Media Violence and the Development of Aggressive Behavior

INTRODUCTION American's history of exposure to violent media has spanned more than a century, from the film The Great Train Robbery to the television show "Dragnet" to the video game Far Cry 2. Through films, television shows, music, and video games, people in all modern societies consume violent entertainment media on a regular basis. There is also a long history of concern that exposure to violent media might have negative consequences for viewers. In 1954, Senator Estes Kefauver's judiciary subcommittee investigated the role oJ violent television shows in juvenile delinquency and issued a warning about such shows. In 1969 the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence identified television violence as a contributor to societal violence. A 1972 report of Surgeon General Jesse Steinfeld recognized an overwhelming consensus among the Scientific Advisory Committee members that screen violence (films and television) contributed to aggressive behavior.1