THE VIOLENCE PROFILE, DEVELOPED BY THE CULTURAL INDICATORS RESEARCH TEAM UNDER THE DIRECTION OF DR. GEORGE GERBNER IN 1967 AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA'S ANNENBERG SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION, REPORTS ANNUALLY ON DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE IN NETWORK TELEVISION PROGRAMMING; TWO OF ITS COMPONENTS ARE THE VIOLENCE INDEX AND THE RISK RATIO. THE CBS REPORT FOCUSED ON FOUR MAIN CRITICISMS: (1) THE VIOLENCE INDEX IS DEFICIENT BECAUSE IT DEFINES VIOLENCE TOO BROADLY AND IS COMPOSED OF 'AN ARBITRARILY WEIGHTED SET OF ARBITRARILY CHOSEN MEASURES OF VIOLENCE ON TELEVISION, WHOSE MEANING IS UNCLEAR; (2) THE VIOLENCE INDEX EMPLOYS FAULTY UNITS OF ANALYSIS IN THAT IT COUNTS SINGLE INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE AS MULTIPLE; (3) A SINGLE WEEK'S SAMPLE IS INADEQUATE FOR REPRESENTING AN ENTIRE TELEVISION SEASON; AND (4) THE RISK RATIO IS DEFECTIVE AS IT MEASURES RELATIVE RATHER THAN ABSOLUTE VICTIMIZATION. THE CULTURAL INDICATORS RESEARCH TEAM RESPONDS THAT THE CBS REPORT CONFUSED COMMUNICATIONS CONTENT WITH COMMUNICATIONS EFFECTS, WHILE THE VIOLENCE INDEX DOES NOT PRESUME EFFECTS AT ALL, WHETHER USEFUL OR HARMFUL. THE CBS REPORT ALSO CRITICIZED THE INCLUSION OF COMIC VIOLENCE, ACCIDENTS, AND NATURAL DISASTERS; THE RESEARCH TEAM CONTENDS THAT COMEDY IS OFTEN USED TO MAKE A SERIOUS POINT AND THAT NOTHING WHICH HAPPENS IN A TELEVISION SCRIPT IS 'ACCIDENTAL,' IN THAT DRAMATIC DISASTER OR 'ACTS OF NATURE' ARE INSERTED FOR A PURPOSE. THE GERBNER TEAM ALSO POINTS OUT THAT THE USEFULNESS OF ANY INDEX IS PRECISELY THAT IT COMBINES MEASURES OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF A COMPLEX PHENOMENON; IN ADDITION, THE VIOLENCE INDEX REPORTS ALL OF ITS COMPONENTS SEPARATELY AS WELL AS IN COMBINATION SO THAT USERS MAY OBSERVE THE MOVEMENT OF EACH COMPONENT AND WEIGHT EACH AS THET SEE FIT. IN RESPONSE TO THE SECOND CRITICISM, THE PROFILE AUTHORS STATE THAT THEIR DEFINITION OF A VIOLENT ACT IS CONFINED TO ACTION BETWEEN THE SAME AGENTS; THEREFORE, EACH TIME A NEW PARTICIPANT ENTERS THE VIOLENT SCENE, A NEW ACT MUST BE COUNTED. ALTHOUGH CONCEDING THAT A LARGER SAMPLE MAY INCREASE PRECISION, THE PROFILE TEAM CLAIMS THAT THE 1-WEEK SAMPLE YIELDS REMARKABLY STABLE RESULTS WITH HIGH COST-EFFICIENCY. REGARDING THE CRITICISM OF THE RISK RATIO, THE RESEARCH TEAM STATES THAT A MEASURE OF ABSOLUTE RISKS IS TO BE FOUND IN THE VIOLENCE INDEX. IT IS ALSO STRESSED THAT THE VALIDITY OF A TELEVISION CONTENT INDICATOR DOES NOT DEPEND ON VIEWER'S CONSCIOUS UNDERSTANDING OF ITS MEANING. FOR OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES, SEE NCJ-45415 AND 45417-45418.