Media Violence Research

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Recommended: Aggression biological and social factors

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. It is my belief that aggressive behavior in children is linked to the media, but also to the behavior portrayed by the people around them. Many studies have been targeted toward the link between aggression and viewing violence in the media. One well-known study was conducted by Albert Bandura and is known as the Bobo doll experiment. Research has shown that a child will mimic the actions of others if the actions are reinforced. “Albert Bandura argued that aggression in children is influenced by the reinforcement of family members, the media, and the environment” (Bandura, 1976). Psychologists have discovered that some cartoons tend to contain violence and may cause children to demonstrate aggressive behavior. “Children who have a high degree of exposure to the media may exhibit a relatively high incidence of hostility themselves in imitation of the aggression they have witnessed.” (Berkowitz, 1962) There have been numerous violent episodes that have been determined to be copycat cases of violence on television. In situations like this, the media exposure is considered to be reinforcement of the behaviors. Children that are raised in a violent environment are more likely to grow up and become violent. “Albert Bandura ... ... middle of paper ... ...c the hero’s actions to be rewarded also. The same applies for older adolescents too. A teenager may mimic the behavior of an actor/actress that they find to be attention-grabbing even if the behavior is not desired by others. However, the environment also plays a strong role in the modeling of a child’s behavior too. A child is influenced not only by the elements of their environment, but also by the actions of their peers and family members within their environment. Repeated exposure to undesirable behaviors of peers and family members will begin to “rub off” on a child. It’s always best to try to set a good example for all children because they are very impressionable. References: Psychology and Your Life, Robert S. Feldman, Pages 187-188 Theorist—Albert Bandura http://tinyurl.com/mx7ay Wikipedia—Media violence research http://tinyurl.com/6t2jnul

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