Effects Of Media Violence

Question 1

arguments that media does cause violence

Answer 1

• copycatting or imitation - Bandura study
• Newson : desensitisation - audiences become comfortably numb to violence, do not see it as problematic = may solve problems through ‘drip drip’ effect

Question 2

arguments that media violence does not cause violence

Answer 2

• catharsis: allows people to live out any violence tendencies online and not in the real world
• sensitisation: it can make people more aware of the impacts of violence = less tolerant of it in real life
• the exaggeration of the fear of violence : people who watch more TV have an exaggerated fear of violence and have a stronger belief that we live in a violent society

Question 3

What did the bandura study conclude?

Answer 3

• exposure to violence = violence among those who see it

Question 4

what are some methodological problems with researching media violence?

Answer 4

• experiments trying to prove a link cannot avoid the Hawthorne effect
• it is almost impossible to find a group who haven’t been exposed to media violence