Research Studies Relating to Media Influence on Pro and Anti Social Behaviour
There have been many studies of TV violence and aggression - partly
due because of the increasing amount of violence being shown on TV,
and partly because of the increasing importance of TV in our day to
day living.
Media influence on pro-social behaviour.
Hearold (1986) found that despite the relatively few studies that have
been carried out on the media's pro-social influence compared to its
antisocial influence, the influences observed have been larger and
constant for both girls and boys. This is seen as being largely due to
have an influence on viewers where antisocial messages are not.
Research has shown that children imitate many figures of pro-social
behaviour when exposed to models displaying these behaviors in the
media.
Research on pro-social influence has shown that television messages
that contain only a pro-social message are generally effective in
producing pro-social behaviour in viewers. However, research has often
used brief segments of specially produced programmes, and so may be
considered artificial and lack real life application. Research into
the influences of pro-social behaviour has shown that pro-social
messages that are presented alongside anti social messages need to be
presented in clear contrast and for the majority of the programme. If
this does not happen, children mat model antisocial behaviour as well.
Some research studies e.g. Friedrich Cofer et al 1979, have shown and
increase in anti social after children viewed programmes that
contained both types. Studies on pro-social influence show limited
support for the beneficial effects of conflict without resolution
messages. Children younger than eight may not benefit as older
children.
Media influence of antisocial behaviour.
There have been many different research studies investigating the
influence of media on anti social behaviour. There has also been a
large variety of different research methods used, including
correlation studies, lab experiments, natural experiemtns, and
longitudinal studies.
Correlation studies conducted by Robinson and Bachman (1972) suggest a
link between watching television violence and engaging in violent
... for children. Children are exposed to 20,000 advertisements a year. The average child watches 8,000 televised murders and 100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school. By the time children graduate from high school, those numbers more than doubles. Furthermore, television is shown to influence attitudes about race and gender. Pro-social and anti-social behaviors are influenced by television.
In a research analysis of Media and Violence, studies show that “Although the typical effect size for exposure to violent media is relatively small ... this ‘small effect’ translates into significant consequences for society as a whole” (“Media and Violence: An Analysis of Current Research”, 2015). This states violent behaviors can come from the smallest variables, or clips from videos, which is why it is important for parents to control what their kids see, read, and watch, and limit the amount of violence exposure.
Many psychologists have studied the effect of the media on an individual’s behavior and beliefs about the world. There have been over 1000 studies which confirm the link that violence portrayed through the media can influence the level of aggression in the behavioral patterns of children and adults (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001). The observed effects include, increased aggressiveness and anti-social behavior towards others, an increased fear of becoming a victim or target of aggressive behavior, becoming less sensitive to violence and victims of violent acts, and concurrently desiring to watch more violence on television and in real-life (A.A.P. 2001). According to John Murray of Kansas State University, there are three main avenues of effects: direct effects, desensitization, and the Mean World Syndrome (Murray, 1995, p. 10). The direct effects of observing violence on television include an increase in an individual’s level of aggressive behavior, and a tendency to develop favorable attitudes and values about using violence to solve conflicts and to get one’s way. As a result of exposure to violence in the media, the audience may become desensitized to violence, pain, and suffering both on television and in the world. The individual may also come to tolerate higher levels of aggression in society, in personal behavior, or in interpersonal interactions. The third effect is known as the Mean World Syndrome, which theorizes that as a result of the amount of violence seen on television and also the context and social perspective portrayed through the media, certain individuals develop a belief that the world is a bad and dangerous place, and begin to fear violence and victimization in real life (A.A.P. 2001).
Television is a vital source from which most Americans receive information. News and media delegates on television have abused theirs powers over society through the airing of appealing news shows that misinform the public. Through literary research and experimentation, it has been proven that people's perception of reality has been altered by the information they receive from such programs. Manipulation, misinterpretation, word arrangement, picture placement and timing are all factors and tricks that play a major role in the case. Research, experimentation, and actual media coverage has pinpointed actual methods used for deceptive advertising. Television influences society in many ways. People are easily swayed to accept a belief that they may not normally have unless expressed on television, since many people think that everything they hear on television is true. This, however, is not always the case. It has been observed that over the past twenty to thirty years, normal social behavior, even actual life roles of men and women and media, regulatory policies have all been altered (Browne 1998). Media has changed with time, along with quality and respectability. Many Americans receive and accept false information that is merely used as an attention grabber that better the show's ratings and popularity. Many magazines and Journal reviews have periodically discussed the "muckraking" that many tabloid shows rely on to draw in their viewers. This involves sensationalizing a story to make it more interesting, therefore increasing the interest of the audience. "Along the way, all sorts of scandalous substance and goofy tricks appear, but not much mystery in the logic," (Garnson 1997). People often know that these shows aim to deceive them, but still accept the information as truth. Many times, people have strong opinions on certain topics. Yet, when they are exposed to the other side of the argument, they may be likely to agree with the opposite view. As Leon Festinger said, "If I chose to do it (or say it), I must believe in it," (Myers 1997). This is an example of Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, which pertains to acting contrary to our beliefs. Television influences many people to change their original beliefs. It has the viewers think that the majority of other people hold the contrary idea. Once these views are presented, people have the option to hol...
The media is everywhere and takes up a great deal of people’s everyday lives. People depend on the media to provide them with information that would otherwise be hard to get. The people of society also use the media to communicate with friends, family, and people from all around the world. Also, the media serves as a means for entertainment. Businesses use the media as a way to advertise their products. The media affects society in many different ways; such as, businesses use the media to promote their products, the media effects communication, and the media affects body image and behavior of people in society.
Unquestionably the media being newspapers, internet, radio and television, influence society. They can affect, have affected and will continue to affect the progression of life in this nation and around the world, as electronic technology continues to be the chosen mode of communication for a whole generation, offering direct, often anonymous influential information.
This quote sums up my view on the media. It's a quote out of a
In recent years, psychology experts have done experiments that have tested the aggression that comes from violent television. Kids who view violent acts on TV are more likely to show aggressive behavior, and to fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to
Media violence is a threat to public health and mass media such as television news violence and video games increase agression and violence in young viewers. The young viewers exposed to media violence are affected for both the short term and long term. Experiments “have demonstrated that exposing people, especially children and youth, to violent behavior on film and TV increases the likelihood that they will behave aggressively immediately afterwards” ( Huesman, Taylor 396 ) . Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies come up with the theory that the childrens who watch TV violence in their natural environnement over a long period of time grew up with a violent behavior. Fictional television is not the only violence that can be exposed on screen. The violence on the news seen by the viewers can influence them to commit actual violence. Regarding video games, studies have been made that violent video games causes the childrens of becoming aggressive. We know for sure that video games have an impact on aggressive behavior according to num...
In our democratic society, mass media is the driving force of public opinion. Media sources such as Internet, newspaper, news-broadcasts, etc, play significant roles in shaping a person’s understanding and perception about the events occurred in our daily lives. As long as the newspapers, internet, network television, etc, continued to be easily accessible to the public, the media will continue to have an influence in shaping its opinions. Factors such as agenda-setting, framing and priming help shape the public opinions. Agenda-setting is when the media focuses their attention on selected issues on which the public will form opinion on, whereas framing allows the media to select certain aspects about the problem and then make them appear more salient. Similarly, priming works by repeatedly exposing certain issues to public. As the issues get more exposure, the individual will be more likely to recall or retain the information in their minds. This paper will discuss these three factors played out systemically by media and how our opinions are constantly being influence and shape by them.
Large and diversified samples are used to carry out various researches and the impact varies from minimal to extreme. Short term exposure to it increases the possibility of aggressive behavior in an individual. Aggressive scripts are run by the media and it makes people more violent and slowly reducing their response to violence and making them more emotionless. Preventative measure can be taken from parents and reduction of access towards media violence reduces its impact but it cannot be eliminated completely. Violence is now becoming an integral part of modern day media and youth is spending excessive time on watching it. A reduction in exposure to violent media will reduce its impact but still it is unclear what type of involvement is required to reduce its impact. More extensive researches are required for the better understanding of psychological process and eventually lead to the reduction of media violence impact.( Villani;2001) expresses her opinion that various media categories mainly movies, music, advertisement, video games, internet etc. Violent and aggressive behavior is an after effect of excessive exposure to the media and it even increases the use of alcohol and cigarette among the
The Effects of Media on Anti-Social Behavior“ The media are a form of mass communication, with the internet, radio, television, newspaper and advertising surrounding us, and therefore the media is increasingly blamed for violence in our society. Programmes such as wrestling and computer a game are blamed for aggression in playgrounds and films such as “Childs Play” have been blamed for murders such as that of James Bulger. The argument is whether media are positive and negative in influencing violence. There are several explanations of media influences on anti-social behaviour, one being that of desensitisation.
Furthermore, television violence causes aggressive behavior in children. Many people believe that children who watch violent television programs exhibit more aggressive behavior than that exhibited by children who do not (Kinnear 23). According to the results of many studies and reports, violence on television can lead to aggressive behavior in children (Langone 50). Also, when television was introduced into a community of children for the first time, researchers observed a rise in the level of physical and verbal aggression among these children (Langone 51). The more television violence viewed by a child, the more aggressive the child is (“Children” 1).
The mass media has played a key role in shaping people’s lives. The modern society’s use of mass media including TV, radio, newspaper, as well as print media has largely influenced people’s ideas regarding themselves and the society at large. This is evident from their behavior towards themselves and their community as well as their treatment of the environment. While some experts believe that the media is to blame for most of the negative behavioral traits among the active members of society, the majority agree that the media makes people understand and develop a positive sense of association with their society within which they live, making it easy for them to identify and get their role in it.
Media technologies are becoming an important aspect of today’s society. Each and every day, people interact with media of many different forms. Media is commonly defined as being a channel of communication. Radio, newspapers, and television are all examples of media. It is impossible to assume that media is made up of completely unbiased information and that the media companies do not impose their own control upon the information being supplied to media users. Since many people use media very frequently, it is obvious to assume that it has affects on people. According to the text book Media Now, "media effects are changes in knowledge, attitude, or behavior that result from exposure to the mass media," (386). This leaves us with many unanswered questions about media and its influences. This paper will look at how the effects of media are determined and explore the main affects on today’s society - violence, prejudice, and sexual behavior.