life as it appears on television, and hence, theybegin to view the world as a much more mean and dangerous place, is another wayin which media violence affects children (Murray 9).Children learn from observing the behavior of their parents and otheradults. Television violence supplies models of aggressive “skills.”Acquisition of these skills, in turn, enhances children's aggressivecompetencies. In fact, children are more likely to imitate what their parentsdo than heed what they say. If adults say they disapprove of aggression butsmash furniture or slap each other when frustrated, children are likely todevelop the notion that aggression is the way to handle frustration. Classicexperiments have shown that children tend to imitate the aggressive behaviorthey see on television, whether the models are cartoons or real people. In onesuch experiment, a child watches a film where an adult beats up on a life-sizedoll. The child is then put in a room with the same doll and is observed. Thechild 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 theexpectation of punishment. Conversely, media violence may disinhibit theexpression 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: ClintonBacks Antiviolence Chip” 536).Media violence and aggressive video games increase viewers' levels ofarousal. In the vernacular, television “works them up.” We are more likely toengage in dominant forms of behavior, including aggressive behavior, under highlevels of arousal. Media violence has cognitive effects that also primeaggressive ideas and memories. Media violence provides scripts , or ideas onhow to behave in situations that seem to paralle...
