In the article; “Desensitization to Media Violence: Links with Habitual Media Violence Exposure, Aggressive Cognitions, and Aggressive Behavior” by Barbara Krahe is about a study that has been conducted to find the links between violent media and showing constant violent media. The hypothesis in this study is according to Krahe (2010) ; “The hypothesis that media violence increases aggressive behavior” (p.630) The hypothesis in this study is that Media violence does increase aggressive behavior. They conduct several studies to prove the hypothesis. The first study was conducted was an online questionnaire. There were 625 participants from the University of Postdam Germany that participated in the online questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire was habitual media violence exposure. “Participants were provided with genre lists for movies and electronic games. For each item on the two lists, they were asked to indicate how frequently they used the respective genre on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often)… A sample of 21 undergraduate students (5 women an...
There is a "general consensus among social scientists that television violence increases the propensity to real-life aggression among some viewers," and yet, paradoxically, "there is presently little evidence indicating that violence enhances program popularity" (Diener & DeFour, 1978). Top government studies insist, "violent material is popular" (Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, 1972). Differing conclusions may be viable. One leading social psychologist flatly states, "evidence suggests that violence on television is potentially dangerous, in that it serves as a model for behavior -- especially for children" ...
The debate about violence in media, such as video games, has been going on for years now, however, there is no definite answer on what to do about it. Should adolescents be able to differentiate between video game fantasy violence and real life? Is it partially the parents’ fault for not controlling their access to these games? Perhaps there is more to it than just the scientific side of things. Adolescents should be able to differentiate violence in video games from real life and be able to recognize patterns in gender role and age. In turn, adults should be held responsible for what the adolescents play by controlling access to this media in the first place.
Many Americans feel that the viewing of violence in the media reinforces negative behavior in society, especially among children and young adults. "Three thousand studies have been done since 1955 on the link between television and violence; 2,980 of them found a correlation between the two. We hear little about that because we get most of our news from television" (Peterson). With this much research one must acknowledge that there is a problem in America involving sex and violence in the media. We cannot blame all societal problems on the media and its portrayal of these issues, but we can become educated, ourselves, in order to better facilitate the healthy lives of our children.
The sense of what is right and wrong comes from within and is not influenced by what
The topic I have chosen to discuss is the relationship between media violence and aggressive behavior. Violent behavior is thought to be influenced by environmental foundations and media sources such as television and video games. Studies have shown a link between aggressive behavior and being exposed to large amounts of violence in the media. Is behavior really influenced by the media? In my opinion children who are subjected to media violence and a violent environment do have a greater chance of being aggressive.
In fairy tales, children are pushed into ovens, have their hands chopped off, are forced to sleep in coal bins, and must contend with wolves who've eaten their grandmother. In myths, rape, incest, all manner of gruesome bloodshed, child abandonment, and total debauchery are standard fare. We see more of the same in Bible stories, accentuated with dire predictions of terrors and abominations in an end of the world apocalypse that is more horrifying than the human imagination can even grasp.
Acts of minors killing minors across our nation is sadly becoming trendy and familiar. School shootings are tragic and yet that is all that is said about them. It seems as though words of action to stop such tragedies are just that. Educated experts study reasons why such crimes take place, but the findings are rarely put into action. The violence and content that the media of the United States displays to children causes hidden irreversible damage that most deny. What it would take to minimize the spread of school shootings is simple and the results would surprise American society. The content of movies, music, and other forms of entertainment have a serious effect on children because media inadvertently trains their minds for violence and needs to be stopped.
In a research analysis of Media and Violence, studies show that “Although the typical effect size for exposure to violent media is relatively small ... this ‘small effect’ translates into significant consequences for society as a whole” (“Media and Violence: An Analysis of Current Research”, 2015). This states violent behaviors can come from the smallest variables, or clips from videos, which is why it is important for parents to control what their kids see, read, and watch, and limit the amount of violence exposure.
Many psychologists have studied the effect of the media on an individual’s behavior and beliefs about the world. There have been over 1000 studies which confirm the link that violence portrayed through the media can influence the level of aggression in the behavioral patterns of children and adults (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001). The observed effects include, increased aggressiveness and anti-social behavior towards others, an increased fear of becoming a victim or target of aggressive behavior, becoming less sensitive to violence and victims of violent acts, and concurrently desiring to watch more violence on television and in real-life (A.A.P. 2001). According to John Murray of Kansas State University, there are three main avenues of effects: direct effects, desensitization, and the Mean World Syndrome (Murray, 1995, p. 10). The direct effects of observing violence on television include an increase in an individual’s level of aggressive behavior, and a tendency to develop favorable attitudes and values about using violence to solve conflicts and to get one’s way. As a result of exposure to violence in the media, the audience may become desensitized to violence, pain, and suffering both on television and in the world. The individual may also come to tolerate higher levels of aggression in society, in personal behavior, or in interpersonal interactions. The third effect is known as the Mean World Syndrome, which theorizes that as a result of the amount of violence seen on television and also the context and social perspective portrayed through the media, certain individuals develop a belief that the world is a bad and dangerous place, and begin to fear violence and victimization in real life (A.A.P. 2001).
While many different case studies have been done all over the world, scientists have yet to prove that there is a direct correlation between violent video games and child aggression. Since the start of this quarter, this has been an issue that I have been doing extensive research on. Despite looking into several scholarly sources, I was surprised to see that many of my findings were pretty consistent with one another. For the mort part, what I found through my research was a bunch of statistics from case studies and the interpretation of those statistics from renowned scientists. In many cases, statistics and studies showed slight indications that violent video games have an effect on c...
In an article written by Kevin D. Browne and Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis out of Lancet, dated 2/19/2005, Volume 365 in issue 9460, on page 702 a collection of research shows short-term effects increasing the likelihood of aggressive or fearful behavior in younger children, especially in boys. It also shows research stating that there is a very weak correlation directly between media violence and acted out aggression. This article basically states that violent media being watched by children does impression and arouse some, but does not associate strongly with violent acts. This would help explain the fact that millions of kids watch violent television shows and remain nonviolent.
Freedman goes on to explain that the FCC has no substantial scientific evidence stating that there is a correlation between fictional violence and real-world aggression among young audiences. He has completed research in 1984 and 2002 on the relationship between media violence to actual acts of violence on the street. Because he has completed research projects related to this topic, Freedman’s statistical evidence shows that there is a reduction in youth violence and it essentially does not cause real-world crimes (Freedman Par. 1). The FCC continues to claim that exposure to media violence does in fact increase aggression, and yet their readers continue to believe their fabrications. Freedman argues that people who research media violence tend to disregard and omit the opposing facts.
Therefore those who become desensitised to violence may perceive it as “normal” and be more likely to engage in violence them selves. The desensitisation hypothesis claims that excessive media violence diminishes the disgust with which we normally view violence and makes us more relaxed about its consequences. However research lacks in support of this claim and some research even shows a complete opposite. Goldstein, for example, found that immediately after seeing a violent film, men were more concerned about murder, and more punitive towards those who commit murder. This finding was confirmed across four different countries and therefore showed no support for the desensitisation hypothesis.
The Effects of Television Violence on Children's Behavior. Television violence causes destructive behavior in children, however television can be a powerful influence on young viewers in our society. Unfortunately, much of today's television programming is very violent. Many researchers, like scientists, pediatricians, and child researchers in many countries, have studied to find out what it is about television violence that makes it such a big affect on the way kids act and behave.
No single factor can cause children or adults to act aggressively. Instead, it is the accumulation of risk factors that leads to an aggressive act. Hundreds of studies look into the issue of violent media, it always seems to end up the same place with three major effects including increasing aggressive behavior in a variety of forms, desensitization, and spurs fear. Not every viewer will be affected noticeably, but we know that every viewer is affected in some way. Some have argued that violent media are the primary cause of mass shooting. Others have argued that there is no solid evidence of any harmful effects of violent media. But it is clear is that exposure to media violence is one of risk factors increased aggressive behavior, desensitization, and fear.