Cartoon violence and aggression in youth

This manuscript reviews the literature concerning the effects of animated violence on aggressive behavior in youth. It begins with an overview of the research on children's and adolescents' perceptions of violence in cartoons. Next, the effects of cartoon violence on aggressive behavior across development are reviewed. In each section, the importance of the presence (or absence) of comedic elements in animated violence is addressed. Moreover, throughout the review, the potential influence of development is considered. Finally, a potential mechanism for reducing the negative influence of cartoon violence on youth is considered.