Violence on TV & Increased Violent Behavior in Children - Research Paper Example

Abstract Television has been the biggest invention revolutionizing entertainment within the house and affecting the family life globally. Children as well as adults spend at least 1 to 4 hours of their day watching TV. On the other hand psychologists have always asserted that impressionable minds of children very easily pick up inputs from theory environment. TV provides an environment to these children and therefore is expected to have a significant impact on their behavior. In the light of this information, the current paper aims to investigate the impact of violence on television on increased aggressive behavior of children on the basis of available literature. The theories and evidences supporting the hypothesis that violent TV viewing does have a positive correlation with enhanced aggressive behavior of children are presented. Introduction Concern for increasing incidences of violence among children and youth has been considered a public health problem with extensive data providing ground for the concern. Centre for disease control and prevention (CDC) report that in U.S. violence among children and youth is the second leading cause of death in this segment of population, including individuals in the age group of 10 to 24. Besides murders and fatal injuries, a 2009 nationwide survey reported that 32% of the high school students were involved in a physical fight during the year preceding the survey. 6% of these students carried a gun, knife or a club to school during the month preceding the survey. 20% reported bullying in 2009. In the year 2007; 656,000 injuries as a consequence of physical assault required treatment in emergency rooms, all of these involving children and youth in the age group of 10 to 24. Besides these there is a rise in the incidences of damage to property and risk to public health in general (CDC, 2010). Extensive studies on the risk factors for childhood aggression and violent behavior have provided a list of predictors for violence including gender, family, parenting and discipline, community and other environmental factors (Manganello, 2009). One of the factors that emerged out of researches in the latter half of 21st century was that television is fast becoming a major contributor to aggressive behavior among children as a consequence of its violent content and popularity with children (Moeller, 2001). Children in the age groups of 8-10 years, 11-14 years and 15-18 years spend on an average 3:19 hours, 3:30 hours and 2:23 hours respectively watching television (Santrock, 2007). Thus television is likely to form an important environmental factor influencing their behavior. In this context the current paper makes an attempt to investigate the hypothesis that television contributes to increased violent behavior among children on the basis of available literature. Television Violence Prior to initiating an exploration of impact of television violence it is imperative to define what constitutes ‘television violence’. What are assessment criteria for the grades of television violence? Do we considers cartoon shows such as Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry too as violent television shows or do we confine the definition to included reality shows only? The National Television Violence Study (1996) defined television violence as "Any overt depiction of the use of physical force -- or the credible threat of such force -- intended to physically harm an animate being or group of beings." However, the issue is highly complex and arriving at a generalized definition suitable to all age groups, nationalities, cultural and ethnic settings is difficult to find. Hence a practical approach is to follow a case specific and subjective definition of violence on television. Early Reports of Impact of Television on Children The emerging impact of television on aggression in children emerged dramatically with case reports of a 15 year old youth, Ronald Zamora from Florida. Zamora along with an accomplice was accused of a murdering an 82 year old neighbour when she caught them red-handed while they were trying to rob her house in 1977. Zamora’s lawyer pleaded ‘insanity’ on his behalf under the pretext that he had been over exposed to crime series on television and was living the “television fantasy world”. Though Zamora was convicted of murder; the case started a debate on the impact of television on aggression in children and several researches were conducted by psychologists and social scientists to develop an understanding of the issue (Moeller, 2001). Some of the early studies reported a positive association between violence on television and increased aggression in children. One of the pioneer study conducted by Belson (1978) involving 1565 boys in the age group of 12 to 17 years; found an association between long term exposure to violence on television and heightened aggression. Huesmann & Eron (1986) too during a longitudinal study found a positive correlation between the extents of exposure to violence on television at the age of 8 and the seriousness of the crimes executed later in life. However these studies being correlation only indicated a linkage between violence on television and aggression among children. Evidence based study linking violence on TV with increase violent activities of children was still lacking. The two major studies conducted in the 1990s contributing significantly to an understanding of the issue are The Paik and Comstock study (1994) and the Hogben’s study (1998). The former derived results from an analysis of 101 studies conducted in the period spanning 1987 to 1990. High association of behaviors such as aggression against toys and self reports of criminal behaviour with TV viewing was found. This association was greater than general rates in males, and in preschool children and college students compared to other age groups. Further impact was more for cartoon shows, and for shows involving erotica along with violence compared to violence alone. In the Hogben’s study, of the 56 studies included, 40 involved children as participants. This study too showed a higher impact of violence on TV on children compared to adults; though overall impact was reported to be moderate. Fictional shows with more implausible settings such as cartoons and science fiction had more impact than reality or plausible shows (Moeller, 2001). Current Researches Investigating Impact of Television on Children Manganello & Taylor (2009) conducted a prospective cohort study to investigate the association of exposure to TV with aggressive behavior among three year old children. The study used data compiled over three year period from 20 cities. The study reported that three year old kids, who were directly or indirectly exposed to an average of three hours of TV per day, presented an elevated risk of aggression. The study did not take in to consideration the type of program being viewed, but irrespective of the nature of show, commercials and G-rated movies do present violence on TV. Another recent study conducted by Gentile and associates (2011) investigated impact of violent media including TV on children’s aggression levels and the nature of aggressive behavior i.e. verbal, relational or physical. The study also made an attempt to understand the processes that mediate this association. The speculations presented in the previous study were corroborated in current study involving third and fourth graders. The study reported that though duration of TV viewing adversely affected academic performance, but it had no bearing on aggression levels. Aggression levels were directly dependent of level of exposure to violent content on TV. Further children who developed hostile attributes by short term violence exposure were more often rejected by peers and developed relational hostility within family as well. This hostility thus mediated development of aggressive behaviors. Association between Television Violence and Aggression in Children Early as well as current researches report a fairly consistent impact ranging from small to medium of violence on television on children level of aggression. Psychological as well as biological theories have been proposed to provide explanation for these associations. Psychological Bases Psychological processes controlling the impact of violence on TV on the aggressive behavior of children can be divided in to two categories: immediate and short term processes with a transient impact; and processes which have long term effect. The long term effects result as a consequence of observational learning among children. A child witnessing violent scenes on TV learns the script, keenly observes aggressive sentiments, and emulates the cognitions supporting the aggressive behaviors. The observational learning process requires repeated exposure to the source of information, and hence long term exposure to violence results in this category of psychological reactions (Bushman & Huesmann, 2006). Psychological processes involved in the short term impacts can be grouped in to three categories. Already existing aggressive behaviors, negative emotions and cognitions acts as primers on which the child builds up his reactions as a consequence of recently viewed violent TV show. The child may also simply copy and act a script he’s watching on TV. The third group of effect may result as a consequence of emotions aroused due to watching if violent scenes on TV. Either of these processes may be active during a situation or the three may be effective simultaneously. Processes within human brain are known to act in association rather than exclusively. Reactions result as a consequence of partial activation, partial priming and in part due to stimuli received. The stimuli though apparently inconsequential effect processes far removed from their site of perceived action and influence behavior. An idea remotely related to a particular reaction may prime behavior, though the subject may have no memory of any relation between the two. A behavior once observed in relation to a particular situation is activated in milliseconds without the individual (Bushman & Huesmann, 2006). Biological bases Biologists and neuroscientists explain the human and primate young one’s tendency to emulate others on the basis of presence of “mirror neurons”. These neurons enable the child to observe violence in the media and try to copy the same in their routine activities resulting in increased aggression. They try to find similarity between characters in the TV and the situations presented. The more similarity they are able to find, the higher the probability of imitation. However the imitation mechanism defies the likeness principle in cases of younger and more impressionable minds; who try to imitate even the animated characters (Bushman & Huesmann, 2006). Conclusion Correlation between exposure to violence on television and increase in aggressive behavior has been repeatedly proved through experimental as well as correlational studies. Psychologists and biologists have also provided theoretical bases for this linkage. Both short term and long term impact of violent television on aggression in children of all ages is well established. But despite extensive studies, the exact nature of association is still completely understood. Other variables and dependent, risk factors as well as outcomes have not been categorically investigated. Yet in the light of the current position it is important that parent, guardians, schools and other child care centers take care of the content being presented on television, especially in shows meant for children. The commercials too need to be closely monitored for their content. A child is yet to observe the real world and understand it. It would do him and the world an irreparable harm if the child enters the world carrying a negative perception of the same. References Read More