Media

Learning objectives:

• To understand the arguments surrounding violence in the media
• To consider the various theories about the effects of media violence
• To analysis whether there are any links between violence on film and violence in reality

Cathartic Effects

• Media violence can be positive
• people release violent inclinations by seeing them portrayed

Socially Positive Action

• Media portrayals of violence can increase awareness of social problems

Aggressive Stimulation Theory - Albert Bandura

• Media-depicted violence has potential to cue real life violence
• Criticezed for overstating cause-and-effect connections
• Causality is overstated
• Conclusions are simplistic
• much of evidence is anecdotal
• other factors could be involved
• aggressive people may gravitate to violence

 Catalytic Theory

• media trigger violence only when certain non-media factors are alsopresent
• violence rewarded
• media exposure is heavy
• violent person meets a certain profile
• violence in realistic and exciting
• violence rights a wrong
• violence includes characters and situations similar to viewers own experience

Bottom Line.

• violence is factor complex to be explained by a single factor
• effects of media violence vary from person to person

Desensitizing theory

• people beomcing hardened by media violence
• society's tolerance for antisocial behavior is increasing