Media Influence on Aggressive Behavior

The saturation of violent mass media in the 21st century has been viewed as one of themany potential factors influencing the risk for aggression and violence. Aggression is behaviordirected toward harming another human being, whereas prosocial behavior is directed atprofiting another person. Extensive exposure to violent media, especially at a younger age,results in aggressive behavior […]

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The saturation of violent mass media in the 21st century has been viewed as one of the
many potential factors influencing the risk for aggression and violence. Aggression is behavior
directed toward harming another human being, whereas prosocial behavior is directed at
profiting another person. Extensive exposure to violent media, especially at a younger age,
results in aggressive behavior in children. Kaplan (2012) confirms that most perpetrators of
school mass shootings and other violent crimes have been identified to prefer violent movies,
video games, and music.
Video games are the most effective forms of media for promoting violence. They
promote more aggression than other forms of media such as movies and music videos because of
the active involvement in playing video games compared to the passive participation in listening
to music or watching videos. Huesmann (2007) confirms that violent media exposure early in life
will result in somewhat permanent aggressive tendencies as adults. The impact is exacerbated if
the victim lives in communities where violent crimes are prevalent.
The media promotes aggression through mimicry and desensitizing emotions (Huesmann,
2007). Through a neurological process that is not well understood, humans and primates tend to
imitate what they watch, and children are more prone to behaving exactly to the violence shown
in the media. After years of observational learning, the negative emotions children experience
when they first experience violent media decline through desensitization. Ultimately, this
desensitization habituates into numbness to human suffering (Bushman & Huesmann, 2006).
They can plan or think about committing violence. Media also promotes aggression through
Priming. Priming refers to how exposure to a stimulus will affect our reaction to a specific

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subsequent stimulus. Constant interaction with violent media may result in over-aggressive
responses to mild triggers such as the sight of a gun. Huesmann (2007) confirms that violent
media also increases arousal to be aggressive, and this arousal could peak to the extent that the
brain cannot inhibit inappropriate responses to triggers.
In conclusion, though the media is not directly responsible for the crime rate, it does play
a role in influencing the aggressive tendencies of society. It does this by priming human behavior
to react aggressively to mild triggers, reducing empathy for human suffering, and promoting
mimicry of violent scenes in real-life situations.

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References

Bushman, B. J., & Huesmann, L. R. (2006). Short-term and long-term effects of violent media
on aggression in children and adults. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent
Medicine, 160(4), 348. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.160.4.348
Huesmann, L. R. (2007). The impact of electronic media violence: Scientific theory and
research. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(6), S6-
S13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.005
Kaplan, A. (2012, October 5). Violence in the media: What effects on behavior? Psychiatric
Times. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/violence-media-what-effects-
behavior

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