The Influence of Media Violence on Youth
1. Craig A. Anderson1,
2. Leonard Berkowitz2,
3. Edward Donnerstein3,
4. L. Rowell Huesmann4,
5. James D. Johnson5,
6. Daniel Linz6,
7. Neil M. Malamuth7 and
8. Ellen Wartella8
+Author Affiliations
1. 1Department of Psychology, Iowa State University
2. 2Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin
3. 3College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona
4. 4Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
5. 5Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina-Wilmington
6. 6Department of Communication and Law and Society Program, University of California, Santa Barbara
7. 7Department of Communication/Speech, University of California, Los Angeles
8. 8College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin
1. Craig A. Anderson, Department of Psychology, W112 Lagomarcino Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-3180; e-mail: caa@iastate.edu.
Abstract
Research on violent television and films, video games, and music reveals unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both immediate and long-term contexts. The effects appear larger for milder than for more severe forms of aggression, but the effects on severe forms of violence are also substantial (r = .13 to .32) when compared with effects of other violence risk factors or medical effects deemed important by the medical community (e.g., effect of aspirin on heart attacks). The research base is large; diverse in methods, samples, and media genres; and consistent in overall findings. The evidence is clearest within the most extensively researched domain, television and film violence. The growing body of video-game research yields essentially the same conclusions.
Short-term exposure increases the likelihood of physically and verbally aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, and aggressive emotions. Recent large-scale longitudinal studies provide converging evidence...