MEDIA VIOLENCE

Does Media Violence Cause Aggression?



Does Media Violence Cause Aggression?

Introduction

One of the most hotly debated media effects topics has been whether the increasing availability of violent audiovisual stimuli is contributing to what appears to be an increasingly violent society or, at least, an increasing amount of violence among affluent youth who have not traditionally been expected to be “violent”. The discussion has intensified with each new horrific news story involving a disgruntled teenager who has gone on a “violent” rampage at his school. Often the debate has resulted in a process of mutual scapegoating by different interest groups, for example, gun advocates pointing to media violence, media producers targeting guns, or both groups blaming working mothers or poor parenting in general.

Obviously, the sensational and widely publicized incidents of school violence are not the best place to look for answers because any tragedies of that magnitude have multiple contributory causes. Media defenders are correct when they say that no program or movie can be singled out as the cause of a “violent” rampage. The real question for social scientists is not whether media violence is the cause of youth violence but rather whether exposure to media violence contributes to youth violence and other unhealthy outcomes. This paper discusses if media violence cause aggression or not.

Discussion

Decades of research have revealed that exposure to “violent” media can influence the development of aggressive behavior in children. Though some children's programs have an educational or prosocial theme (e.g., Blue's Clues and Sesame Street), others are saturated with violence. For example, as part of the National Television Study, Mussen (2003) found that 99% of children's superhero programs contained violence, and a “violent” act was portrayed every 4 minutes. Additionally, much of this violence is shown as justified and rewarded, sending the message that violence is acceptable when the cause permits. (Anderson 2001)

Viewing violence in the media can have both a short- and a long-term effect on children's aggression. In the short term, viewing violence can prime a child to behave aggressively in following situations. For example, Huesmann (2006) exposed boys to either a “violent” or a non”violent” movie before they played a game of hockey in the school gym. Boys who viewed the “violent” movie physically attacked (e.g., hit, pushed, and elbowed) other players significantly more than boys who viewed the non”violent” movie. Exposure to media violence in childhood can also have a substantial impact on the development of aggression in the long term. Johnson (2002) found that young children who viewed a heavy diet of violence on television were more likely to be aggressive during childhood, during adolescence, and in adulthood, even after controlling for initial aggressiveness. Indeed, children are particularly vulnerable to media effects as they are still developing their attitudes and behaviors concerning aggression. (Buss 2005)

Other research has found that playing “violent” video games can also influence the development of aggressive behavior, again in both the short and long term. Working with a sample of 7-11-year-olds, Buss (2005) found ...