User:Peter Milen/sandbox

=Media Violence: Does it Cause Aggression?:=

The question as to whether or not violent media causes aggressive behavior has been a topic of interest among individuals since the creation and distribution of these types of entertainment. Specifically, academics and scholars have conducted research that suggests that “yes, it does cause violence,” or “no, it does not.” Researchers have taken into account countless variables, such as social/ economic class, age, race, and gender. Regardless of the numerous amounts of research that has been conducted, scholars have still not agreed upon an answer towards this dilemma; therefore this section will cover both sides of the argument, based upon professional research and statistics.

YES, Violent Media DOES Cause Aggression:
This subsection will go over academic research that suggests this phenomenon to be true. To begin, Albert Bandura’s “Bobo Doll” experiment is a famous example. In the 60’s, Bandura examined the behavior of young children after seeing violent film clips and images; results found that those who watched violent content would more frequently act aggressively. The study shows how children who are exposed to violent film are more likely to imitate the behaviour in which they witness. Concurrently, some experts suggest that violent media can be problematic towards those who are already considered at risk. An article published in the Nature Reviews: Neuroscience Journal discussed an interview with six academic professionals; they all concluded that aggression after violent video game consumption is only problematic towards this who are already considered "at risk". This article suggests that there is still some connection between video games and violent behaviour, even though it is not as strong as most people assume. To continue on this, a study published in the Psychology of Popular Media Culture Journal conduced by Brad Bushman, Mario Gollwitzer, and Carlos Cruz had a similar verdict. Within their study, a wide variety of media researchers are interviewed on their opinions towards violent media causing aggression; the general consensus was, yes. . The overwhelming majority believe in this positive relation, recognizing violent film and video games to be the most persuasive, and print media to be the least. Additionally, Laurence Kutner's Grand Theft Childhood goes over various aspects of this dilemma in detail. Kutner brings forward a correlation between violence and video game consumption; some victims who have committed these crimes have shown to have an addiction to violent video games. Kutner draws a correlation between crime and violent video game use, suggesting that this relationship is causal.

NO, Violent Media DOES NOT Cause Aggression:
This section will cover research that does not support this phenomenon of media violence causing aggression. To begin, Derek Abma explains a study lead by Brock University PhD student Paul Adachi, which examined aggressive behaviour among university students after playing violent and non-violent video games. Results found that increases in aggression were merely a result of competition between individuals; the type of games were irrelevant, violent or not. In this particular study, violence in media content was found to be an irrelevant factor when examining aggressive behaviour. Concurrently, Michigan University Professor Whitney Decamp conducted a study examining the effects of violent video game consumption in relation to other risk factors. After studying over 6000 grade eight students, results suggested that aggression was not based upon violent video game consumption, but other factors such as social life, living situations, relationships with families, and so on. . Essentially, Decamp's study suggests the consumption of violent media is an irrelevant factor when determining aggression. Additionally, Christopher Ferguson's study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence also suggests violent video game consumption to be irrelevant when determining violence. Ferguson's study examines crime and violence among predominantly hispanic youth. Findings show depressive symptoms to be a strong preceder toward violent behaviour; consumption of violent film and video games were not found to aggrevate any serious actions. Furthermore, Crime statistics released by the FBI do not align with the idea that violent media causes aggression. The FBI shows how there have been declines in almost all types of violent crimes and property crimes since 2009. If the volume of violent media increases, and the rate of crime decreases, it would not make sense that violent film and games encourage violent behaviour.