Media Effects: Violent Media and Violent Crime

Question 1

Example of violent media and violent crime in 19c-early 20c?

Answer 1

Dime novels/penny dreadfuls

- Claims that they would lead to immorality and crime in their readers.

Question 2

Examples of violent media and violent crime in 1950s?

Answer 2

Comic books
- The Seduction of the innocent (1954), posited link between juvenile crime and violent comics.
(Films and rock & roll in this time)

Question 3

Examples of violent media and violent crime in 1980s?

Answer 3

Dungeons and Dragons.
Backmasking.
- Both posited as cause of murder & suicide in young people.

Question 4

Examples of violent media and violent crime in 1990s onwards?

Answer 4

Violent computer games & films.

• Mortal Kombat (1992)
• Doom (1993)
• Reservoir Dogs (1992)
• Childs Play 3 (1991)

Question 5

What are the 7 broad arguments for a link between violent media and aggression?

Answer 5

• General Aggression Model
• Mean World Syndrome
• Catalyst Model
• Arousal
• Desensitization
• Priming
• Catharsis

Question 6

What is the General Aggression Model?

Answer 6

Bushman & Anderson (2012)
- Based on SLT
- Consuming violent media leads to the learning of violent “scripts”
- When presented with hostile real world incidents, those with violent scripts will respond violently.
(Little supporting research!)

Question 7

What is Mean World Syndrome?

Answer 7

Gerbner (1960s+)
- The need to focus on long term effects of violent media usage, rather than specific content.
- “cultivation” of view of how the world works, typically as a mean and dangerous world.
(found support in subsequent studies)

Question 8

What is the Priming idea?

Answer 8

Berkowitz (1984)
- Suggests media contains aggressive cues
- When these are combined with anger/frustration in viewer, an aggressive response may be triggered.
(violent media thus primes thoughts related to aggressive behaviour)

Question 9

What is the Catalyst Model?

Answer 9

Ferguson et al (2008)

• Aggression is innate
• Circumstances in the environment acts as catalysts for existing aggressive temperament of the person.
• Violent media does not “cause” violence, but acts as a catalyst for those who are already aggressive.

Question 10

What is the Arousal explanation?

Answer 10

Bryant & Zillmann, (1979)

- Violent media causes an emotional response in the viewer.

Question 11

What is the Excitation Transfer Theory?

Answer 11

If an individual experiences physiological arousal and is in a situation that produces anger before the arousal can dissipate, the prior arousal can be misattributed to the source of the anger - increasing the likelihood of aggression.

Question 12

What is the Desensitization explanation?

Answer 12

suggests consumption of violent media may lead to desensitization
- Several studies have shown that the more time individuals spent watching violent media, the less emotionally responsive they became to violent stimuli and less sympathy they showed for victims of real world violence.

Question 13

What is the Catharsis idea?

Answer 13

Lorenz, 1963 and others.

• aggression as a natural human drive
• suggests violent media provides a safe environment for its release. (Shoot people on screen not in real life)
• Little empirical support.

Question 14

Critique from Savage and Yancy (2008) about link between violent media and violence?

Answer 14

(most scholars disagree that there is a link)
- “it is plain to us that the relationship between exposure to violent media and serious violence has yet to be established”

Question 15

Critique from Markey, French and Markey (2015) about link between violent media and violence?

Answer 15

As violent content in films 1962-2012 increased, crime rates declined in USA.