Media violence has a known relationship with the behavior of children and adults such that increased exposure can lead to increases in aggressive behaviors. But the relationship between media violence and behavior may be mediated by one’s attitudes.

Attitude and Attitude Formation

Attitude is defined as one’s propensity to respond more positively or negatively to a particular attitudinal object. Attitude is often conceptualized as the combination of three underlying mechanisms: cognition, affect, and behavioral intention. Cognition refers to one’s beliefs about an object, whereas affect is associated with feelings toward the object. Behavioral intention refers to individuals’ expressed plans to engage in a particular behavior. Individuals often strive to create coherence between attitudes and behavior in order to avoid internal strife caused by cognitive dissonance (i.e., the ...

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