Good morning my name is Osian and the topic for my presentation is how various forms of media promote violence and aggression.

Slide 2

Recent research across various forms of media, sheds light on strong evidence that violence depicted in the various forms of media has a positive correlation to acts of aggression, these effects can be both immediate and be long term.

So, the aim of this presentation is to discuss violence across various forms of media and provide theories and evidence analysing if there is a link to acts of aggression (Anderson, 2003).

Firstly, I am going to look at the historical findings regarding media violence.

Secondly, I will move on to the issue of the significant risk that media poses to young people's mental health.

Then I will move onto key theories supporting the harmful effects of violence in the media.

Lastly, I will look at what can be done to prevent the implications of media violence.

Slide 3

Pecola and Wartella conducted a study over fifty years. Data collected from 1,945 studies discovered televised violence increases aggression in viewers it was not discovered how these negative effects occur (Murray, 2007).

An example of violent media is a comic strip called Betty Boop ending due to the character being forced into wearing more clothes (Ferguson, 2009).

Slide 4

My next point is the risk violent media poses to youth. According to an article published by the Council of Communications (2009) there is extensive research that nightmares, self-harm or the fear or being harmed are all consequences of violence in the media. Earlier research by the American Psychological Association (2013) on violence in children's television, also supported this view causing children to be desensitized to violence and their chance of behaving aggressively increasing acts of aggression.

Slide 5

There is also evidence of a downward spiral model (Slater et al., 2003) when relationships, modelled over time, should be mutually reinforcing. The general aggression model (Dewall et al., 2011). This theory explains aggressive behaviour by the concept individuals gaining scripts in situations. These scripts constructed from the knowledge on how to act under social conditions interact with personality traits and the environment contribute to present behaviour, for example, how to act and behave in a public place, the social norms of society in general.

Slide 6

Thoman (n.d.) explains there are several ways to prevent harmful effects of media violence:

• Reduce exposure to media violence by watching television less and less randomly.

• Change the impact of violent images that are seen.

• Locate and explore alternatives to media that solve conflicts with violence.

• Talk with other parents.

• Get involved in the national debate over media violence.

• Limit screen time to 1 to 2 hours per day, using the V-chip, and avoiding violent video games.

Prevent exposure to violence by watching less and less randomly (Council of Communication and Media, 2009).

Slide 7

A safer media environment could be provided by supporting media literacy and more thoughtful and productive uses (Council of Communication and Media, 2009).

Slide 8

Presence of violence in the media is almost as present as the media itself and is found in tv, video and YouTube (American Psychological Association, 2013).

Slide 9

Studies have shown that exposure to media violence is connected to acts of aggression (Busching et al., 2016) however, analysis on psychology students did not show a link between violence and aggression. There was no evidence of homophily (Delhove and Greitemeyer, 2021).

There is a link between violence in the media and an increased chance of behaving in an aggressive way.

Slide 10

The creator of Kick Ass 2 did not think media violence lead to violence in the real world as millions of Americans see violence and do not become serial killers (Pozios, Kambam & Bender, 2013).

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is strong evidence that media violence exposure will increase the chance of aggressive behaviour. However, some studies have shown a lower correlation between media violence and aggressive tendencies. There are ways to prevent media violence and thus reduce the risk of behaviour change.

References

American Psychological Association. (2013). Violence in the Media: Psychologists study Potential harmful effects. https://www.apa.org/topics/video-games/violence-harmful-effects

Anderson, C. A. (2003). The influence of media violence on youth. Psychological

Science in the Public Interest, 4(3).

Busching, R., Allen, J. J., & Anderson, C. A. (2016). Oxford Research Encyclopaedia,

Communication. Oxford University Press.

Council of Communications and media. (2009). Media Violence. Paediatrics, 124(5),

1495–1503.

Delhove, M., & Greitemeyer, T. (2021). Violent Media Use and Aggression: Two longitudinal network studies. The Journal of Social Psychology, 161(6), 697–713.

Dewall, C., Anderson, C. & Bushman, B. (2011). The general aggression model: Theoretical extensions to violence. Psychology, Environmental Science, Sociology, Psychology of Violence. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-general-aggression-model%3A-Theoretical-to-Dewall-Anderson/452de592fe3a02d0e73edc4ddbf6e55d5feebf24

Ferguson, C. (2009). Media Violence Effects and Violent Crime: Good Science or Moral Panic? In C. Ferguson (Eds.), Violent Crime (pp. 37-56). Sage.

Huesmann, L. R., & Taylor, L. D. (2006). The role of media violence in violent behaviour. Annual Review of Public Health, 27.

Murray. J.P. (2007). Historically, how have researchers studied the effects of media violence on youth? In S.R. Mazzarella (Eds.), 20 Questions about youth and the media (pp.135-151). Peter Lang Publishing.

Pozios, V. K., Kambam, P. R., & Bender, H. E. (2013, August 23). Does media violence lead to the real thing. The New York Times.

Slater, M.D., Henry, K., Swaim, R. & Anderson, L.L. (2003). Violent Media Content and Aggressiveness in Adolescents A Downward Spiral Model. Communication Research, 30(6), 713-736. DOI:10.1177/0093650203258281