he world is as mean and dangerous in real life as it appears on television, and hence, they begin to view the world as a much more mean and dangerous place, is another way in which media violence affects children (Murray 9). Children learn from observing the behavior of their parents and other adults. Television violence supplies models of aggressive “skills.” Acquisition of these skills, in turn, enhances children’s aggressive competencies. In fact, children are more likely to imitate what their parents do than heed what they say. If adults say they disapprove of aggression but smash furniture or slap each other when frustrated, children are likely to develop the notion that aggression is the way to handle frustration. Classic experiments have shown that children tend to imitate the aggressive behavior they see on television, whether the models are cartoons or real people. In one such experiment, a child watches a film where an adult beats up on a life-size doll. The child is then put in a room with the same doll and is observed. The child almost always beats up on the doll in the same ways as seen in the film. The expression of “skills” may be inhibited by punishment or by the expectation of punishment. Conversely, media violence may disinhibit the expression of aggressive impulses that would otherwise have been controlled, especially when media characters “get away” with violence or are rewarded for it. 73% of violent acts in programs went unpunished (“Telecommunications: Clinton Backs Antiviolence Chip” 536). Media violence and aggressive video games increase viewers’ levels of arousal. In the vernacular, television “works them up.” We are more likely to engage in dominant forms of behavior, including aggressive behavior, under high levels of arousal. Media violence has cognitive effects that also prime aggressive ideas and memories. Media violence provides scri...
