Research Proposal (Revised)

Does Violence in Media Create Violent Viewers?

Jarrett Johnson

English 102

February 9, 2014

Violence is something that has always been around. It’s a part of nature and all living creatures create acts of violence in one form or another. One animal might kill another just so that they can eat and survive for the day, while another animal might fight an intruder preying in his/her territory. No matter what, there is some sort of natural drive for an animal to create an act of violence. Humans, for the most part, seem to have different intentions. People sometime inflict pain on others out of rage, anger, or revenge. Sometimes, they will because it gives them pleasure. Not all humans are violent and many would rather stay away from it, but the problem with humans is that we are drawn and entertained by violence. Why is society so obsessed with violence? The bigger question is does this violent entertainment desensitize its viewers and turn them into violent people themselves?

This has been a huge topic of debate over the past many years and people have many different opinions about how violent media affects its viewers. In the article “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth,” by Craig A. Anderson and colleagues from 2003, they state that when youth is exposed to media violence, these adolescents can be affected later in their lives by causing them to create violent crimes. Richard B. Felson’s “Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior,” in 1996 explains that although humans have always been entertained by violence, the rise in technology is making violent entertainment to easy to obtain and might be the cause of violent crimes rising.  This claim might go hand in hand with Nicholas L. Carnagey’s “Current Directions in Psychological Science.” In 2007 when he talked about how the General Aggression Model will predict a rise in aggression the more accessible violent media becomes. In Anthony Rivas’ article, “Does Violent Media Lead To Violence? Studies Link Graphic Images To Impulsive Behavior and Aggression” published in the Medicaldaily, lbt Media Inc in 2013, he explains how research has shown that gamers who play violent video games have the reduced ability to inhibit impulsive behavior and proactive control. On the other hand Dr. Stanton Samenow in his article, “Inside the Criminal Mind: Watching Violence in the Media Does Not Cause Crime,” on the website Psychologytoday, published by Sussex Publisher in 2012, about how criminals are not directly made from violent media and people that already have aggressive behaviors are attracted to this kind of entertainment. Craig A. Anderson disagrees when he wrote in his article, “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth” in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest in 2003, that youth is affected negatively when exposed to both short-term and long-term violent entertainment and may even affect their adulthood. Eugene V. Beresin makes a point in “The Impact of Media Violence on Children and adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions,” on the website AACAP, published by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in 2013, that accessibility to technology might be one of the defining factors. Just on television alone, there are an average of 813 violent acts per hour and they continue to rise. Richard B. Felson agrees with Beresin when he mentions in “Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior,” in the Annual Review of Sociology in 1996, that although violence has always been a form of entertainment for humans, the rise of technology is making violent entertainment more accessible and there might be an increase in violent crimes because of it. Eugene Beresin talks about in his article, “Inside Out, Outside In: Violent Video Games and Movies Causing Violent Behavior,” on the website Psychologytoday, published by Sussex Publishers in 2012, even though groups like the National Rifle Association and Powerful Political figures such as Mitt Romney claim that violent entertainment is the main cause for mass violence, there is very little evidence that supports their claims.

The general public will always look for someone to blame when something goes wrong. It’s human nature to find the source of a problem and try to correct it. True scientific research is the best way to settle an issue or a lack there of. Maybe readers can get a better idea about what second hand violence does to a person through research and tests, and not from repeating what others might have said or how the media itself explains it. Video games have been a huge target for the cause of violence in young adults since nearly the first games began releasing to the public. There wasn’t really much evidence as to why these games might create murderers but they were an outlet and something to blame. In the times before video games, society pointed their fingers at rock and roll for causing young adults to behave violently. Even before that, it was comic books.

Researching how violence in media might affect people in any way and finding an explanation or two is my first goal. From my research so far, it seems that violence in any form of media doesn’t necessarily cause violent viewers. Do these scientific studies seem accurate or abundant? A question that I might look for is why where did this idea come from and why is it not debunked already. As of right now my biggest goal on my timeline is to get everything organized and start focusing on making sure that everything I have thus far will help me with my final research paper one way or another. Once things are more organized and straightened out, I can start getting rid of sources I don’t need and sources that are repetitive. If I find that too many of my sources seem to be similar, I will then navigate JSTOR and the Olympic College Library resources with different refined searches that might help me find some more interesting articles that will help me out with my research. I’m hoping to get all of the organization done by the end of this weekend so I can begin to continue working on my literature review by at least the 24^th of this month.

Works Cited

Anderson, Craig A., et al. “Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature.” Psychological Science. 12.5 (2001): 353-359. JSTOR. Web. Feb 2014.

Collier, Joel E., et al. “Exposure of Violent Video Games to Children and Public Policy Implications.” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. 27.1 (2008): 107-112. Web. Feb 2014.

Felson, Richard B. “Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior.” Annual Review of Sociology. 22 (1996): 103-128. JSTOR. Web. Feb 2014.

Beresin, Eugene V. “The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions.” Aacap. American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2013. Web. Feb 2014.

Anderson, Craig A., et al. “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth.” Psychological Science in the Public Interest. 4.3 (2003): 81-110. JSTOR. Web. Feb 2014.

Beresin, Eugene. “Inside Out, Outside In: Violent Video Games and Movies Causing Violent Behavior” Psychologytoday. Sussex Publishers, Dec 22, 2012. Web. Feb, 2014.

Rivas, Anthony. “Does Violent Media Lead To Violence? Studies Link Graphic Images To Impulsive Behavior and Aggression” Medicaldaily. Ibt Media Inc., 4 Aug, 2013. Web. Feb, 2014.

Dr. Samenow, Stanton. “Inside the Criminal Mind: Watching Violence in the Media Does Not Cause Crime” Psychologytoday. Sussex Publishers, Feb 24, 2012. Web. Feb, 2014.

“Violence in the Media – Psychologists Study TV and Video Game Violence for Potential Harmful Effects” Apa. American Psychological Association. Nov. 2013. Web. Feb. 2014

Carnagey, Nicholas L., et al. “Current Directions in Psychological Science.” Media Violence and Social Neuroscience: New Questions and New Opportunities. 16.4 (2007): 178-182. JSTOR. Web.

Anderson, Craig A., et al. “Psychological Science in the Public Interest.” The Influence of Media Violence on Youth. 4.3 (2003): 81-110. JSTOR. Web.