Media effects theory

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Media effects theory is the sociological or media studies theory that exposure to representations of violence in any of various media causes (or tends to cause) increased aggression or violence in the audience / consumer. It appears in 'folk wisdom' and newspaper editorials as the claim that x or y media product must be banned in order to avoid the violence it depicts being acted out in society, notably by young people.

Some argue that it is not really a theory, as it lacks a meaningful theoretical grounding; instead it is more like a hypothesis.

Contents

[edit] Landmark studies and anecdotes

The most influential studies on the debate around media studies have usually been headline-grabbing 'proofs' of Effects theory. Subsequent attempts to replicate, modify, refine or reject these headline studies have proven of less interest to the mass media. =]

[edit] Bobo Doll

This classic study (Bandura et al, 1961) exposed two groups of nursery children to a new play area, containing a selection of toys with which they were unfamiliar. One of the toys was a threefoot inflatable Bobo Clown with a weighted base, designed as a self-righting 'punchbag' toy. As they played, the non-aggression (control) set observed an adult playing quietly with certain toys and ignoring Bobo. In the aggression set, the adult 'model' performed a distinctive set of violent moves on Bobo, such as sitting on its head and punching its nose, striking it with a toy mallet, and kicking it into the air, while uttering aggressive phrases such as Punch him in the nose!. Independent observers later scored children's behaviour for aggression when left alone to play with these toys. Those exposed to the 'aggressive' adult demonstrably imitated many of the adult's moves.

[edit] Rock 'n Roll

On August 9, 1969 Charles Manson and his cult killed several people, inspired by songs of The Beatles (Piggies, Helter Skelter). This was not the first time a possible negative influence of rock 'n roll was discussed, but it was the first serious case.

In 1980 former Beatle John Lennon was shot. His killer, Mark David Chapman was inspired by Lennon's music and the book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

In the eighties criticism of rock and especially heavy metal increased. Several cases where fans of metal, gothic or other extreme rock committed murder or suicide were held up by Christian and other pression groups to censor these acts or their music.

In 1985 hearings of this case started and several pop artists came to prevent censorship of the PMRC. It was pointed out that many of these cases were marginal deeds and that the numerous normal fans of this music proved that listening to metal or other sorts of music with controversial topics didn't necessarily end in copycat behavior. Also by preventing children from hearing this music adult listeners were prevented from hearing these songs and albums too.

One of the most vocal rock musicians to speak out against government censorship in the music industry was Frank Zappa who stated that according to the theories about media influence on people one might say that "everyone who ever listened to The Beatles or The Beach Boys is a potential murderer, because those were the favorite groups of Charles Manson. Most songs are about love, so if people were really influenced by music: we would all love each other."

In the end the Parental Advisory stickers were established.

When Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994 this resulted in several copy cat suicides by fans, which again raised the question if certain rock music should be prevented from release.

Comedian Bill Hicks made a well known conference about rock music influencing suicidal tendencies.

[edit] A Clockwork Orange

Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange (1971) caused controversy on its release due to the violent content. Alex, the main character, rapes women and beats up beggars. The film tells the story through Alex's eyes and therefore he is represented as a hero while the caricatural people who surround him seem less attractive by comparison. The controversy about the film increased when some gangs and youths started to copycat the violence and rape. The media focused heavily on these cases of copy cat violence and even Kubrick himself started regretting he directed the film. He censored the film in England until after his death (in 1999) to avoid further violence and because of death threats against him and his family.

[edit] Cartoon censorship

In the seventies several classic cartoons were censored when broadcast on television because they were considered a bad influence on children. Some of them because of racist or stereotypical references, but others for their violent content. Especially Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry were singled out because the cartoons often showcased explosions, gunshots, physical deformations and weapons. Cartoon characters however always survive these actions which, in the eyes of critics, is an unrealistic message to children who might believe when you hurt or kill someone he will remain unharmed.

Many classic cartoons were showed in a censored way where all the violent actions were cut out. Animation fans and the animators themselves criticized this censorship because the pictures became increasingly short and dull, due to the missing of many funny gags. They pointed out that since the 1940s nearly everyone in the country had grown up watching these cartoons without any negative effects while growing up. Also, the censorship didn't consider the entertainment value of the cartoons.

In the early '90s a boy was assumed to have set fire to his little sisters' bed because he saw a similar scene in an episode of Beavis & Butthead. Controversy arose, but it turned out the boy didn't have cable. MTV did however schedule the program on a later hour.

The Simpsons episode "Itchy and Scratchy and Marge" satirized the censorship of violent cartoons. Itchy & Scratchy themselves are a parody of violence in child oriented media and it's influence on children.

[edit] John Hinckley Jr.

In 1981 president Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr.. The president survived and Hinckley was arrested. Just like Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman he had J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye with him. Hinckley claimed to have committed his crime to impress actress Jodie Foster, like he had seen in the movie Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese.

[edit] The Hungerford massacre

On August 19, 1987 the British village of Hungerford fell victim to a man, dressed as Rambo, who shot 16 people and wounded 15 others. Afterwards he committed suicide. Although later investigations concluded that he had never seen the film, he did have a collection of other violent movies, which may have inspired the killings. (See Hungerford massacre)

[edit] The Jamie Bulger Case

There has been a long running argument as to whether or not films have influenced people to head out and commit acts of violence and murder. One of the major front runners in this issue is the Jamie Bulger story. On February 12, 1993 in Merseyside, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables (both aged 10) kidnapped, abused and murdered the young toddler Jamie Bulger. The two boys were arrested and instantly the story gained mass media coverage, soon after, it was alleged that the two boys had recently seen the film Child's Play 3, the media instantly took hold of this and the film was seen as the cause of the murder of Jamie Bulger. During the trial, the judge suggested that the film was to blame for the two boys' actions. The media scare at this time was used by UK Prime Minister John Major as propaganda to try to steer children away from glue sniffing and mischief.[citation needed]

The BBC called it a "landmark case"[citation needed] as it was a moral panic about children the threat of other's, and the defenselessness of our own.[clarify] After the image of a small figure being taken away by two slightly larger figures was all over the tabloids,[clarify] sales of toddler reins shot up, and in a survey of parents by the children's organization, Kidscape, 97% of respondents put abduction as their biggest worry, ahead of traffic accidents, glue-sniffing and AIDS.

[edit] The Columbine Killings

In 1999 two boys shot several students to death in Columbine High School in Colorado. Afterwards they committed suicide. Accusations were made that they were influenced by violent videogames and/or films or goth music. (See Columbine High School Massacre)

In Michael Moore's documentary about these killings, Bowling for Columbine (2002), he examines the possible inspirations for these horrible deeds. He interviews two persons who are frequently criticized for their supposed negative influence on society: rock musician Marilyn Manson and Matt Stone of South Park. Moore comes to the conclusion that these and other media influences do not necessarily lead to copycat cases. He states that the two murderers committed the massacre while the Kosovo War was occurring and that they went bowling before the massacre. The war in Kosovo was a real deed of violence, but virtually no one accused Bill Clinton or the US military of inspiring the murders. If television programs, computer games and rock music are considered possible inspirations why couldn't bowling be the cause? This ridiculous claim shows Moore's point. If you can connect the massacre to rock being listened to days ago, why can't you connect bowling played directly beforehand? This is a classic case of correlation vs. causation.

It is shown that guns are relatively easy to buy in stores and American news broadcasts tend to be so sensational and often scaring in their delivery of events that mass hysteria erupts. People get so frightened and/or disturbed that they overreact to certain things and feel so unsafe they want to buy weapons for protection.

[edit] Congressional Hearings, 1981

These hearings were called in response to rising awareness of crime, and the widespread belief that television was at least partly responsible. The National Institute of Mental Health argued forcefully that a broad review of the then-existing literature confirmed Effects theory. Other organizations, eg CBS, submitted contrary position papers - CBS's was entitled "Research on Television Violence: The Fact of Dissent"

[edit] Criticism

Criticism of effects theory takes three broad strands.

  • Methodological criticisms focus on hidden assumptions, flawed experimental design, and prejudicial interpretation of results of studies claimed to support effects theory.
  • Historical criticisms situate the 'meta-narrative' of effects theory within a long history of distrust of new forms of media, dating as far back as Socrates's objections to the deleterious effects due to the written alphabet.
  • Political criticisms pose an alternative conception of humans as rational, critical subjects, who are alert to genre norms and adept at interpreting and critiquing media representations, not passively absorbing them.

Supporters of effects theory contend that commercials, advertising and voter campaigns prove that the media influences people's behavior. In the 20th century aggressive media attention and negative depictions of trials revolving around celebrities as Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle or Michael Jackson have influenced the general public's opinion, before the trials effectively started. However, these critics do point out that while the media could have an effect on people's behaviour this isn't necessarily always the case.

Critics of the media effects theory point out that many copycat murders, suicides and other violent acts nearly always happen in abnormal upbringings. They were raised in a violent, emotionally neglected or aggressive environment which influenced their behaviour more rather than watching certain programs, films or listening to certain music. Most people who carry out these acts are also mentally unstable to begin with.

Critics also point out that just because an audience sees acts of violence on TV, etc, this does not mean they will actually do it themselves. Of the millions of people who watch violent films, only a small number have caried out acts of violence as a direct result. People regularly exposed to violent media usually grow up to be completely normal people. If there are any effects from media, they only affect a very small amount of people.

[edit] Political

Certain groups tend to argue for media effects in an effort to promote a political cause. Demands for the banning of certain songs or the labeling of obscene albums came specifically from conservative political groups in the United States. They argued — without evidence — that such material had simple and identifiable effects on children, and this should be banned/labeled.

[edit] Sources

  • Bandura et al, 1961, Transmission of Aggression Through Imitation of Aggressive Models, in Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582 [1]

[edit] Key readings

  • Barker, Martin, & Petley, Julian, eds (2001), Ill Effects: The media/violence debate - Second edition, London: Routledge.
  • Carter, Cynthia, and Weaver, C. Kay, eds (2003), Violence and the Media, Maidenhead: Open University Press.
  • Fowles, Jib (1999), The Case for Television Violence, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
  • Gauntlett, David (2005), Moving Experiences - Second Edition: Media Effects and Beyond, London: John Libbey.
  • Potter, W. James (1999), On Media Violence, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
  • Weaver, C. Kay, and Carter, Cynthia, eds (2006), Critical Readings: Violence and the Media, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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