Aggression and Its Effects on Children
A child is watching his favorite cartoon, Mighty Morphine Power Rangers. After the show is over the child jumps up and runs around in a state of bliss hitting things the way that his favorite character did. This scene is all too well known to parents. The question that arises is, "Does aggressive or violent television cause a person, mainly children, to act in a aggressive way?" Well research has shown that the answer to this question is yes.
During the time that children watch television there is an enormous amount of violence shown. The article, "Is Violent Television Destroying Our Children" gave the amount of violent acts shown on a randomly chosen day. The statistics were, "2,605 violent acts were shown on Thursday, April 7, 1995, on a Washington, D.C home wired for cable…. 566 of those acts were shown between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.- the most prime time that children are watching [Kolbert D20]".(Marqette p.1) This is an alarming thought. If it is true that violence on television leads to aggressive behavior, then children are prime suspects for becoming aggressive.
Bandura did a study on the effects of aggressive behavior being displayed to children. What he did was to have the children watch a grown man kick a beat a BoBo doll. Then the children were agitated by not being able to play with toys that they liked. After they were mildly upset, they were brought into a room with a BoBo doll and allowed to play with it. The other group of children where not exasperated as the others were. The children who were made to be slightly upset, and watched the person beat the BoBo doll, acted more aggressive towards the doll. They even went to the extent to hit it and say the same thing as th...
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...sion does not need to be used then the child will use this as his way of life. A parent can only do so much to teach the child and keep him from watching shows that have violence in them, but that may be enough to put the child in the right direction. If a parent finds that they cannot control their child’s aggression then it is important to seek help from a psychiatrist or a psychologist.
Bibliography:
REFERENCES
1. Booth, Vikki; Mullins, Heather; Scott, Erica; Woolston Jonathon: "Juvenile Crime
& TV"; http://staff.gc.maricopa.edu. (p.1).
2. "Is Violent Television Destroying Our Children?"; Internet article; http://www.marquette.edu
3. "Screen Violence and Its Effects on Society"; Internet article; http://www.mediascope.org
4. Menninger,MD, Roy: "Reducing TV Violence May Curb Antisocial Behavior"; http://menniger.edu
Eron, L.D., Huesmann, L.R., Lefkowitz, M.M. & Walder, L.O. (1972). Does television violence cause aggression? American Psychologist, 27, 253-263.
Aggression is defined as any behavior intended to harm another person who is motivated to avoid the harm according to Baumeister & Bushman (2014). A study was conducted in 1967 by Leonard Berkowitz and Anthony LePage, to determine whether the presence of weapons would elicit aggressive behavior from an individual (Baumeister & Bushman, 2014). They hypothesized that participants were likely to associate weapons, particularly firearms, to aggression and violence, which would cause observing a weapon to elicit an aggressive response. The experiment determined that the presence of weapon can elicit an aggressive response from people ready to act aggressively. In the study, participants were shocked up to seven times then given the opportunity to
... much while watching television. It’s important for children to play, read, do homework and talk to other children and adults for healthy development. Most parents believe children are imitators and those who watch violent shows are more likely to display aggressive behavior and violence in the media, television programming, video games and movies are a growing concern.
"Two Gunman at Colorado School Reportedly Kill Up to 23 Before Dying in a Siege." On Tuesday, April 20, 1999, two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, of Columbine High School, shocked the nation when they entered the school armed with guns and explosives, killing fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives. Stories of random violence and aggression such as this all too often plague the media. While the attention of the nation has recently been focused on the Colorado slayings, history reveals countless other similar crimes of aggression targeted towards innocent individuals. In both Nazi Germany and the more recent Bosnia conflict, ethnic cleansing has been used to violently eliminate certain races. In the early 1990s, Timothy McVegh's vengeful intentions led him to use a car bomb to kill hundreds of innocent people in the explosion of the Oklahoma City Federal Building.
There is a "general consensus among social scientists that television violence increases the propensity to real-life aggression among some viewers," and yet, paradoxically, "there is presently little evidence indicating that violence enhances program popularity" (Diener & DeFour, 1978). Top government studies insist, "violent material is popular" (Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, 1972). Differing conclusions may be viable. One leading social psychologist flatly states, "evidence suggests that violence on television is potentially dangerous, in that it serves as a model for behavior -- especially for children" ...
Television with its far reaching influence spreads across the globe. Its most important role is that of reporting the news and maintaining communication between people around the world. Television's most influential, yet most serious aspect is its shows for entertainment. Violent children's shows like Mighty Morphing Power Rangers and adult shows like NYPD Blue and Homicide almost always fail to show human beings being able to resolve their differences in a non-violent manner; instead they show a reckless attitude that promotes violent action first with reflection on the consequences later. Contemporary television creates a seemingly insatiable appetite for amusement of all kinds without regard for social or moral benefits (Schultze 41). Findings over the past twenty years by three Surgeon Generals, the Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence, the American Medical Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other medical authorities indicate that televised violence is harmful to all of us, but particularly to the mental health of children (Medved 70-71).
“Myriad studies show that television violence affect children by desensitizing children to the horror of violence, teaching them to accept violence as a solution to problems, teaching them to imitate the violence they see on the television and leading them to identify with characters seen on television (and thus imitate the characters they identify with) (Parenthood Web).” The amount of violence in television programming is obviously directly related to the amount of violence witnessed by children. The more of a role that television plays in the daily activities the more of a role violence will influence that child. In 1985 alone, 85% of all television programming contained violence, with 92.1% of cartoons aired containing violence. These cartoons generally contain one violent act every three minutes ...
Why are we as aggressive and can we develop a way to reduce our ever increasing aggressive behavior? What this research paper is going to cover just might answer that. First we’re going to go over different types of aggression and the differences between them. Next will be the several theories about aggression. This will cover from a biological and genetic point of view to how our diet affects our behaviors in negative ways. We will even look into how our culture has an effect on our aggression levels. Last is what ways can we potentially reduce and manage our angry tendencies as well as control the ever rising aggressive behavior in our society.
What most adults do not realize is the impact their actions have on a child. For example, in one study that took place by Bandura and his associates in 1961, they used what they called a Bobo doll
As early as 1958 investigations were being conducted of the effects of television on children. During this time, the researchers found that most of the television content was extremely violent. In almost half of the television hours monitored, the programs main focus contained violence. The common theme that was seen throughout the programs were crime, shooting, fighting, and murder. The universal definition of violence used was, "Any overt depiction of the use of physical force, or the credible threat of such force, to intend to physically harm an animated being or group of beings." In this investigation, Wilbur Schramm concluded that under some conditions, some violent television could effect some children. For the most part, most television is neither helpful or harmful to most kids under most circumstances. As you can see this conclusion is quiet vague, and does not give a lot of crucial information for us to correct and improve. Schramm and his colleagues came up with a solution for parents to provide a warm, loving, secure family environment for their children, and they would have little to worry about.
Freedman, Jonathan. "Television Violence Does Not Contribute to Aggressive Behavior in Young People." April 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. .
Aggression is a problem that is very common in many children and that if not addressed early enough would continue through adolescence and later on in life. Aggression can be caused by a multitude of factor, which is sometimes considered part of a normal developmental stage; never the less aggression can also be a symptom of a multitude of disruptive behaviors (Barzman & Findling, 2008). It is important that parents learn to deal with this type of behaviors and find ways to effectively modify the child’s misconduct; according to Barzman & Findling (2008) the intricacy of aggression needs to be addressed through complex assessment strategies.
Case studies are a collection of data obtained using various methods gathered on an individual or group to record areas of interest in order to assist with analysis and provide recommendations. The study should include the name of the person, although this should be protected to provide anonymity where appropriate, and a brief description of the subject. The setting where the study is to be performed should be included. The aim of the observation must be presented along with a report of the findings. The type of method used will depend upon the subject and the area of interest. Data is gathered on the subject in this case observations were used to provide the data. An interpretation of the study will be made in order to provide a conclusion and recommendations made if applicable. Freud famously used the case studies that he carried out on his patients to develop his Psychoanalytic Theory.
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).
No single factor can cause children or adults to act aggressively. Instead, it is the accumulation of risk factors that leads to an aggressive act. Hundreds of studies look into the issue of violent media, it always seems to end up the same place with three major effects including increasing aggressive behavior in a variety of forms, desensitization, and spurs fear. Not every viewer will be affected noticeably, but we know that every viewer is affected in some way. Some have argued that violent media are the primary cause of mass shooting. Others have argued that there is no solid evidence of any harmful effects of violent media. But it is clear is that exposure to media violence is one of risk factors increased aggressive behavior, desensitization, and fear.