Citation

Chadee D, Surette R. Psychol. Pop. Media Cult. 2019; 8(4): 464-472.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Educational Publishing Foundation of the American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/ppm0000190

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study explores the prerequisites to weapon desire, an underresearched area. Collectively, the literature on media influence, cultivation hypothesis, social learning, and imitation lend credibility to the hypothesis that exposure to crime-related media content will result in increased desire for weapon ownership. The specific research question examined in this study is as follows: What is the relationship of wanting a weapon (either a gun or a knife) following exposure to media content? Derived from the extant literature, a plausible source of weapon desire is explored based on face-to-face interviews (603 respondents) in an adult population. Social media usage, direct and indirect victimization, and being under 40 years of age were the direct predictors of weapon desirability. Being under 40, gender (being male), crime concerns, social media, and knowledge of other crime victims (indirect victimization) had higher total effects. The relationship between legacy media and weapon desirability, though hypothetically consistent with the cultivation hypothesis, was not observed. Not all media usage in our study supported the research position that legacy media consumption affects perceptions about weapons and their desirability.

RESULTS are discussed in the context of the imitation and cultivation hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en

Keywords

Mass Media; media; violence; social media; Victimization; social learning; Desire; Test Construction; weapon desire; Weapons