2. Media Violence

3. Discussion Questions n How do you define media violence? (What actions constitute violence?) n Do you think there is too much, too little or just the right amount of violence in the media? n How does media violence affect you? n How do you think media violence affects others?

4. Are the mass media the cause of aberrant behavior?

5. Positive effects of media violence

6. Cathartic effect n Media violence can be positive n People release violent inclinations by seeing them portrayed

7. Socially positive action n Media portrayals of violence can increase awareness of social problems

8. Negative effects of media violence

9. Aggressive stimulation theory n Media-depicted violence has potential to cue real-life violence

10. Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll study n Criticized for overstating cause-and- effect connections

11. Criticisms of aggressive stimulation theory n Causality is overstated n Conclusions are simplistic n Much of the evidence is anecdotal n Other factors could be involved n Aggressive people may gravitate toward violent media

12. Catalytic theory n Media may have a role in violence n But media don’t necessarily trigger violence

13. Media trigger violence only when certain non-media factors are also present n Violence is rewarded n Media exposure is heavy n Violent person meets a certain profile

14. Contributing factors n Violence is realistic and exciting n Violence rights a wrong n Violence includes characters & situations similar to viewer’s own experience

15. Bottom line Violence is far too complex to be explained by a single factor Effects of media violence vary from person to person

16. Desensitizing theory n People becoming hardened by media violence n Society’s tolerance for antisocial behavior is increasing n Applies to news media also

17. Time for a quiz

18. “Mean-world syndrome” George Gerbner n T.V. violence makes people think they’re in greater danger than they really are n The more T.V. people watch, the more likely they are to give the “T.V. answer” n Poses a threat to democracy

19. The Debate Over Media Violence Effects

20. CHILDREN, VIOLENCE, AND THE MEDIA A Report for Parents and Policy Makers Senate Committee on the Judiciary Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Utah, Chairman Committee on the Judiciary

21. “By age 18 an American child will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence.” “Television alone is responsible for 10% of youth violence.”

22. “More than 1,000 studies on the effects of television and film violence have been done over the past 40 years.” “The majority of these studies reach the same conclusion: television and film violence leads to real-world violence.”

23. “The existing research shows beyond a doubt that media violence is linked to youth violence.”

24. Side 1: Media violence DOES promote violent behavior in young people

25. Huesmann & Moise n Research shows that media violence has a strong effect on audience

26. n Short-term changes after exposure n Physical attacks on people & inanimate objects n Media violence primes/cues aggression

27. n Viewing habits of young children predicts subsequent aggression n Exposure to violence leads to arousal, desensitization & acceptance

28. Side 2: Media violence DOES NOT promote violent behavior in young people

29. Freedman n Counters "powerful effects" argument n Laboratory studies unrealistic (demand characteristics) n Results inconsistent & inconclusive

30. n Children know the difference between real & fiction n Correlations small (1-10%) n Not necessarily causal

31. For some children under some conditions, some television is harmful. For other children under the same conditions, or for the same children under other conditions, it may be beneficial. For most children, under most conditions, most television is neither particularly harmful nor particularly beneficial. Wilbur Schramm, Jack Lyle, Edwin Parker