Memory processes play an important but often overlooked role in the media violence literature. Scholars who study media violence effects have tended to approach the issue of memory in one of two ways. First, several theoretical perspectives have relied on memory as a mechanism that can explain the effects of exposure to media violence. Second, some researchers have focused specifically on audiences’ memories for media violence as outcomes of exposure. Both perspectives are described in this entry, after a brief review of different types of memory processes and systems.

Types of Memory

There are numerous ways of conceptualizing human memory. Some scholars have categorized human memory based on time (i.e., short term versus long term) whereas others have viewed memory as consisting of multiple, independent systems. For ...

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