TV VIOLENCE & CHILDREN.   Term Paper ID:26907 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines research on impact of viewing violence on children's behavior, psychological & emotional reality, social relationships, individual cognitive development.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines research on impact of viewing violence on children's behavior, psychological & emotional reality, social relationships, individual cognitive development. Paper Introduction: The Effects of Viewing Televised Violence on Children Introduction Statements about the impact of televised violence are not always supported by the research, but may sometimes reflect people's opinions about that issue. There is also a great deal of uncertainty about the impact of televised violence on developing brains, and contradictions within the literature regarding the impact of watching televised violence on children's behavior. Thus, in looking at two different books on child development, one may find different opinions, but little discussion of the available research. One asserted unequivocally that watching televised violence has a variety of negative effects (Leach, 1997). The other book was more equivo Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. (1991). The second area of interest would be in exploring the relationshipbetween children's viewing of violence (both fictional and real) and theirmeaning-making process. This seems to support the concept mentioned earlierthat social learning does take place during television viewing and thatthis impacts the child's development of certain attitudes and beliefs aboutthe world around them, as well as their interpretation of events. Whatdoes this meaning-making process have to do with their attitudes towardviolence, their belief about using violence in their own lives, and theirview of the reality? Your baby and child. High emotional arousal, and high heart rateswhich are not connected to aerobic activity, are more similar to stressresponses, which are destructive to the body, than to athletic activity,which builds cardiovascular capacity. Along with children's responses to violence, which they may or maynot be completely aware of, an important consideration in thinking aboutchild and adolescent development is the children's attitudes toward theviolence they are watching. What they concluded is that there was some social learningfrom such programming as evidenced by the differing ratings of similarevents in real life. The other bookwas more equivocal noting that there was not adequate research regardingthe impact of too much video viewing, in general, on attention problems inchildren, and that we really do not know what television and video do tothe growing brain, even though there are likely to be neurologicalconsequences with any repeated exposure to a stimulus (Healy, 1994). Psychology today, 3 (3), 1 . At the same time, Buckingham's argument that young people did nottake televised violence seriously seems to be one that could be used tosupport the negative conclusion that children are being disinhibitedregarding violence or blunted to its emotional impact. However, in looking at theimpact of television violence on children's responses and connecting thatto recent research on brain development, it seems probable that viewingtelevised violence has a negative impact on brain development, at aminimum. What we do know about brain development, and child development ingeneral, is that it begins in utero, accelerates at birth, and that much ofthe formation of the brain capacity for cognition and emotional capacity isestablished during the first three years of life (Healy, 1994).Background to the Subject The intention in the following pages is to look at the research thatis available dealing with the impact of television violence on aspects ofchild development. Your child's growing mind. Journal of the American Academy of Child andAdolescent Psychiatry, 38(6), 782-783. (1998). These are typical ofthe problems affecting this type of research. This influence can be either negative of positive. Themeasure of how this impacts brain development, however, would be quitecomplex, probably requiring large numbers of subjects and a long-termlongitudinal study to be of any real value. This was administered to students ingrades three through eight in 11 Ohio public schools during the 1995-1996school year. Following this, researchers could explore the impact of viewingviolent televised material on infants and toddlers, although there are somany ethical issues involved here that this would be difficult toaccomplish. How does this impact their expectations for thefuture, both for themselves personally and for the country? Perhaps the most interesting of their results for this study is thatthe children who perceived the family sitcom to be the most highlyrealistic were the children who were most concerned about similar negativeemotional events in their own lives. Journal of the American Academy of Childand Adolescent Psychiatry, 37(1 ), 1 41-1 48. Manchester, UK: Manchester UniversityPress. Finally, a third significant area for research is the more standardone of linking up children's responses to televised violence and theirlater behaviors or psychological problems. Weiss, A.J. There isevidence that the mother's stress response results in the release of stresshormones that are passed along to the child in the womb, resulting invastly increased activity. Fisman and Fisman(1999) seem to have made a start in thinking about the impact of televisedviolence on psychological trauma and the reporting of symptoms. Inthis research, Weiss and Wilson (1998) looked at children's cognitive andemotional responses to the expression of negative emotions in family-formatted sitcoms. Heart rate for the boys was high for action shows in comparison toother shows, with additional heart rate indicating extreme emotionalarousal highest for action shows as well. For example, as Healy (1994)reported, repetitive and strong stimuli have an impact on braindevelopment. Again, it is difficult toconstruct credible research dealing with this linkage, but it is important. In an early study of these issues, Josephson (1987) looked at thepriming, social script, and disinhibition predictions related to televisionviolence and children's aggression, finding some support for these. This is the children's emotional response, and similar to self-reports. This, then, reawakens thoseethical issues. And Gruber, M.L. And Erwin, P.G. (1999). Journal of ClinicalChild Psychology, 2 (1), 88. Thisintroduces bias into the study. A chip of fools? Inother words, children live in an interactive world. One interesting result of their research was that children in Group2, who watched a great deal more television than their peers in Group 1,had a significantly higher sense of personal risk and suspicion and wereadditionally more likely to perceive the world as a difficult, frightening,and dangerous place. They note that when children tend tohave heavy viewing habits, including heavy habits of choosing to watchtelevised violence, this is more an indication of widespread problems inthe home. They also concluded that these results indicated that one shouldnot assume that the shows with the most actual violent acts were more fear-provoking than shows with more acts of implied violence. Myrtek, M., Scharff, C., Brugner, G. References Buckingham, D. Thus, in looking at two different books on childdevelopment, one may find different opinions, but little discussion of theavailable research. Hough, K.J. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(5), 882. Electrodermal responses toimplied versus actual violence on television. For example, in their study of children withmental disorders, Fisman and Fisman (1999) noted that television, alongwith books and movies, can actually impact how psychiatric problemsmanifest in children and how children describe their problems. One asserted unequivocally that watching televisedviolence has a variety of negative effects (Leach, 1997). Theyconcluded that implied violence may actually elicit more fear and thatsounds alone contribute significantly to emotional responses to televisionviolence. (1998). Kunkel, D. NY: Doubleday. And Muller, W. To reiterate, that recent brain research has shown that stressin utero, and stress/trauma/negative experiences during the early years,have a negative impact on brain development(Healy, 1994). And York, P. The study used a survey design which provided for ananonymous self-report questionnaire. Moving images: Understanding children'semotional responses to television. Singer, M.I., Slovak, K., Frierson, T. Is there anyrelationship? (1997). It wasalso interesting that a large number of these children acknowledged thattelevision had an impact on them and that there might be a need for someform of social control. (1997). Television, children, and socialpolicy: Issues and resources for child advocates. For the boys, the mean time watching television was 123 minutesper day, with most of the viewing involving either entertainment or actionshows. Children's cognitive andemotional responses to the portrayal of negative emotions in family-formatted situation comedies. According to Buckingham,there is no definitive research linking televised violence withdesensitization in children. In particular, those children who did not see thehumorous subplot clearly rated similar events in their lives as morenegative after viewing the program. They do not simplytake in information passively and apply that information with impunity.There are consequences to their actions and they receive feedback fromtheir environment about their behavior. Jun Vol 24(4)584-6 9. One cannot conclude from theresearch that high television viewing reduces intellectual and socialdevelopment, but certainly the two are associated here. Hough and Erwin (1997) designed a study usinga 47-item questionnaire to collect both attitudinal and personalinformation from 316 children aged 11 to 16 years. Grades 3-5, in viewing a family sitcom thatfeatured either anger or fear and varied the inclusion of positive andhumorous subplots (Weiss and Wilson, 1998). If the monitoring does not exist in the home, rather thanthrough use of the v-chip, it is probable that caretaking, in general, islacking. Thus, television violence alonecannot account for children's behavior, at least using this model ofinterpretation. This could begin with studying the effects in utero ofmothers watching violent and stressful material on television. For him, the context is the important thing, including the socialinvolvements of the child. One major critique of the v-chip comes from Norway, which isimplementing a major campaign against visual violence. The researchers also noted that there seemed tobe a difference between self-assessment of emotional states and actualphysiological responses. On the other hand, the researchersnoted that the child's experiences in their own life might also haveimpacted how realistic they rated the programs, and the expressions ofemotion. The Journal of Psychology, 131(4), 411-415. He felt that the study of violence on television wastaken out of context, and not understood in terms of children'ssocialization and meaning-making. They used clusteranalysis to split the participants into two groups based on theirattitudes, but found nothing significant in terms of personalcharacteristics to predict group membership. The total number of children surveyed was 2,245. And Murray, J. First, self-report questionnaires can lead to errroneous self-presentation. One of these developed through the work of Kunkel and others wasthe V-chip, the technological attempt to control children's viewing andlimit their access to violent content. What does this mean for brain development? (1998) explored the viewing preferences, symptoms ofpsychological trauma, and violent behaviors among children who watchedtelevision. Leach, P. (1998). The Effects of Viewing Televised Violence on ChildrenIntroduction Statements about the impact of televised violence are not alwayssupported by the research, but may sometimes reflect people's opinionsabout that issue. Josephson, W.L. It is difficult to determine the interactions developmentally. For example, the Kalamas and Gruber (1998) study workedwith boys and girls between the ages of 1 and 15 years, long after theperiod when the most active stages of brain development have beencompleted. According to theNorwegians, blaming broadcasters for children's viewing habits, andchildren's problems, is problematic. Clearly television is part ofchildren's developmental process, for good or ill, as one major culturalinfluence. How do children make meaning of violence? Still, there are enough cartoons available to very youngchildren that include violent material that studies could be done. In otherwords, television is a major part of the cultural influence on youngchildren. Singer et al. This next report, too, deals withchildren's emotional response, measured technologically, rather thanthrough survey or self-report. This would seem tohave consequences for psychological and social development.Implications of the Research It is difficult to make any definitive statements about the impact oftelevised violence on children's development. There is indication that negative, or traumatic stimuli havea negative impact on brain development. Kalamas and Gruber (1998) exploredchildren's responses to implied versus actual violence on televisionthrough measuring the electrodermal response (EDR) of those children.They also made separate evaluation of the association of auditoryaccompaniment of the violence to see if that had an impact on EDR. The expectations are thattelevision violence will somehow teach children to be more violent,disinhibit them from violence, or in some way blunt their reactions toviolence, leading to more acceptance of violence in the community as awhole. He interviewed a number of children, andparents, about their actual processing of violent content in movies andtelevision programs. (1996). He argued that the social dynamics ofchildren's responses revealed how they received meaning from viewing, andhow their social and interpersonal roles, and social context, influencedthe emotions that they experienced. (1987). The researchers themselves noted that the physiological responsesnoted here are associated with health hazards under the stress-strain modelof human psychophysiology. Kalamas, A.D. One interesting piece of research provides an example of howchildren's actual cognitive and emotional responses can be determined. There seems to be a problem of linkage in much of theresearch between new brain research or studies of child development andmeasurement of child's emotional response. A book by David Buckingham (1996) can establish afoundation for thinking about that research. (1997). And Wilson, B.J. Thus, children tend to view their televisionwatching as less stimulating than it actually is according to monitors(Myrtek, 1996). Children's ability to cope withviolent programs was much greater when they viewed those programs in asocial context. What we are left with, then, is a study that has limited usefulnessin telling us what really happens when children watch television, and whathappens when they watch violent acts on television. (1996).Physiological, behavioral, and psychological effects associated withtelevision viewing in schoolboys: An exploratory study. This research seems to have implications for the boys' physical andintellectual development. While this is not physical violence per se, negativeemotions can be a form of verbal violence. Knopf. Their study was designed to determine associations betweentelevision-viewing practices and symptoms of either psychological trauma oraggressive behavior. However, the background noise and voices in the sound trackhad considerable impact on EDR, increasing the total number. The results were quite interesting in that they seem to becounterintuitive. Children who liked violent action films were just aslikely to be upset by portrayals of violence on the news and just as likelyto be worried about becoming victims of violence as children who did notwatch violent films. Cultural influences on symptompresentation in childhood. Television violence and children'saggression: Testing the priming, social script, and disinhibitionpredictions. Those who perceived the program to beless realistic were less concerned about negative emotional events in theirown lives. There is still need for furtherresearch exploring the effectiveness of this method in actually reducingchildren's exposure to violent content. There is also a great deal of uncertainty about theimpact of televised violence on developing brains, and contradictionswithin the literature regarding the impact of watching televised violenceon children's behavior. This seems to contradict Buckingham's (1996)argument that young people did not take the televised violence seriouslyand did not think that there was need for so much social concern about it. In comparison to school andleisure time, additional heart rate during television viewing was muchhigher. Children's attitudes towardviolence on television. Children do respond tomaterial, but this may not lead to any long-term consequences in attitudesand behaviors. There are, of course, some methodological problems here. (1994). Those with high television consumption also read fewer books,showed fewer interests outside the home, did less homework, and had fewerhobbies (Myrtek, 1996). There is additional interesting material about physiologicalresponses to action television, which contains a great deal of violentcontent. Most commonly, itis thought of a negative, as leading to attention problems, aggressiveness,violence, stress, and other behavior disorders. Marano, H.E. Healy, J.M. Is this an association which holdswith a strong emotional response of fear in viewing a television program?And, at what ages? The authors did not, however, deal with the meaning of this strongemotional response. The strongest EDRs were elicited through implied violentstimuli, such as viewing the villain's face, while the weakest responsesoccurred with the actual violent stimuli, such as stabbing of theindividual. Yet, thereis much more to be done. Their study involved 5 eleven-year-old boys who were monitored forviewing procedures using a special ambulatory device able to store 23-hourrecords. The Journal ofEarly Adolescence, 16(3),3 1-324. NY: Alfred A. Isthe mother's viewing habits as likely to have an impact on the child'sdevelopment as her use of alchohol, drugs, or cigarettes? The previous is a report of emotional response, rather than long-termconsequences or effects on behaviors. The Journal of GeneralPsychology, 125(1), 31-37. What actually is available in the literature in dealing withbehavioral effects and long-term influence, rather than immediate emotionalresponse?Research Findings There is a wide array of findings dealing with the impact oftelevision on children. Sheused an information-processing model in order to interpret media impacts onaggression, noting that feedback is an important element of that model. In terms of predictors, theonly significant one dealing with attitudes toward televised violence wasthe amount of television watched on school days. Although the researchers did not make any hypotheses regardingphysical development in looking at their data, the information issuggestive (Myrtek et al., 1996). Fisman, S. Second, there seems to be quite a gapbetween what students in grade three would understand, and be able toreport, about their behavior and the capabilities of eighth graders.Third, and most difficult to deal with, is that the authors are unable tocontrol the many other variables that lead to psychological trauma andviolent behavior. Viewingpreferences, symptoms of psychological trauma, and violent behaviors amongchildren who watch television. And Fisman, R. Still, the question is the impact of television violence onchildren's developmental process, which includes psychological, emotional,physiological, and social processes. Human Communication Research. Kunkel and Murray (1991) noted that the impact of televisionchildren, at a minimum, has been demonstrated in many different studies.They suggest that this creates many public policy issues thatprofessionals, parents, health care professionals, psychologists, andothers must consider in developing initiatives dealing with television andchildren. The authors explored the responses of both boys and girls from twograde levels, Grades K-2 vs. For him, children's reactions should betermed "responses", rather than "effects". This, too, would have implications for child development (Marano,1997).Areas for future research One of the most interesting, and important, areas for future researchis in linking the viewing of television violence to brain development inyoung children. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.