Media Violence and Aggression
Media Violence and Aggression
Media Violence and Aggression
Media Violence and Aggression by Powlin V. Manuel
The role of media in eliciting aggression especially in vulnerable population has been an area on intense debate. Aggression is defined as any behavior, be it physical, verbal, psychological, or emotional, indented to cause physical, emotional, or psychological injury to another human being (Kirsh, 2006). The Surgeon General of the USA released a report in 1972 that concluded that violence on television does influence children who view those programs and that media violence does increase the likelihood that viewers will become more aggressive. There is evidence that television violence can be harmful to young viewers (Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, 1972; Murray, 1973 as cited in Osofsky, 1997). Andersonet al., (2003) argued that media violence produces short-term increases by priming existing aggressive scripts and cognitions, increasing physiological arousal, and triggering an automatic tendency to imitate observed behaviors. Media violence produces long-term effects via several types of learning processes leading to the acquisition of lasting aggressive scripts, and aggression-supporting beliefs about social behavior, and by reducing individuals' normal negative emotional responses to violence, according to authors. Psychologists and psychiatrists involved in media studies do not suggest that violent media are the only cause of violence in society. Rather there are many other contributors to violent behavior, such as growing up in an abusive home or a violent neighborhood (Osofsky, 1995 as cited in Osofsky, 1997).
The factors that contributing to aggressive behavior are: cognitive functions of the viewer, male sex hormones, the level of frustration of the viewer, and other factors that control emotions. In a certain state of emotions media violence exerts its effect resulting violence by the following: imitation of violence, induction of aggressive thoughts, and eliciting fear. Attitudes are acquired from other people from social learning process. This could include violent behaviors that are very common for television programs including the sublimal messages conveyed by the television programs. Research shows that people who watch violent television programs repeatedly are more likely to be violent (Potter, 2003, as cited in Schneider, 2009). Longitudinal studies have shown evidence that TV violence increases violent behavior (Huesmann et al., 2003, as cited in Schneider, 2009). Numerous experimental studies have established a causal relationship between TV violence and aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior, however, is overdetermined as it has multiple causes such as level of testosterone, type A personality, frustration and anger, stress, general arousal, the temperature, loud noises, and having been abused as a child (Schneider, 2009).
In experiments children who watched either children or adults act aggressively imitated their violence, or that children perform aggressive behaviors of other children who were rewarded for their aggressive behavior; this is due to vicarious learning. According to social cognitive theory the following four processes are involved: attention, representational process, behavioral production process, and motivational process. The theory also explains that motivational process is enhanced by reward, justification for violence, viewer perceiving the violence as realistic, and the viewer identifying or liking the perpetrator. People also get desensitized by repeated exposure to media violence. Desensitization leads to individual's increased tolerance to violence.
The following measures have been taken to counter the effect of media violence: Rating of TV program has been implemented with some success. However the desire to watch is said to increase especially in teenagers as phenomenon of psychological reactance; making the child see violence as not rewarding by making them see from the perspective of the victim is another approach. The researchers suggest that parents and educators should talk with the children about the feelings of victims of violence as well as the feelings of the family members of the victims.
Some researchers believe that media violence exerts a priming effect as the violent acts in media primes the brain of the viewers for easier provocation to act of violence (Neoassociationistic Model). This priming effect is explained by network models of memory playing a role in priming of aggressive thoughts. Other effects of watching of violent TV include increased likelihood of imitation and increased fear which may have a long lasting effect. Studies have shown that this effect is exaggerated by intensity of prime, consisting of frequency and duration of exposure. The priming effect can be attributed to weapon's effect which leads to increasing intensity of violent behavior. Frequent exposure leads to altered perceptions of the world, and one way to reduce it is for parents to limit the heavy exposure to violent TV programs. According to some researchers one of the consequences of media violence is that people begin to see world as "mean" (Cultivation Theory). TV violence increases peoples' aggressive thoughts.
Violent Pornography
Another factor associated with media violence is violent pornography as explained by cultivation theory, which explains that the social reality of heavy viewers of movies is shaped by the movies they watch. Research shows exposure to sexual violence in men include increase in sexual arousal, increase in rape fantasies, increase in acceptance of rape myths and violence toward women, and increase in tolerance towards rapists.
Violent Video Games
Repeated exposure to violent video game play is another source of media violence. The most successful players develop hyper vigilance to possible threats and automatic aggressive responses to avoid destruction (Funk, 2005). People who played a violent video game described the main character as behaving more aggressively, thinking more aggressive thoughts, and feeling angrier than did people who played a nonviolent video game. These results are consistent with the General Aggression Model (Bushman & Anderson, 2002). Several studies, both correlational and experimental, have demonstrated that playing violent video games can have a wide variety of negative effects on players (Anderson & Bushman, 2001 as cited in Carnagey & Anderson, 2004). Recent meta-analyses (Anderson & Bushman, 2001, as cited in Carnagey & Anderson, 2004) demonstrated that exposure to violent video games increases aggressive behavior, cognition, affect, and physiological arousal, and decreases helping behavior. Gentile et al. as cited in Carnagey & Anderson, 2004, found that young adolescents who played more violent video games reported more frequent aggressive behaviors, such as arguing with teachers and getting involved in physical fights. Experimental studies have revealed the same results: participants exposed to violent video games behave more aggressively than participants not exposed to violent video games (Silvern & Williamson, 1987 as cited in Carnagey & Anderson, 2004). In a correlational study, young adolescents who played more violent games also had higher hostile attribution biases (Lynch, Gentile, Olson, & Van Brederode, 2001 as cited in Carnagey & Anderson, 2004). In addition, studies measuring cognitive responses to playing violent video games have shown that aggressive thoughts are increased compared to playing nonviolent video games (Anderson & Dill, 2000 as cited in Carnagey & Anderson, 2004). Prosocial behavior has been shown to decrease with exposure to violent video games. Even though violent video game exposure has been shown to increase certain physiological measures, it has also been shown to cause physiological desensitization to real life violence (Carnagey & Anderson, 2004).
The impact of television on children is best understood within the context of normal child development. Neonates are born with an instinctive capacity and desire to imitate adult human behavior. Infants can, and do, imitate an array of adult facial expressions and this has been demonstrated in neonates as young as a few hours old, that is before they are even old enough to know cognitively that they themselves have facial features that correspond with those they are observing (Meltzoff & Moore, 1983; Meltzoff & Moore, 1989 as cited in Centerwall, 1992). Neuroscientists have discovered mirror neurons that provide a neural basis for observational learning. Mirror neurons help give rise to children's empathy and to their ability to infer another's mental state (Myers, 2008). Mirror neurons develop in response to stimulus from the environment. This is based on a type of neurophysiological mechanism that plays a role in both actions of understanding and imitation (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004).
Research suggests that some of the vulnerability of the adolescent period is related to immature neuronal systems. The prefrontal cortex is one of the last areas of the brain to mature, and there is evidence that in teenagers the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed there by the cognitive functions in teenagers are not fully developed like adults (Spear, 2000 as cited in Funk, 2005). A handful of imaging studies of video game-related events suggest that there may be deactivation of the prefrontal cortex during game-playing which logically could affect the development of complex cognitive behaviors as well as the expression of appropriate social behavior (Matsuda & Hiraki, 2005; Suzuki, Hirasawa & Tanaka, 2003 as cited in Funk, 2005).
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