Media Influence On Children's Aggressive Behavior

There are of course several factors that go into having an overall aggressive personality or behaviors. However, many studies have directly shown that children who are exposed to high levels of media violence are a lot more likely to act violently and aggressively in real life than those who have very limited or no viewing (Ciccarelli & White, 2011). One of the first attempts to showcase this was Bandura’s “bobo doll” experiment, where a group of children were shown a lady aggressively beating a blow up clown (Ciccarelli & White, 2011). The group that witnessed the violent behavior, once placed in the playroom with said doll and other toys always imitated the behavior they had seen; while the group that wasn’t shown the video did not (Ciccarelli.& …show more content…
They all show that increased exposure to violent media can cause a multitude of problems for the children in the short and long term. The three major effects of violent media are decreasing empathy towards others, increased likely hood of aggressive behavior and traits, and the increased fear of the real world. They have all shown similar results. Them being that the more exposure a child has to violent media the greater aggression they show towards things and people around them, especially in situations that reflect those that they have seen (Bushaman & Huesmann, 2006) (Daly & Perez, 2009) (Bracato et al, 2010). Media is most detrimental during the developmental stages of a childs life because this is when they are the most observant and impressionable. Through the studies of observational learning it is shown that children are likely to repeat the actions they witness (good or bad) (Bushman & Huesmann, 2006). This is especially true the more kids idolize said model and the more the kids see themselves in them (Bushman & Huesmann, 2009). So even if a child idolizes superman he or she will want to repeat his actions, which include; fighting, destroying other characters and property, etc. Although the end result is admirable because he is saving someone the actions that he is seen doing are violent. This repeated exposure to violence even in programs and mediums that seem harmless greatly affect children’s perspectives and can cause a change in personality traits ( Brocato et al, 2010). Children are in the midst of developing scripts, schemas, and beliefs of the world around them that will become pretty much hardwired in their brains and personalities to an extent (Bushman & Huesmann, 2009). Violent media can cause these outlooks to become skewed, causing a more defensive and aggressive outlook and personality. “A perpetuated fearful state may distort