3/20: Observational learning -Media Violence

• —9 out of 10 teens watch TV daily
• —Americans who live to be 75 will have spent 9 years watching TV
• —The number of minorities on TV is disproportional
• —Minorities are depicted as illegal immigrants, drugees, gangbangers, maids, garbage men
• —U.S. TVs present 3 violent acts per hour during prime time, and 18 per hour during children’s Saturday morning programming
• US has highest murder rate among developed countries globally 
• More than 15,000 murders every year
• More than 92,000 reported rapes
• More than 7 million reported violent acts overall
• Every 5 minutes a child is arrested for a violent crime
• More than 50% of 5th graders report being a victim of violence (70% of those have seen weapons used)
• Guns kill an American child every 3 hours
• 87% of crimes are nonviolent; on TV 13% of crimes are nonviolent
• Average of 7  characters are killed on TV each night
• If applied in reality, this murder rate would wipe out U.S. population in 50 days
• Men gave more shocks after viewing violent erotica
• Violent erotica and other aggression can lead to desensitization
• conditioned stimulus = sexualized violence
• Media Violence
• #1 pastime
• 60-70% programs contain violence
• 70-80% show no remorse or penalty
• post elementary school
• thousands murders seen
• Since 1970s, know Link: Violent Media and Aggression
• Two Kind of Effects
• Short Term- increase in: hostile behavior, feelings, and attitudes
• Long Term- repeated exposure leads to: chronic hostility, desensitization to real violence
• Lab Studies:
• participants exposed violence more likely
• shock confederates
• recognize aggressive words
• criticisms
• exposure is brief and controlled
• experimenter bias: aggression may be sanctioned or encouraged
• no external validity
• External Validity is NOT a problem positive correlation
• Conditions likely to evoke violence
• Realistic violence
• e.g. video game graphics look very real and credible
• Reward/punishment of aggressor
• points system = direct reward, positive ending
• Arousal of observer
• violence to character elicits reaction
• ID of observer with aggressor
• immersion as if you were the aggressor
• Moral justification for violence
• violence needed in order to ___
• Longitudinal study
• Eron and Huesman (1960 -1985 various years)
• aggressiveness in 3rd graders, then again 10 years later
• result: Preference for TV violence significant correlation with  more10 year later aggressiveness
• BUT: aggressiveness in 3rd grade did not correlate with more preference for TV violence 10 years later
• follow up results: 
• more frequent TV at age 8, more serious crimes at age 30
• significant relationship violent TV and agressive behavior 1-22 years (various countries same)
• Liebert and Baron, 1972
• 15 min exposure to nonviolent and violent tv
• violent media associated with increased levels of aggression
• Video Games
• 90% 2-17 years play
• Specific effects due nature of game
• Columbine attacks: "Doom"
• Graphically violent games
• Increase Aggressive thoughts and behavior
• Related to Aggressive Behavior and Delinquency
• Violence is Directly Rewarded
• Increases Likelihood of Aggression
• Association between Media Violence and Aggression is Second Only to Smoking and Lung Cancer
• Primes Aggression; Catharsis Does NOT Work!
• Media Industry Responses
• Mirror to society
• False TV far more violent
• Giving Public what they want
• Maybe, sociteal violence hazardous by product; popular shows can be nonviolent
• Violence Sells
• False. Decreases memory for commercial messages