The results of a comparison of television programming for children in the United States, Canada, Japan, and the democracies of Western Europe are presented. It was found that: in European countries no advertiser is allowed to sponsor a children's program, almost none of these programs carries commercials, and except in Italy, no host of a…

The results of a comparison of television programming for children in the United States, Canada, Japan, and the democracies of Western Eruope are presented. It was found that: in European countries no advertiser is allowed to sponsor a children's program, almost none of these programs carries commercials, and except in Italy, no host of a…

By viewing approximately two dozen Japanese television commercials, secondary students enrolled in an area studies course about Japan were able to generate tones and impressions reflecting many important experiences of the Japanese society that the course would later explore in more detail. The introductory lesson was very successful. (RM)

A five-point, seven-item semantic differential scale was used to collect data from 130 high school students about their perceptions of foreign-made products and the relation of national stereotypes to product stereotypes. To assure consistency, the same product classes (all products, automobiles, cameras, and mechanical toys) and foreign countries…

This study examined the differences in the use of language in television commercials from the United States, Japan, South Korea, and China to persuade viewers (consumers) to buy a product. Because cultural norms in these East Asian nations favor indirectness when suggesting or recommending, it was hypothesized that: 1) suggestions would be more…

This annual report presents several articles related to the work of the Clinical Center for Child Development at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. The articles are: (1) "The Functional Uses of Infant-Directed Speech of Fathers and Mothers: A Comparison Study" (Katsuko Niwano); (2) "Are Children 'Among the Gods'?: Parental…

To explore the portrayals of Americans in Japanese television commercials and Japanese in American television commercials, and how those portrayals are perceived by each nationality, a two-part study examined 745 American commercials and 956 Japanese commercials. Researchers first coded the number of American males and females who appeared in the…