Report Shows 'Unequivocal Evidence' That Media Violence Has Significant Negative Impact On Children

Science Daily ^ | 3-26-2004 | APS

[blam]

American Psychological Society
Date: 2004-03-26

Report Shows 'Unequivocal Evidence' That Media Violence Has Significant Negative Impact On Children

Research report provides 'A scientific assessment of research on the influence of violent television and films, video games, and music "reveals unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior" in children and youth, according to a report published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the American Psychological Society.

The report reviews the large body of research that has investigated the ways in which violent media influence behavior. Across all media genres, the authors found that the research consistently shows that even short-term exposure "increases the likelihood of physically and verbally aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, and aggressive emotions."

The authors of the report, "The Influence of Media Violence on Youth," are Craig A. Anderson, Iowa State University; Leonard Berkowitz, University of Wisconsin; Edward Donnerstein, University of Arizona; L. Rowell Huesmann, University of Michigan; James D. Johnson, University of North Carolina-Wilmington; Daniel Linz, University of California, Santa Barbara; Neil M. Malamuth, University of California, Los Angeles; and Ellen Wartella, University of Texas at Austin.

In the short-term, media violence can increase aggression by priming aggressive thoughts and decision processes, increasing physiological arousal, and triggering a tendency to imitate observed behaviors. In the long-term, repeated exposure can produce lasting increases in aggressive thought patterns and aggression-supporting beliefs about social behavior, and can reduce individuals' normal negative emotional responses to violence.

The pervasive nature of violent media in society makes it difficult to minimize children's exposure. Even with parental supervision, interpretation, and control of children's media use, the available research suggests "no one is wholly immune to the effects of media violence."

"Meeting the larger societal challenge of providing children and youth with a much healthier media diet may prove more difficult and costly," the authors wrote, "especially if the scientific, news, public policy, and entertainment communities fail to educate the general public about the real risks of media-violence exposure to children and youth."

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This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Psychological Society.

[Guillermo]

This is absurd...

(But Joe Camel makes kids smoke)

[Ukiapah Heep]

The only acceptable media violence is beating the snot out of liberal reporters.

[TopQuark]

The pervasive nature of violent media in society makes it difficult to minimize children's exposure. Even with parental supervision, interpretation, and control of children's media use, the available research suggests "no one is wholly immune to the effects of media violence."

More quasi-scientific drivel from an increasingly overspecialized academe.

Why is it bad to be not "wholly immune to the effects of media violence?" Violence has been with us since the times immemorial. Bible is full of violence. LNorse legends are full of violence. Grim's stories, too.

I do believe that currently we have negative effects of violence in our culture, but this is only because violence is now disconnected from moral. We used vilence to sepearate from Britain. We used violence to kill Hitler. We are currently using violence agains evil in Iraq. Nobody has ever become sick from those measures. Why? Because most people related those acts of violence to the MORAL causes for that violence.

Which is why the resercher's method is faulty: they cannot assess the effects without looking at the connection between vioence and moral antecedents. This queston is therefore outside of psychology per se and cannot be answered from within. Especially by these authors, who probably never put their foot in a church or a synagogue.

[Ken H]

The authors of the report, "The Influence of Media Violence on Youth," are Craig A. Anderson, Iowa State University; Leonard Berkowitz, University of Wisconsin; Edward Donnerstein, University of Arizona; L. Rowell Huesmann, University of Michigan; James D. Johnson, University of North Carolina-Wilmington; Daniel Linz, University of California, Santa Barbara; Neil M. Malamuth, University of California, Los Angeles; and Ellen Wartella, University of Texas at Austin.

I have not googled it yet, but I'd bet that a certain foundation beginning with the letter R helped fund this study.

[GeronL]

absurd, yes.

But I don't feel bad about blaming the media for anything =o)

[longtermmemmory]

This is recycled cr*p from the 1960's.

Some professor must have a publish or perrish issue.