Is there a correlation between violence witnessed through the media and violence in real life?

Question

I was dancing at the clubs last night, and so many people were hostile and angry all night, for no apparent reason. Mix that with a few cocktails, and whoa … I though Armageddon came at closing time. Little itsy-bitsy women were taking down cops; every establishment in town had a cop, ambulance, and fire truck. Men were fighting, and just there was general mayhem EVERYWHERE. I don’t think anyone died … but even after a sports team wins there has been more order.

I guess my only thought is that many people may have been digesting so much negative stuff by watching the VA tragedy, and I was wondering if there is a psychological terminology or study that would show a correlation between violence witness through the media and violence in real life.

OR I'm looking for a social explanation on why ppl were so violent last night (especially the women). Good greif.

Whoa - the little itsy-bitsy chick was Asian. I didn't even think race until you said so.

Answer 1

The reporting of the media and the lack of information they had to base their assumptions on have created an excuse for certain people to incite racism against the very people that the gunman was jealous of, and they collectively blame the middle-class white people for the lack of parenting that lead to this massacre. Rather than accept that their "people" are not perfect and that they are not superior to anyone else in the world, they have been enjoying a week of manifesting that their "fear of backlash" is worse than what Blacks and Latinos go through on a daily basis. This is happening in the United States and in the UK.

Answer 2

There are many more variables to consider, such as the offender and their proclivity to commit violent acts. If you think about how many people watch any particular violent blockbuster and correlate that with how many violent acts are commited/ reported, you will find only a small correlation that may be less than that of the general population.

There is no doubt that violence in the media is a contributing factor to violent acts and that being overloaded with information dulls the senses to the reality of that information, but to assume that violent TV directly causes violent people is reaching very far indeed.

20070420

Philosophically, the inter-relatedness of reality makes more sense to me than the current state of affairs of separation and individuality. The essence is contained in those few lines. Currently, the news is filled with the story of the shootings in Virginia in the USA. The authorities concerned are homing in on the individual and concerned with finding what the individual circumstance was, the young man's mental state specifically. When the lens is drawn back, we will begin to see more than the individual and his immediate surroundings, but a situation that produces these occurrences with surprising regularity. Away from the immediacy of the tumultuous aftermath, we see a picture of a struggling population, struggling to deal with the side effects of a way of life that is so effectively streamlined and where resource is so abundant, but a way which separates it's participants and encourages hoarding. Are we dealing with a few bad apples? Or is the soil we grow the apple trees in producing a higher potential for apples to be bad? The first suggests a statistical predeterminability or inevitability. There is nothing that can be done. The latter proposes a change in the way we think and the way we regard the people around us and our environment. The issue is not the overt manifestation or the post-hoc devastation that such events cause, although these are of utmost importance and do need to be dealt with urgently. The issue is the ground which is so fertile for atrocious acts as we have become so familiar with. We can try to 'catch' the guilty party if that option is viable. We cannot continue to catch the offenders forever. We can become more conscious about our innate goodness as human beings.

Answer 3

There are several, but you might research Bandura's work. He is a big proponent of modeling, where people observe behavior and then "model" it themselves.

Yes, Bandura has shown there are correlations between media violence and real life behaviors...

However, please understand that correlation ***does not*** equate with "causation". Correlation only shows there is a relationship between the variables in question, it does ***not*** indicate which variable causes which, or whether there may be other unconsidered variables affecting the relationship or may actually be the cause if it as well.

This is my point... that even if modeling does relate to acted-out violence even remotely... those who do not choose to self-regulate have still made a *choice* to be violent, regardless of whether they saw someone else do it first, simply by acting the violence out. There is no media to "blame". People do have the ability to think and reason and make choices.

Answer 4

It could be. It's hard to know how people cope with news from the media. You're intuitive to surmize that with the on going war/military action in Iraq, the impending war with Iran, the mass slaughter at VT, and a host of local bad news, young people have not been equipped with proper social coping skills and wisdom to deal with it, and what you're saying is that they have a type of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). It's maybe the previous generation's fault because they have enjoyed the longest period of peace time ever recorded in American history (and possibly all of history). They were taught by their parents, but it seems the baby-boomer generation dropped the ball when it comes to teaching wisdom.

Answer 5

I think that violence in movies, and possibly video games is planting ideas in people who act out these roles under certain conditions.
Like teens stealing a car and then using it to speed through traffic and run from police,
or pull a gun at a night club, because they think someone "dissed" them and they want to get revenge, then of course is the Wanna Be syndrome of identifying as being the cool bad guy. And the copy kat, who wants notoriety, but replicating unibomber, or columbine tragedies.

Life is not as simple now as it was in the 50's

Answer 6

I think it could be possible. I am in a senior seminar debate class and we just finished up the debate on: Does mass media have an effect on children's development? I was on the yes side. A few of my teammates focused mainly on violence. One found a study where some children played mortal combat and some played NBA Jam. Those who were in the Mortal Kombat group showed more aggressive behavior afterwards. Also check out the Bobo Doll experiment.

And on a similar subject, I focused on body image. After adults looked at pictures of models (with ideal bodies) they were then given a plate of food. The women (compared to other women who did not look at pictures of models) ate LESS food. This shows that the women who viewed the models wanted a skinny, supermodel look. While men who looked at male models (compared to males who did not) ate MORE food. This indicates that they had a desirability for muscles and being buff.

So, in all, I do think media influences us to some degree. It doesn't have to be an all out madness/massacre. Some people blamed music like Marilyn Manson for the Columbine tragedy, but I think that's ridiculous. I do think media can influence us, but not to such an extreme. There was obviously more going on with those school killers. But, I am a firm believer that media influences the way we might act or think (to some degree.) And even though it doesn't seem like a tragedy, it can hurt us mentally.

Answer 7

yes there is correlation. remember this part of the movie Fahrenheit 9/11 when the narrator mentioned that violence for an observed period of time has increased 100% and the media coverage has increased 600% ... and it creates fear .. of course, the more you witness it the more you think danger is everywhere. fear is considered as one of the reasons for increased consumption (consumers society phenomena) and, in addition, media coverage features a model of a society in which violence is kind of 'normal' ... looking closely to your case, it is possible that overall violence factor in your area has increased due to the latest VA coverage or it is also possible that your interpretation of facts is influenced by your personal reflections during the past days.
To finish this answer with a happy notion, i would rather say to you: enjoy some quality time with your love ones and ... take it easy ;)

Answer 8

Thank you, llysa..!!! Correlation does not mean causation...the conclusion above, that ideal image and how much food eaten ONLY means...those shown pics ate less food...Only bandura would conclude they ate LESS food because they were influenced by the pics...Why, only bandura...because he is NOT A Scientist !!!

Whenever a researcher sets out to prove one thing or another...they have left the realm of science and are compromised by their biases. It is a travesty that bandura's...shoddy study was ever accepted by anyone....

Question: what do you do with a bobo doll? You hit it.
Question: what do you have if you tell a child to play with any toy s/he wants to play with, you wait until they are fully engrossed in their play; and then take the toy/s away? You have an angry and frustrated child. That is what bandura did.

Now, as to violence on a weekend, in your city...we have been swamped with reports of senseless violence and murdered students/teachers. And that is difficult to digest...therefore, a few drinks added to a seething caldron of under the surface feelings and voila...aggression is unleashed. Think of it as a ripple effect, I throw a rock in a still pond and.....

And we americans, particularly, do not know how to absorb...senseless violence..we have been protected from it for a long time...we made a guild of professionals to take care of death for us...(funeral parlors)...and we went naively about our business and play...with 9/11 it came to our shores and we have lived in fear since....

As to the m manson personage...he is an example of 'necrophilia'....i.e. embraces death and rotting things...and he hates Christianity.

As to michael moore and his propaganda machine..I take him with a great big grain of salt...i.e. he is way to one sided to be a good documentor.

Answer 9

confident. what we see is what we do esp for those criminally vulnerable nincompoops. a survey executed yrs in the past and a few criminals reported they see violence of their family, media, video clips etc and picture its no longer something to harm others

Answer 10

in simple terms please? i dont feel like reading all that