Television Violence Essay Research Paper Television ViolenceREVIEW

Television Violence Essay, Research Paper

Television Violence

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

As indicated, there are both advocates of the view that the watching of violence on television by children causes them to commit violent behavior, and there are people who disagree with this view and feel that other factors besides violent television viewing can be attributed for the cause of violent behavior in children. This paper will start by first discussing the views of those who disagree with the statement that the viewing of violence on television by children is the cause of violent behavior by children.

One reason given for the cause of violence that is commited by children is given by The National Institute of Mental Health ( N.I.M.H. ). According to the N.I.M.H. when kids beat up their siblings or abuse animals they may have a chemical problem. Children prone to violence may have low levels of the important neurotransmitter serotonin that helps regulate emotions. Researchers have found deficiencies of the neurotransmitter serotonin in adults who commit violent crimes and try to take their own lives. If one ultimately discover that kids with low serotonin go on to repeat the adult pattern the results are chilling and we must consider what must be done to help them now according to Dr. Markus Kruesi, a N.I.M.H. psychiatrist ( Talen,1992 ).

Another cause given for violence in children is explained in a study conducted by the Erikson Institute in Chicago. In this study the Erikson Institute discovered how children from dangerous urban environments experience loss and threat, and how therapeutic play can be a positive vehicle for effective intervention. They list two hypotheses relevant to domestic concerns, most particularly in the “War Zones” of urban public housing projects. They were: (1) Children will continue to cope with difficult environments as long as their parents and other caretakers are not pushed beyond their capacity to adapt to stress and make sense of their children’s experience, and (2) As an adverse unintended consequence of adapting to dangerous environments, children will develop patterns of behavior and emotional expression that hinder successful functioning in the normal load of school, work, and the community ( Brown University Child Behavior and Development Letter,1 ). The researchers in this study were attempting to identify the relationship between children and violent behavior. They identify three critical elements, which included parent-child attachment, parental self-esteem, and the stability of routine care taking arrangements.

Thus far, the literature does identify factors other than television, which may be a cause of violent behavior among children. Nevertheless, the evidence given is not definitive in terms of its identification of a cause or a correlation between viewing violent television and violent behavior among children. Now this review of the literature will look at the views of those who support the theory that the viewing of violent television by children causes violent behavior among these children.

Much research has been done in an attempt to show why children are so influenced by what they see on television. The people who conduct this research feel that the research proves time and time again that violence and violent television viewing do go hand in hand. Author Michael Howe stated “The truth about television violence and children has been shown. The studies that have been conducted and all their results seem to point to one conclusion : Television violence causes children to be violent and the effects can be life-long ” ( Howe, 1977 ).

Howe went on to say “The information cannot be ignored, violent television viewing does affect children”. The effects have been seen in a number of cases. In New York, a sixteen-year-old boy broke into a cellar. When the police caught him and asked him why he was wearing gloves he replied that he had learned to do so to not leave fingerprints and that he discovered this on television. In Alabama, a nine-year-old boy received a bad report card from his teacher. He suggested sending the teacher poison candy as revenge as he had seen on television the night before. In California, a seven-year-old boy sprinkled ground-up glass into the lamb stew the family was to eat for dinner. When asked why he did it he replied that he wanted to see if the results would be the same in real life as they were on television ( Howe,1977 ). These are just a few examples of how television can affect the child. It must be pointed out that all of these situations were directly caused by children watching violent television.

Researcher/Author, Douglass Carter, writes, “Not only does television violence affect the child’s youth but it can also affect his or her adulthood”. Some Psychologists and psychiatrists feel that continued exposure to such violence might unnaturally speed up the impact of the adult world on the child. This can force the child into kind of a premature maturity. As the child matures into an adult, he can become bewildered, have a greater distrust towards others, a superficial approach to adult problems, and even an unwillingness to become an adult ( Carter,1977 ).

Author John Langone, writes, “For some, television at its worst, is an assault on a child’s mind, an insidious influence that upsets moral balance and makes a child prone