The Causal Relationship Between Media and Participant Aggression

Scott Chastain

            Over the past 40 years a copious body of research concerning the relationship between violence depicted in the media and aggression of those who participate in the media through viewing, listening or active role-playing has been developed (Huesmann, L., Moise-Titus, J., Podolski, C., & Eron, L., 2003).  A vast majority of this research has centered primarily around television and movie violence, both of which will be covered briefly in this essay.  Video game violence and music aggression (both in lyrics and music video) have received less coverage (Anderson & Dill,  2000; Benjamin, 1999), but we will examine three studies focusing on these media channels as well.  By comparing various studies we hope to come to a conclusion as to whether or not it is safe to assume that media violence causes increased aggression, or if participation in violent media is instead a consequence of previously acquired aggression.  Through the examination of the various techniques used we can determine which variables were controlled for, and which were neglected.  The neglected variables should give us an indication of the areas that need future research.

            The most widely studied region in media aggression is in the realm of television and film.  There are considerable theories in psychology that have given different interpretations to the function of increased aggression.  These include observational learning (Bandura, 1977) and  priming (Huesmann, 1998).  It may well be an amalgamation of various learning and cognitive functions that are responsible for the overall effect of increased aggression.

            The evidence which supports the theory that exposure to violent television and movies causes an immediate increase in aggression is well documented and supported by empirical research (Bushman, B., & Anderson, C., 2001).  What is less well known is whether or not there is a longitudinal effect from exposure to media violence, and if this effect is positively correlated to the amount of violent media that the participant was exposed to as a child.  This relationship is essential to establish if we are to attribute any recorded increase in aggressive behavior amongst adults to the media they were exposed to as children.  Immediate but short-lived aggressive behavior by itself might not be of concern to society of large, and would only be a minor curiosity amongst scientists.  Objections to the attribution of violent media to longitudinal increased aggression have been brought forward over the past few decades to support the continuation of the production of violent films and television serials, and are being raised again to support the dramatic increase in violent video games and music.

            The most common version of this objection is known widely as the "catharsis hypothesis."  While it is not properly a hypothesis in the scientific sense, it is an anecdotal belief that exposure to violent media will actually decrease aggression in the participant by allowing an outlet for frustration which the participant has "bottled-up" (Anderson & Dill, 2000;  Bushman & Anderson,  2001; Anderson et al., 2003; Emes, 1997).  The empirical data suggest that this belief is a gross error.  A longitudinal study conducted by Huesmann et al. (2003) reveals that not only is there an increase in aggression as an immediate effect, but also that exposure to media violence as a child is a predictor of future aggression, antisocial behavior, and criminal activities.

            A typical and understandable counterargument to aggression research suggests that the children who tend to view violent media are themselves aggressive.  Aggression, according to this belief, is not caused by the media violence, but rather the choice to watch violent media is caused by the innate aggressive traits of the participant (Bushman & Anderson,  2001; Ferguson, 2002; Huesmann et al., 2003).  One psychologist put it more succinctly, "Humans are a violent species" (Ferguson, C., 2002).  Ferguson even went so far in his article to suggest that violence in human nature before the onset of electronic media depictions of violence are evidence that we should not draw any conclusions about the onset of electronic media as a causal source in increased human aggression. 

            Violent media, however, has been with us for thousands of years.  Greek plays, public executions, and various ways of communicating the glory of warfare through messengers, pageants, folklore, and other reenactments may have all been precursors to the modern media.  Ferguson also suggested that the conclusions reached by Bushman & Anderson (2001) only covered increase in aggression from the 1950s forward, and failed to take into consideration the prevalence of aggression and violence in American culture before the onset of electronic media, such as that seen in the19th century and the 1930s.  However as I have previously suggested there were media representations of violence in those eras as well.  The 1930s followed World War I, which was a very violent series of engagements, covered widely in the news media of its time.  The 19th century also had a brutal war,  the Civil War, which was the first American war to make use of photography and field journalists to report the events at battle.  The western settlements also shared a large display of violent behavior, but this can be accounted for by the priming associated with a large supply of readily available and ever-present firearms (Anderson & Dill, 2000), the witnessing of violence in the streets, and public hangings.  It certainly isn't suggested by aggression research that violence requires media exposure, but rather that exposure to violence in the media increases aggression. 

            The United States from 1950 to the present resembles the "Wild West" in that while we don't have violence celebrated in the streets, but rather we have violence celebrated in the media.  We still have a large problem with aggression and violence in some of the repressed districts in our major cities where exposure to actual violence is compounded with the prevalence of violent music and violent media. All of these factors may contribute to the causation of the noted increase in aggression in these environments.  We also have very peaceful communities throughout the world where violent and aggressive behavior are fairly unheard of.  The Amish, Transcendental Buddhist communities, and remote villages worldwide all have a reputation for little to no violence.  If this is the case, can we really attribute the human aggressive response to biology / evolution?  Animals raised in a domestic setting have a lower tendency to act in a violent manner compared to those who are raised in the wild, or that become feral.  This might indicate that aggression is typically learned, at least in mammals.  However if there is an “innate” human aggression response it still remains to be considered whether or not exposure to media violence acerbates aggressive cognitions and behavior.  The Huesmann study controlled for any such "innate aggression" measured by contrasting original childhood aggression with later aggression through their longitudinal study.  They also controlled for many other variables, including socioeconomic status (SES), intellectual ability, parental relationships, and parental television watching habits.  When all of these factors, plus several others, were controlled for, childhood exposure to watching violent programming still emerged as a dominant predictor of future aggressive traits (Huesmann et al., 2003, para.66).

            Earlier studies seemed to indicate that this was more of a male problem than a female problem (Huesmann et al., 2003, para.16).  However the Huesmann et al., study controlled for the gender differences in the application of aggression.  Namely, that males tend to use direct aggression, females tend to use indirect aggression, and both genders use verbal aggression equally.  Once these differences were controlled for, Huesmann et al. discovered that the observed longitudinal measure of adult aggression stemming from childhood media violence participation was summarily the same.

            More recently, studies have focused on the video game and music industries.  In recent years, both channels have noticed a rapid escalation in violent content; in the music industry this has been noted in both the lyrical content of the music as well as the video component aired on Music Television (MTV) and similar venues.  The violence in video games has increased at the same rate as the technological advancements in entertainment computing; enhancing game play with not only more violence, but more realistic violence (Anderson, C., & Dill, K., 2000).  As these media channels have been explored considerably less than the television and film industry, there is an impetus to conduct further research in both.

            The video game market has been increasingly focused on more realistic graphical representations, even in "cartoon character" games.  Every several years the industry makes considerable leaps in improving the realism factor within the games and we will be able to revisit current studies within another decade to ascertain the level of effect of violent video games on longitudinal aggression.

            The Anderson & Dill (2000) study revealed that there is a strong connection between video game violence and predicted aggression.  They experimented on this relationship by contrasting a very violent realistic game "Wolfenstein 3D," a somewhat less realistic violent video game "Marathon," a nonviolent realistic adventure game "Myst" and finally a nonviolent nonrealistic game "Tetrix."  The study was conducted using 210 male and female participants in two trials a week apart from each other.  The study itself is not clear on how the games were selected, although we may assume they were randomly and evenly assigned.

            The dependant variables were a word association test for the first trial, and a "noise blast competition" on the second trial.  The latter involved competing with an imaginary opponent whom the participant thought was real in either a win-win or lose-lose situation.  What was measured was the level of intensity and duration of a noise blast they were allowed to administer to their opponent.

            Anderson & Dill (2000) concluded that video game violence contributes to an increased repertoire of aggressive thoughts and schemas.  Such a repertoire “primes” the participant to more readily access these violent solutions when dealing with non-related problems.

            If we were to extend discoveries from television and movie media to video game media, we could reasonably predict that exposure to video game violence as a child will contribute to aggression later in life.  Although we cannot claim this with the level of confidence provided to us with the non-interactive media; it would seem to be a probable conclusion.  It may even be suggested, considering in video games the participant is an inter-active participant, we could expect the increased aggression effect to be higher through the video game media.  Another venue for further research might include “compounded” effects of video game violence, violent music, and violent television / films. 

            Research on the relationship between music and aggression is a little more complex.  Music videos have a visual component, so any study of a musical effect on aggression would probably be very similar to the studies on television and film in general.  Wann and Wilson(1996) conducted a study whose results were rather surprising, however.  They concluded that there was no significant effect of music videos on participant aggression. The Wann and Wilson (1996) study had a relatively small sample (N = 28).  A review of the data and reanalysis found significant effect on the same study (Benjamin, A., 1999).  Benjamin found that if you increase the sample size, those who have an “internal” locus of control (that is, they feel that they are in control of the world around them) tend to respond more to aggressive cues, and will tend to be more “provoked” towards aggression by viewing violent music videos.  It is clear though that this venue of media should be studied more extensively.

              Music without the video component presents a major difference from the other forms of media in that it doesn’t include a visual component.  Nevertheless, there are a few studies that have been conducted on music media violence.  One study examined the effects of lyrical content on participant aggression (Anderson, C., Carnagey, N., & Eubanks, J., 2003).  By comparing similar songs by artists with violent lyrics and songs by the same artists with nonviolent lyrics, they discovered that exposure to violent lyrics does increase the accessibility of aggressive traits.  They contend, based on this research, that the lyrical content alone is the primary factor in increased aggression, and also believe that long-term exposure to such lyrics may also contribute to aggression later in life.   Although I do not deny that the lyrical content is a contributing factor in increased aggression, I would question the role that the music itself contributes to the aggression.  There is ample room in this domain for further research.

            One such study should examine the lyrics without any musical component.  If it is the lyrics and not the style of music that accompanies the lyrics, then a narration of the lyrics alone should contribute to a significant increase in aggression priming in contrast to a reading in the same tone of nonviolent lyrics.  Similarly, the study should also include the exact same music with violent lyrics and an instrumental version.  Such samples exist on the market, and if no suitable sample can be found already marketed, one could be made with music editing software.  A study such as I propose should clarify precisely the role of the lyrics compared to the music.

            The ramifications of these studies on our societal responsibility are as numerous as the limitations of the studies themselves.  There are powerful ethical implications of doing completely controlled studies on these effects (such as subjecting a child to only extremely violent programming or programming that is entirely benign in nature).  Such implications limit our research, but do not stymie us completely.  Once we have learned how to control for the multitude of confounding variables, we have discovered that violent media is a powerful causal influence and predictor of later aggression, antisocial behavior, and academic retardation.  As a society, we strongly value our constitutional right to freedom of expression, but it is well established within the corpus of law that this right does not extend to the deprivation of greater rights in other citizens (e.g., we cannot express our frustration with a person by assaulting that person).  The implications of this research as it moves forward concern all of us as a society in this paradigm.  To what extent should we censor our media to reduce violent crime?  It is not the purport of this paper to answer such philosophical dilemmas, but I do feel it proper to raise the question while I call for further research.

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