Effects of Violent TV Programming on Adolescent Behavior Essay Example for Free

ca purpose of Violent TV Programming on Adolescent Behavior EssayViolent behavior is a central theme in many kinds of media. Television and movies depict raging behaviors as accept equal ship management of communicating and re resolve problematic social situations (Strasburger Donnerstein, 1999). During the twentieth century, Americans were introduced to a wide variety of media technology, including goggle boxs, digital computers, idiot box system cassette players and handheld electronic machines (Anderson Bushman, 2001). Although television is but one of the many media venues, it represents the predominant medium to which very unripe babyren atomic number 18 exposed.The 1972 report to the Surgeon General found that 96% of American homes encounter one or much television sets and the average home set is on more than six hours a twenty-four hours and frequent covering usually begins at about age 3 and remains relatively utmost until about age 12 (1972, pp. 1-2). K aisers study (1999) found that children spend up to 40 hours per week in front of the television. For children under the age of 7, Wright et al. (1994) found that media photograph averaged just over four hours per suppose solar day. Other studies stool concurred that the television has reach a predominant medium of experience for the child.In a 1990 position paper, the NAEYC declared that the trend toward increased depiction of strength in the media jeopardizes the healthy development of significant numbers of our nations children (1990, p. 18). The conceive experience is lavishlyly complex, subjective, and dependent upon the childs level of cognitive and emotional understanding (Wright et al. , 1994). brotherly scientists and policy makers set out expressed concern about the potential negative impact of exposure of violence on children (Bushman Geen, 1990).They have explored the negative impact longitudinally, both experimentally and observationally, and found that chi ldren as young as 2 and into adolescence are adversely affected by televised violence. Studies demonstrated that later on think red-faced course of instructions, the child behaved battlefully and imitated the scenes of the violent behavior in his play (Anderson Bushman 2001). This paper explores the current state of research in this area and seeks for the kinship between television sentrying and childhood violence. Television and ViolenceThe most recent large-scale longitudinal study was initiated in 1994 by researchers at the Universities of California, Texas, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. The National Television Violence Study (NTVS) was deemed the largest scientific study of television violence ever undertaken (Federman, 1998). NTVS involved a three-year effort (1994-1997) to review violence in televised designming. It examined three areas of concern televised programming context, factors that every positively or negatively alter the risk of viewing violence, and the in teractions between programming and the lulus.In this study, nearly 10,000 hours of televised cross-channel programming were examined using five major groupings broadcast networks, mugwump broadcast, public broadcast, basic cable, and premium cable. The authors found that 61% of programs contain violence. By the third year of the study, on that point was more violent interaction observed across the programs analyzed. Specific to the jr. child, the study found that childrens programs, as a genre, contained the greatest share (50%) of all high-risk violent interactions, as surface as the highest dimension of interactions per hour (. 75) (Federman, Vol. 3, 1998, p. 175).Child-oriented cable programs such as those on Cartoon Network, Disney, or Nickelodeon contained the most high risk violent interactions (27%), compared to general-entertainment basic cable (24%), independent broadcast (19%), and premium cable (17%) (Federman, 1998). Early dayspring viewing, which is primarily child -focused cartoon programming, has at least one high-risk violent presentation every hour. In one week, a child is exposed to at least 20 violent behavior depictions, and in one year over 1,000, if he watches three hours of early morning television a day (Federman, 1997-1998).The authors also found that over the course of three years there was little modification in the overall number of violent programs. However, there was a significant increase (8%) in the portrayals of violent incidents per program and childrens programs continued to depict violence in animated stories (Federman, Vol. 2, 1998). In many of these violent interactions, the main purpose did not experience any appropriate consequences for battleful behavior. One of the goals of the NTVS was to encourage more responsible television programming and viewing.The study emphasized the message that understanding the impact of viewed televised violence offers an opportunity to significantly pull down the risks to society t hat are posed by exposure to televised violence. Young Childs Experience of Violence The American media is prevalent with portrayals of justified violence (Federman, 1997-1998). The good guy beats up the distressing guy, and laughter or expressions of gleefulness follow hurtful acts. This conveys the message that aggression is an acceptable way to solve problems and express frustration.Children of all ages watch television and videos on a daily basis and are exposed to acts of violence that potentially fabricate their way of thinking and behaving (Minow Lawhitethorn, 1995, p. 36) Cartoons feature patterns that are more likely to encourage aggression in children, oddly if they are under the age of seven (Boyatzis et al. , 1987). Aggressive behaviors, often portrayed in the genre of life history aimed at children, are confusing for the young child. The stories presented as humorous, with laughter accompanying actions that are hostile and rough.This may lead to a decrease in his potential apprehension of danger and may also further desensitization to harmful situations (Federman, 1997-1998). Significant results revealed that televised violence is changing the behavior of children (Federman, 1997-1998). Individuals of all ages learn through observation. tether important factors affect the impact of learning through modeling. First, the more engaging and attractive the model is, the more the viewer will stay attentive the less appealing the character is, the more likely the viewer will be distracted or ignore the experience.The second compelling factor is the repeated exposure of the modeling stimuli. As a result of repeated exposure, modeling stimuli eventually produces enduring, retrievable images (Bandura, 1977, p. 25). The third factor, the complexness of the observed experience, affects the rate of observational learning. It is based on the observers capacity to process information. However, the young child may imitate without knowing what his beh avior means.Bandura suggests that immediate imitation does not require much in the way of cognitive functioning because the behavioral reproduction is externally guided by the models action (Bandura, 1977, p. 27). Banduras research throughout the 1960s and 1970s with the inflatable Bobo doll demonstrated a relationship between viewing aggressive acts of behavior and performing them. He found that children would more often choose the Bobo doll to punch after viewing a televised violent program than reading a book or choosing a quiesce game. Although Banduras work on modeling has been challenged over the years, there has been strong support.Later researchers have expanded Banduras initial studies, finding that the younger the child is, the more likely he will use imitation instead than rational thinking to choose an appropriate, non-violent way of relating. Eron et al. (1972) reported a strong relationship between viewed violence at age 8 and aggressive behavior. Canton and Sparks ( 1984) found that preschool children have a greater fear resolution than older children and react accordingly to what they see. Singer et al. (1999) concluded that there was a significant standstill linking violent exposure with childrens self-reported violent behaviors.Boyatzis et al. s 1995 study of 52 elementary school children with a mean age 7 years, 9 months, showed how children reacted to watching an succession of The Power Rangers. They found that the childs aggressive tendency and miss of fear was immediate and markedly greater following an exposure to but a single episode of The Power Rangers. (Boyatzis et al. , 1995, p. 53). Animated programming such as The Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles characterizes the hero as attractive, strong, and powerful. These characters use violence to solve problematic situations and rescue the helpless victim.The NTVS found that a preschooler who watches an average of 2 hours a day of such content will 43 be exposed to at least 10 hazardous p ortrayals a week, and over 500 in a year (Federman, Vol. 3, 1998, p. 163). Other studies have put down the relationship between exposure to violence and aggressive thought and action. For example, Josephson (1987) presented two television excerpts, one violent and one non-violent, to 396 third-grade boys from 13 schools. She hypothesized that there was a relationship between viewed violence and aggressive play behavior. deduction was found in increased aggressive behavior in boys who played a game of hockey game after watching a violent program. Boys who scored high on characteristic levels of aggressiveness used more aggressive behaviors in their hockey game if they were in the groups that viewed violence. Furthermore, she found that the boys who watched the violent tape and were not tending(p) verbal cues about correctness of the behavior played more aggressively after the tape than either the boys who watched a non-violent tape, or boys who watched a violent tape but were give n verbal cues that commented on appropriateness of behavior(Josephson, 1987).Children are being presented with messages that invite aggressive ways of relating to resolve situations and handle life events (Groves 2002). Current televised shows use cartoons, as well as live actors, to display forms of aggression as a means of relating to others and solving problems. A significant shift in televised programming, though, has occurred with the portrayal of aggressive behavior through more rattling life characterization, as illustrated in shows like The Power Rangers.The visual experience of aggressive behavior has become more like real life to the child because instead of viewing animated characters using aggressive behavior, the child can now watch individuals similar to himself transmogrify into violent machines (Boyatzis et al. , 1995). In this mechanical state, the portrayed behavior is violent and aggressive with the childs intention of solving a problem. Witnessing these aggressi ve acts of behavior gives the child a script to construct his social interactions. Since young children create and store behavior that they see, viewing violence becomes a potential way of relating to an experience.Whether the televised programming is in the form of cartoons or real life, social scripts are constructed by the child and are then employed in day-to-day experiences (Groves 2002). Mitigating the Influence of Violent Television so far though there have been numerous studies documenting the impact of televised violence on the behavior of children, the television intentness has been reluctant to change violent programming (Singer et al. , 1999). As a result, recent research has focused on how to mitigate the experience of what the child sees rather than waiting for the industry to change what is presented to the public.The child uses internal processes, relying on cognitive and emotional capacities, to actively understand what has been experienced. In his efforts to unde rstand these experiences, the child will find a way to concretize the experience into either emotional or behavioral responses. Younger children accept the economic aid of another to understand what they experience because they are unable to adjust their viewing and comprehension activities in response to learning instructions (Field Anderson, 1985, p. 91). collins, Sobol, and Westby (1981) studied 47 children with a mean age of 7. 8 years.Children who watched a program in the presence of an adult who provided ongoing commentary showed improved comprehension of the plot and the witnessed experiences. Without adult participation, the younger children remembered only the aggressive behaviors without remembering the link to either the motive or the consequence. Huesmann et al. (1983) sampled 169 first- and third-grade children over a two-year period. The focus of the study was to mitigate the relation between aggression and television violence viewing in children through an interven tion that altered the childrens attitudes about aggression and violent shows (Huesmann et al. , 1983, p. 899).They found a significant change in how the child responded to violence when the experimenter commented on the violent behavior. More children responded with appropriate answers when they were directly asked, what are the bad things that could happen when a child imitates the aggressive behavior of a character? St. Peters et al. (1991) found that the role of co-viewing by the parent with the child is beneficial. This study was conducted over a two-year period and involved the participation of 271 children, ages 3 to 5 years, and their parents.Parental comments about the televised material helped the children understand what they saw. The parents comments differentiated acceptable and non-acceptable behavior for the child. Young children need this clarification and guidance because they have relatively few internal structures to guide them in their behavior (St. Peters et al. , 1991). Kubey (1996) celebrated that network and cable programming are unsuitable for some children, especially the young child. No follow of adult commenting will completely mitigate what a child experiences.Monitoring and limiting a childs filling of television shows to reduce the exposure to violent behaviors is similar to monitoring a childs choice of foods to ensure health and nutrition. Children are victims to the effects of exposure to violence. Parents are critically important as a alternative for the child in his attempt to understand the world. Grover (2002) noted that the child who has been exposed to violence responds more favorably to a nurturing, sensitive and caring adult relationship.The more parents know about their childs changing capacities to understand the world, the better able they are to respond empathically and appropriately to the child (Garbarino, 1992). However, it is essential, as a parent is a primary resource to buffer, explain and clarify life e xperiences for the child that are beyond the childs capacity to understand ((Minow Lamay, 1995). The study by Singer et al. (1980) found that parents influenced their childrens perceptions of the importance of television by the type and amount of television viewing they had.Collins et al. (1981) found that parental commentary helped children understand the implicit program content. The longitudinal study by St. Peters et al. (1991) of 3- and 5-year-olds and their families viewing patterns found that parents viewing choices play a role in determining a childs exposure to television programs. Conclusion Young children often copy the violent actions that they have witnessed. Banduras work on modeling in the field of social learning has been significant in conceptualizing the relationship between viewing violence and posterior behaviors.The solution for ameliorating the impact of televised violence focuses on change in parental attitudes as well as profound changes in the entertainmen t industry. Changing parental attitudes and behavior toward media violence is more operable than changing the way the entertainment industry portrays violence. Educating parents about the childs cognitive and emotional developmental capacities has been recommended widely as one solution to lessen the potential impact of media violence.ReferencesAnderson, C, Bushman, B. (2001). 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. American Psychological Society, 12, pp. 353-359. Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall. Boyatzis, C. J. , Matillo, G. M. , Nesbitt, K. M. (1995). Effects of The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on childrens aggression with peers. Child Study Journal, 25(1), pp. 45-55.