The Role of Media Violence in Violent Behavior

Posted: 11 Jan 2008

See all articles by Rowell Huesmann

Rowell Huesmann

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Institute for Social Research (ISR)

­Laramie D. Taylor

University of California, Davis

Abstract

Media violence poses a threat to public health inasmuch as it leads to an increase in real-world violence and aggression. Research shows that fictional television and film violence contribute to both a short-term and a long-term increase in aggression and violence in young viewers. Television news violence also contributes to increased violence, principally in the form of imitative suicides and acts of aggression. Video games are clearly capable of producing an increase in aggression and violence in the short term, although no long-term longitudinal studies capable of demonstrating long-term effects have been conducted. The relationship between media violence and real-world violence and aggression is moderated by the nature of the media content and characteristics of and social influences on the individual exposed to that content. Still, the average overall size of the effect is large enough to place it in the category of known threats to public health.

Keywords: aggression, assault, TV, video games, imitation

Suggested Citation

Huesmann, Rowell and Taylor, ­Laramie D., The Role of Media Violence in Violent Behavior. Annual Review of Public Health, Vol. 27, April 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1082524

Rowell Huesmann (Contact Author)

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Institute for Social Research (ISR) ( email )

Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248
United States

­Laramie D. Taylor

University of California, Davis ( email )

One Shields Avenue
Apt 153
Davis, CA 95616
United States

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