NCJ Number
158221
Date Published
1994
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This report describes the results of a literature review on the effects of media violence on the behavior of children; the search focused on violence portrayed in videos, television, computer games, trading cards, and board games.
Abstract
The correlational analyses described here sought to determine what processes -- including desensitization, direct imitation, and general imitation -- are activated by violent stimuli and how this affects subsequent behavior. Other factors that were considered included the degrees of realism and inhibition in the portrayal of violence. While some research indicates that exposure to violent stimuli causes no emotional or psychological reaction in laboratory settings, and that any reaction would probably not be replicated by the child viewer, other evidence suggests that media violence can indirectly affect behavior by desensitizing the viewer and imposing a higher tolerance for violence than may otherwise have been accepted. This report notes that several States are trying to pass legislation banning the sale of "serial killer" trading cards to minors, based on professional psychological opinion that exposing children to violent killers and presenting their crimes as worthy of collecting, raises potentially serious mental health issues. 93 references