|
Abstract
|
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
This study by Stipp and Milavsky provided an extensive literature review of the effects of television programming on the aggressive behavior of children and adolescents. It focused primarily on the effects of actual televised entertainment programs rather than on the effects of laboratory studies on media violence.
METHODOLOGY:
Within the literature review of the research on the connections between aggressive behavior in young people and watching television, five important, primarily methodological issues were detailed. First, definitions and counts of television violence have varied and have been difficult to measure. Definitions of violent television acts have ranged from brutal murders to slapstick comedy. Second, the perceptions of violent television content by its viewers was also highlighted as an important issue when defining television violence. It was proposed that the viewers' perceptions of the violence may play an important role in the behavioral responses of the viewers. Third, the limitations of most studies, which involve the use of laboratory settings for measuring viewers' violent tendencies, were discussed. These studies rarely involved actual television programs and rarely measured the effects of exposure in real-life situations. Fourth, within the research which supports a link between violent behavior and viewing violent actions, there was a large variation in the explanations of these effects (i.e. imitation, learning theory; increased arousal and excitement; desensitization; justification; identification). Fifth, this study warned of drawing causal conclusions from the correlation of television violence and aggressiveness.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
This study, by providing the details of much other research, questioned the finding by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMT) in 1982 that there existed a strong connection between television violence and aggressive behavior. This study focused on the findings of three types of studies: field research which involves the observation of television's effects in a natural setting; time-series data; and the findings of longitudinal studies currently being conducted. The majority of these studies involved the effects on children, rather than adolescents and adults. Field experiments attempted to combine elements of a controlled experimental design with survey designs which focus on behaviors in a natural setting. The results of these studies were inconsistent; and methodological questions often developed. By comparing crime statistics to specific television events, time- series data analyses focused on television's effects on criminal behavior. These studies, which have also been methodologically scrutinized and questioned, concluded that there appeared to be an increase in violent crimes when television first was introduced in the late 1940s and during televised prizefights in the 1970s. Longitudinal panel studies were developed to provide a more natural, long-term glimpse at violent television's effects on aggressive behavior. It was argued that many of the methodological problems of these studies, such as lack of random assignment or outside, unmeasured variables causing spuriousness, could be controlled with careful analysis. Much of the large- scale, longitudinal research revealed little relationship between television violence and aggressive behavior. Also, these studies found very little evidence that violent television increases the likelihood of aggression in "susceptible" children (i.e. those from violent or disadvantaged families). Reviews of recent research have precariously concluded that there is some circumstantial evidence that television has some influence on aggressive behavior. This study, in contrast, concluded that there appears to be little, if any, relationship between violent television and aggressive behaviors.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors warned of the limits of all research methods measuring violent television's effects on aggressive behaviors. However, they also stressed the need for more research which utilizes longitudinal studies in natural settings and which addresses the rapidly changing new media technologies such as: cable, pay-per-view, and videocassettes. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Literature Review
KW - Media Violence Effects
KW - Television Violence
KW - Television Viewing
KW - Aggression Causes
KW - Child Aggression
KW - Juvenile Aggression
KW - Exposure to Violence
Language: en |