Role of the media in modelling anti-social behaviour
70 – 80% of programmes contain acts of aggression. Adults watch approximately 38 hours of TV a week and children around 25 hours (Rideout 1999). This suggests there is a high level of exposure to anti-social behaviour.
The media could act as a way of showing people what is and isn’t acceptable. By watching acts of aggression people become desensitised, this means behaviour which previously caused shock and arousal is treated as the norm, and individuals become less disturbed by watching this.
The characters in shows act as role models which people may imitate if they identify with them. Shows rarely focus on the consequences of anti-social behaviour with criminal acts going unpunished and the wider impact such as death and funeral scenes not being shown.
Video games also encourage anti-social behaviour through positive reinforcement – points are awarded when someone is killed, sometimes more points if it is more brutal
Supporting evidence:
Huesmann and Eron found that children who watched more TV at the age of 8 were more likely to be aggressive in adolescence and have a higher arrest rate in adulthood. This was a longitudinal study so personality and temperament are controlled. However it was a correlation, we cannot say that TV causes aggression, can only suggest the two are linked.
Anderson and Dill found that pp’s who played a violent video game were more aggressive when they were given the opportunity to be angry and punish their opponent by administering a noxious blast of white noise compared to those who did not play the game. This is reliable as it follows a standardised procedure, and was a controlled lab experiment. However it lacks validity and only measured the effects within that time period.
Bandura found that children imitated an adult role model hitting a Bobo doll. In particular, boys were more physically aggressive than girls who showed more verbal aggression. Both boys and girls were likely to imitate role models of the same sex as them, however girls were also likely to imitate the male role. This was a lab experiment so carefully controlled and replicable. However lacks validity as it may have been measuring children’s obedience – they may have hit the doll as they felt they were meant to.
Opposing evidence:
While there are acts of aggression, there are also many acts of pro-social behaviour which is also likely to be imitated. This suggests the role of the media is not all bad
Watching violence in the media may make people fear crime rather than want to commit a crime
Very few cases have been directly linked to the media. Mostly anecdotal.
It may be individuals who are anti-social that seek out antisocial material rather than the other way around – the link is a correlation
Application:
Can explain cases such as Columbine High School Massacare In 1999 two young gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 13 students and a teacher, and injured 21 before killing themselves - both Harris and Klebold played violent "murder-simulation" video games, and were fans of the film"Natural Born Killers" about a pair of mass murderers. It was suggested they created their own version of the game ‘Doom’ and acted this out in the school.
Age restrictions are in place to ensure children are not exposed to violent behaviour. Films and video games have a rating certificate while TV shows have the 9pm watershed.
70 – 80% of programmes contain acts of aggression. Adults watch approximately 38 hours of TV a week and children around 25 hours (Rideout 1999). This suggests there is a high level of exposure to anti-social behaviour.
The media could act as a way of showing people what is and isn’t acceptable. By watching acts of aggression people become desensitised, this means behaviour which previously caused shock and arousal is treated as the norm, and individuals become less disturbed by watching this.
The characters in shows act as role models which people may imitate if they identify with them. Shows rarely focus on the consequences of anti-social behaviour with criminal acts going unpunished and the wider impact such as death and funeral scenes not being shown.
Video games also encourage anti-social behaviour through positive reinforcement – points are awarded when someone is killed, sometimes more points if it is more brutal
Supporting evidence:
Huesmann and Eron found that children who watched more TV at the age of 8 were more likely to be aggressive in adolescence and have a higher arrest rate in adulthood. This was a longitudinal study so personality and temperament are controlled. However it was a correlation, we cannot say that TV causes aggression, can only suggest the two are linked.
Anderson and Dill found that pp’s who played a violent video game were more aggressive when they were given the opportunity to be angry and punish their opponent by administering a noxious blast of white noise compared to those who did not play the game. This is reliable as it follows a standardised procedure, and was a controlled lab experiment. However it lacks validity and only measured the effects within that time period.
Bandura found that children imitated an adult role model hitting a Bobo doll. In particular, boys were more physically aggressive than girls who showed more verbal aggression. Both boys and girls were likely to imitate role models of the same sex as them, however girls were also likely to imitate the male role. This was a lab experiment so carefully controlled and replicable. However lacks validity as it may have been measuring children’s obedience – they may have hit the doll as they felt they were meant to.
Opposing evidence:
While there are acts of aggression, there are also many acts of pro-social behaviour which is also likely to be imitated. This suggests the role of the media is not all bad
Watching violence in the media may make people fear crime rather than want to commit a crime
Very few cases have been directly linked to the media. Mostly anecdotal.
It may be individuals who are anti-social that seek out antisocial material rather than the other way around – the link is a correlation
Application:
Can explain cases such as Columbine High School Massacare In 1999 two young gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 13 students and a teacher, and injured 21 before killing themselves - both Harris and Klebold played violent "murder-simulation" video games, and were fans of the film"Natural Born Killers" about a pair of mass murderers. It was suggested they created their own version of the game ‘Doom’ and acted this out in the school.
Age restrictions are in place to ensure children are not exposed to violent behaviour. Films and video games have a rating certificate while TV shows have the 9pm watershed.