Media Violence

Processes Underlying the Antisocial Effects of Media Violence

There are several means by which violent activities on TV, in the movies, in video games, and in music promote aggressiveness in viewers. First, children often imitate the behaviors they see in the media, and violent behaviors are no exception. Sometimes this imitation is harmless, but often children imitate actions that lead to severe injury. For example, a survey documented the “epidemic” of playground injuries that followed the introduction of World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) in Israel as children imitated the wrestlers' moves on school playgrounds (Lemish, 1997).

A second way in which media violence promotes aggressiveness is through the process of desensitization. The normal reaction to violence, hostility, and aggressiveness is one of emotional arousal and affective disturbance. However, with repeated viewing of violence in an entertainment context, the negative emotional responses diminish, and viewers become less bothered, not only by violence in the media, but by real-life violence as well. Desensitized individuals become less sympathetic to the victims of violence and less likely to try to prevent violence from occurring.

Viewing violence also results in an increase in hostile feelings. Research shows that people leave a violent movie with higher levels of hostility than when they arrived and feel more hostile after hearing songs with violent lyrics (Anderson, Carnagey, & Eubanks, 2003). Moreover, after viewing violence or playing a violent video game, people are more likely to interpret a neutral comment or action as an insult or an attack. This effect has been termed the hostile attribution bias. In other words, exposure to media violence colors an individual's worldview in ways that may lead to a decreased ability to interact harmoniously with others.

Content analyses show that violence is a prominent component of the media that young people consume. Moreover, the way violence is typically presented in media entertainment makes it especially likely to produce imitation or the adoption of pro-violence attitudes. For example, violence on television typically minimizes the risks of violence; most violent scenes show no criticism, penalty, or remorse for committing violence; and a substantial proportion of violent villains are never punished in violent shows (Center for Communication and Social Policy, 1998).

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