1. Includes chapters 16 & 20 of DeFleur textbook
Violence/Anti-Social Effects: Social Cognitive Theory (Social Learning Theory), Copycat Effect, Desensitization, Priming, and even Catharsis
COM 226, Summer 2011
PPT #7
Includes chapters 16 & 20 of DeFleur textbook

2. Four Major Claims about Media Violence
Pt. #1 -- There is a LOT of violence in the media.
Pt. #2 -- Exposure increases risk of harm.
Pt. #3 -- Not all portrayals pose same degree of risk.
Pt. #4 -- Not all viewers are similarly impacted.

3. Four Major Claims about Media Violence
Pt. #1 -- There is a LOT of violence in the media.
Established through content analyses.
National Television Violence Study (NTVS): 61% of TV shows contain violence.
Pt. #2 -- Exposure increases risk of harm.
Pt. #3 -- Not all portrayals pose same degree of risk.
Pt. #4 -- Not all viewers are similarly impacted.

4. Four Major Claims about Media Violence
Pt. #1 -- There is a LOT of violence in the media.
Pt. #2 -- Exposure increases risk of harm.
Pt. #3 -- Not all portrayals pose same degree of risk.
Pt. #4 -- Not all viewers are similarly impacted.

5. Pt. #2: Theories of Media Violence—Does it affect viewer aggression?
Four primary explanations:
A) No effects (Klapper, 1960-on)
B) Catharsis Theory (Feshbach, 1960s)
C) Social Cognitive/Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1950s-on)
Including Copycat Effect, Desensitization, Cultivation
D) Priming (Berkowitz, 1960s)

6. A) No Effects Perspective
Really, the only person who found substantial support for this was Joseph Klapper, who maintained that television only reinforces attitudes and behaviors that already existed (1960-on)

7. B) Catharsis Theory From Aristotle, Feshbach (1960s).
Says exposure to TV violence stimulates fantasy aggression, defusing aggressive impulses, thereby decreasing aggression in viewers.
Empirical evidence?
NO—evidence does NOT support catharsis! (at least with media and violence)
Under what conditions might catharsis occur?
individual differences (i.e., occurs for some, under some circumstances)?
video game violence?

8. C) Social Cognitive Theory
From Albert Bandura (1960s)
First called Social Learning Theory
Says children and others learn through observation
May imitate what they see vicariously (e.g., on television)
Empirical evidence: Bobo doll studies, others—generally support basic premise plus additional assumptions, e.g.,
Rewarded and unpunished violence more likely to be imitated.
Punished violence less likely to be imitated.

9. Bobo Doll Studies

10. Bobo Doll Studies—thoughts??

11. More on Social Cognitive Theory
ALSO SEE NOTES from Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory: An Introduction (video) for more details!

12. Social Cognitive Theory: The Triadic Model summary
The Triadic Model within the theory suggests that learning of behaviors is governed by three bi-directionally linked systems:
Personal determinants
Behavioral determinants
Environmental determinants
Personal examples???

13. Social Cognitive Theory: Observational Learning summary
Attention
Retention/Symbolic representation
Reproduction/Transformation to action
Motivation to reproduce behavior
External incentives
Vicarious incentives
Self incentives
Observer attributes (internal standards, social comparison)
EXAMPLES OF THESE INCENTIVES???

14. Therefore social cognitive theory…
Sees learning as being a largely cognitive process
And behavior is only the very end state
Watch Primetime Violence video for a review of the concerns of the 1990s and what we knew about violence effects by that point

15. The Copycat Effect?
Some researchers have identified simple imitative effects, without specifying the cognitive or other mechanisms at work (e.g., Loren Coleman’s book on The Copycat Effect)
“Suicide clusters” have appeared since ancient times
The writer/historian Plutarch’s account of the imitative hangings of young women in Miletus in the 4th century BCE. . . News spread through word of mouth and songs of poets
Romans, Vikings, early Christians, Jews of the Middle Ages, modern teens have been the focus of study

16. The Copycat Effect? Other copycat violence has included:
Murders (e.g., Jack the Ripper, covered by newspapers)
Murder/suicides (e.g., “going postal,” school shootings)
The role of mass media has increased over time

17. The Copycat Effect?
Sociologist David P. Phillips has devoted his career to the study of societal trends in violent and hazardous activities, including how media-covered events can result in imitation, using “archival” survey-type data:
First to conduct empirical studies to confirm the “Werther Effect” (from Goethe’s 1774 novel The Sorrows of Young Werther)
1962—Death of Marilyn Monroe. . .U.S. suicide rate increase 12% in following month
1973—Airline hijackings
1979—Found increase in rate of automobile fatalities following publicized suicides. . . Also sig. by geographic region and age cohort
1983—Impact of U.S. TV network coverage of championship boxing matches on homicide rates

18. The Copycat Effect?
Sociologist Steven Stack has also examined imitative effects
1977 suicide of actor Freddie Prinze produced higher suicide rates among individuals of similar age (22), ethnicity, gender
Importantly, some of these studies have identified an impact of non-news, fictional content:
Phillips (1982) identified increase in auto fatalities after soap opera suicides
Phillips & Paight (1987) found increase in suicides after TV movies about suicide

19. Desensitization Bandura sees this as part of Social Cognitive Theory
Others have studied it separately, e.g., DeFleur’s Creeping Cycle of Desensitization (textbook):
All media, news or entertainment, have a profit motive
Attractive media products emphasize the controversial—sex, violence, vulgarity
In the U.S., there are few legal restraints on this; rather, cultural norms define what is tolerable
Young audiences rule!
Thus, the “cutting edge” must become more extreme, more sensational
[We can assume that people become accustomed (i.e., desensitized) to this “extreme” violence, sex, etc.]

20. Cultivation?
Although George Gerbner coined the term “Cultivation Theory” (recall—Gerbner’s “Mean World Syndrome”), such cognitive or perceptual effects were named as part of Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory
Remember that Bandura noted that TV violence “shapes viewers’ images of reality”

21. D) Priming Theory From Berkowitz and colleagues (late 60s)
Understood in terms of cognitive associations (recall—cognitive schema)
Says violent content “primes” related thoughts, placing hostile cognitions at the forefront of the mind.
Empirical evidence generally supports the theory, e.g.,
Anderson & Ford (1987)—experiment linked video game violence to hostility and anxiety
Bushman & Geen (1990)—experiment in which those who viewed a more violent movie listed more aggressive thoughts
Bushman (1998)—experiment finding video violence related to aggressive word choice

22. Pt. #2: In summary, then: Does media violence affect viewers?
Answer: YES!
Surveys, experiments, longitudinal field studies, and meta analyses all point to a TV violence  aggression link.
Overall effect size larger than:
Condom use and HIV (-.18)
Passive smoking and lung cancer (.16)

23. Four Major Claims about Media Violence
Pt. #1 -- There is a LOT of violence in the media.
Pt. #2 -- Exposure increases risk of harm.
Pt. #3 -- Not all portrayals pose same degree of risk.
Pt. #4 -- Not all viewers are similarly impacted.

24. Pt. #3: Aggressive responses are MORE likely to occur when violence is:
Realistic.
Sanitized.
Justified.
Committed by attractive or similar others.
Rewarded.
Humorous.

25. Realistic Violence (vs. fantasy)
???

26. Sanitized Violence (vs. consequences)

27. Justified Violence (vs. unjustified)

28. Rewarded Violence (vs. punished)

29. Committed by Attractive or Similar Others

30. Humorous violence

31. Four Major Claims about Media Violence
Pt. #1 -- There is a LOT of violence in the media.
Pt. #2 -- Exposure increases risk of harm.
Pt. #3 -- Not all portrayals pose same degree of risk.
Pt. #4 -- Not all viewers are similarly impacted.

32. Pt. #4: “High-risk” media violence consumers include…
1. Younger/less cognitively developed individuals
2. Those with certain traits/personality predispositions
Trait aggression
Irritability
Psychoticism
3. Those with social or emotional problems
Bullies and Victims
Lack of parental influence
4. Those who consume a lot of media
5. Those without alternative models