes Antisocial Behavior and Stereotyping

By Mark Walsh

WASHINGTON--American television can have a positive educational impact on children, but most of what young viewers see on TV is likely to promote antisocial behavior, gender and racial stereotyping, and poor eating habits, a report by the American Psychological Association asserts.

The study, released here last week, is the result of a five-year review of research about television's impact by a nine-member task force of the association.

The 146-page book that emerged from the review concludes that the medium is neither inherently good nor bad. But it argues that television is not being used to its potential to serve "vulnerable groups,'' such as children,...