Does watching violence on television cause apathy?

The hypothesis that exposure to televised violence serves to increase children's toleration of real-life aggression was investigated. Fifth-grade boys and girls were exposed to either a violent television excerpt or a nonviolent, exciting control program. Immediately thereafter, each child was lead to believe that he had been given responsibility for monitoring the behavior of two younger children. Subjects who had witnessed the aggressive television program were found to be significantly slower to summon appropriate adult aid when the younger children began to argue and fight than were subjects who had viewed the control film.