The Generalist’s Corner

Teaching of Psychology
2018, Vol. 45(2) 200-206
Teaching Students About Violent ª The Author(s) 2018
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Media Effects DOI: 10.1177/0098628318762936
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Brad J. Bushman1

Abstract
Although violent entertainment has existed for centuries, the media have made it more accessible than ever before. In modern
societies, people are immersed in media, like fish in water. Using hand-held devices, people can consume media just about
anywhere they want, anytime they want. Moreover, violence is a common theme in the media, and research has consistently
shown that violent media can have harmful effects on consumers, such as making them more aggressive and more numb to the
pain and suffering of others. Teaching students about the harmful effects of violent media is challenging because many students
love to consume violent media, and believe they are somehow immune to any harmful effects. This article reviews the scientific
evidence on violent media effects, discusses some reasons why people deny violent media effects, and offers suggestions for how
to teach students about violent media effects.

Keywords
media violence, video games, aggression, desensitization

Throughout history, violent entertainment has been tremen- Colosseum, up to 10,000 animals died. In the celebration of
dously popular. Humans probably have been entertaining Trajan’s conquest of Dacia, 11,000 animals and 5,000 pairs of
themselves with violent spectacles since the beginning of time. gladiators died. Saint Augustine made the following comment
Consider just a few historical examples. Between 2000 BCE about gladiator games in 380 BCE: “The society has become
and 44 CE, the ancient Egyptians entertained themselves with addicted to gladiator games and is drunk with the fascination of
plays reenacting the murder of their god, Osiris (Takuri, 2017). bloodshed.”
Seth hated his brother Osiris and devised a plan to kill him. Spectators of Olympic Games dating to 648 BCE saw com-
After secretly obtaining the exact body measurements of Osiris, petitors engage in a dangerous sport called “pankration,” which
Seth made a beautiful box (like a coffin) that fit him perfectly. literally means “all force” (Arvanitis, 2003). Opponents could
Seth invited his brother and 72 conspirators to a feast and said do almost anything to each other (e.g., wrestling, hitting, kick-
he would give this box to the person it fit perfectly. Several ing, throwing, and choking) except biting, gouging the eyes,
conspirators tried to get inside the box, but it did not fit them. and attacking the genitals. Pankration was part of the Olympic
Then Osiris got inside. Games for about 1,000 years.
Public executions have also been very popular throughout
“I fit exactly, and the box is mine!” said Osiris. history. The first recorded burning for heresy occurred in
“It is yours, indeed, and shall be so forever!” replied Seth. Britain in 1222. In the 16th century, Mary Tudor (Bloody
Mary), daughter of King Henry VIII, burned 274 people to
The conspirators then slammed the lid, nailed it shut, and death during her 5-year reign. Burning was not the only form
sealed it with molten lead. Osiris suffocated inside. of public execution in Britain either. Executions at the perma-
Another popular form of violent entertainment was the gla- nent gallows at Tyburn (west of London) drew large crowds of
diator games, which were most common in ancient Rome spectators. Public executions were brought to America from
(Epplett, 2017). Gladiator games were introduced to Rome in Britain. For example, in the Salem witch trials, which occurred
264 BCE when the sons of Junius Brutus honored their father in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693, more than
by having three pairs of gladiators fight each other to the death.
Julius Caesar similarly honored his father in 65 BCE by having
1
320 pairs of gladiators fight one another. The gladiators were School of Communication, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
typically prisoners of war, slaves, criminals, or Christians who
Corresponding Author:
refused to worship the Roman gods. The Colosseum, which Brad J. Bushman, School of Communication, The Ohio State University, 3016
could hold about 50,000 spectators, was built between 75 and Derby Hall, 154 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
80 CE to house the gladiator games. In the dedication of the Email: [email protected]
Bushman 201

200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft (the “Devil’s Hartmann, Krakowiak, & Tsay-Vogel, 2014), music videos
magic”), and 20 were publicly executed (Blumberg, 2007). The (e.g., Martin & Collins, 2002), and even advertisements (e.g.
last public execution in the United States (U.S.) occurred in Jones, Cunningham, & Gallagher, 2014). Indeed, violence is a
1936 in Owensboro, Kentucky, where a Black man named common theme even in media rated as appropriate for children,
Rainey Bethea was hanged before a crowd of 20,000 for raping such as G-rated films for general audiences (Yokota & Thomp-
and killing a 70-year-old woman. Newspapers described ven- son, 2000). The amount of violent content in the media also
dors selling hot dogs, popcorn, and drinks at the hanging. An appears to be increasing over time. For example, the number of
article in Time magazine (“Party,” August 24, 1936) reported, acts of gun violence in PG-13 films (for ages 13þ) has more
“Every bar was packed to the doors. Down the main street tipsy than doubled since the rating was introduced in 1985 (Bushman
merrymakers rollicked all night. ‘Hanging parties’ were held in et al., 2013).
many a home” (p. 5).
Violent Media Effects
Definitions Social scientists have conducted hundreds of studies on the link
Before I go further, it is important to define three key terms: between exposure to violent media and aggression and violence
(a) aggression, (b) violence, and (c) media violence. Aggres- (for meta-analytic reviews, see Anderson & Bushman, 2002;
sion refers any behavior intended to harm another person who Anderson et al., 2010; Bushman & Huesmann, 2006; Greite-
does not want to be harmed (Baron & Richardson, 1994). meyer & Mügge, 2014; Paik & Comstock, 1994).
Violence is any behavior intended to cause extreme physical Experimental studies have shown that exposure to media
harm (e.g., injury or death) to another person who does not violence causes people to behave more aggressively immedi-
want to be harmed (Bushman & Huesmann, 2010). For ately afterward. In one experiment (Konijn, Nije Bijvank, &
example, one person intentionally hitting, kicking, shooting, Bushman, 2007), for example, 112 teenage boys were ran-
or stabbing another person is an act of violence. But, by this domly assigned to play a violent or nonviolent video game for
definition, a husband who calls his wife every name in the book 20 min and then rated how much they identified with the video
would not be committing an act of violence. Thus, all violent game character. After gameplay, the boys competed with an
acts are aggressive, but only acts intended to cause extreme ostensible partner to see who could press a button faster when a
physical harm are classified as violent. This definition of light turned green. (In reality, the boys competed against a
violence can also be applied to media violence, which is any computer.) The “winner” got to blast the “loser” with loud
behavior intended to cause extreme physical harm to another noise through headphones. The results showed that violent
media character who does not want to be harmed (Bushman, game players were more aggressive than nonviolent game play-
2017). Media characters can be actual people, animals, realistic ers, especially if they identified with the game character. These
characters, fictitious characters, or cartoon characters. boys were even willing to deliver noise levels loud enough to
supposedly cause permanent hearing damage.
Although laboratory experiments have been criticized for
Media Violence being conducted in unnatural settings with “artificial” mea-
Although violent entertainment is ancient, because of mass sures of aggression (e.g., painful electric shocks, loud noise
media, it is more accessible now than ever before. Television blasts, or spicy hot sauce given to a partner), field experiments
(TV) was introduced to the U.S. at the 1939 World’s Fair in have produced similar effects in natural settings with realistic
New York. Two years later, the Federal Communications measures of aggression. The main concern, however, is about
Commission licensed and approved the first commercially the long-term cumulative effects of exposure to violent media.
available TV stations. Since then, TV ownership has increased Numerous longitudinal studies have shown that exposure to
both in the U.S. and in other developed countries. Worldwide, violent media as a child predicts aggressive and violent beha-
more than 1.4 billion households now own at least one TV set, vior many years later as an adult. For example, in one long-
representing 79% of total households (Butts, 2013). Virtually itudinal study, children exposed to violent media at ages 8–10
all households in the developed world now own a TV set, as do were nearly twice as likely to have assaulted their spouses 15
about 69% of households in developing countries (Butts, 2013). years later as young adults (Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski,
The percentage of TV owners is lowest in some African & Eron, 2003).
countries due to limited access to electricity. People today can Exposure to violent media can also have other harmful
also consume media on computers, tablets, and handheld effects, such as increasing aggressive thoughts, angry feelings,
devices. On these different media platforms, people can play and physiological arousal (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure;
video games; listen to music; read books; and watch TV Anderson et al., 2010). Exposure to violent media can make
programs, movies, and videos. people more fearful of becoming victims of violence them-
Apparently, the thirst for violent entertainment has not chan- selves (Gerbener & Gross, 1976). Exposure to violent media
ged much from the ancient past. Violence is a common theme can also increase hostile appraisals and biases, so that people
in TV programs (e.g., Hetsroni, 2007), films (e.g., Bushman, view the world as a hostile place (Bushman, 2016). Exposure to
Jamieson, Weitz, & Romer, 2013), video games (e.g., violent media can decrease helping and feelings of empathy
202 Teaching of Psychology 45(2)

Anderson et al., 2010). In one field experiment (Bushman & violent TV program, viewers might or might not identify with a
Anderson, 2009; Study 2), for example, 162 violent and non- violent character. Research has shown that people are more
violent moviegoers witnessed a young woman with an injured likely to behave aggressively when they identify with a violent
ankle (actually an accomplice to the experimenter) drop her character (e.g., Konijn et al., 2007).
crutches outside a movie theater and struggle to pick them Third, violent games directly reward violent behavior, for
up. By random assignment, the woman either dropped her example, by awarding points or by allowing players to advance
crutches just before the movie, as people were entering the to the next game level. In some games, players are rewarded
theater, or just after the movie, as people were exiting the through verbal praise, such as hearing the words “Nice shot!”
theater. An observer used a stopwatch to determine how long after killing an enemy. It is well known that rewarding behavior
it took people to help her. People who had just seen a violent increases its frequency. In TV programs, reward is not directly
movie took 26% longer to help the woman than those who had tied to the viewer’s behavior.
seen a nonviolent movie. In contrast, there was no difference in There are also empirical data supporting these assertions. In
the amount of time it took moviegoers to help the woman one study (Polman, Orobio de Castro, & Van Aken, 2008), for
before the movie, which ruled out the possibility that less help- example, children were randomly assigned to play a violent
ful people were more likely to attend the violent movies. video game, watch someone else play the violent game, or play
In 1972, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a statement on the a nonviolent video game (i.e., control). Aggression was mea-
link between exposure to violent media and antisocial beha- sured through peer nominations of real-life aggressive inci-
vior, which includes aggression and violence: dents during a free-play session at school (e.g., hitting,
kicking, and pushing another child). The results showed that
It is clear to me that the causal relationship between televised boys who played the violent video game were more aggressive
violence and antisocial behavior is sufficient to warrant appropri- than boys who observed someone else play the game, even
ate and immediate remedial action . . . There comes a time when though they saw the same images.
the data are sufficient to justify action. That time has come. (Stein-
feld, 1972)
Why Do People Deny Media Effects?
Since the Surgeon General’s statement, many other profes-
Given the overwhelming scientific evidence indicating that
sional medical and scientific organizations have issued state-
violent media can make people more aggressive, one might
ments about the potentially harmful effects of exposure to
wonder why people would deny these effects. There are several
media violence. These organizations include the American
reasons why (e.g., Huesmann & Taylor, 2003; Strasburger,
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American
Donnerstein, & Bushman, 2014). Below, I briefly describe
Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Phy-
seven of these reasons.
sicians, the American Medical Association, the American Psy-
chiatric Association, the American Psychological Association,
the Australian Psychological Society, the Canada Action Third-Person Effect
Agenda, the International Society for Research on Aggression, Researchers have consistently found that people believe the
the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, and media have a much stronger effect on others than on them-
the United Nations. (These statements are available on my selves—this is called the third-person effect (Davison, 1983).
webpage: http://u.osu.edu/bushman.20/statements-on-media- In one illustrative study (McLeod, Eveland, & Nathanson,
violence-effects-by-major-scientific-groups/) 1997), 202 University of Delaware students were randomly
The Surgeon General warning was about violent TV pro- assigned to read either violent rap music lyrics or misogynistic
grams and films. But what about violent video games? There rap music lyrics. Participants then estimated the effects of such
are at least three reasons to believe that violent video games lyrics on them personally, on other students who attended the
might be even more harmful than violent TV programs and University of Delaware, on “people your age in cities like New
films. York and Los Angeles,” and on “the average person.” Partici-
First, whereas TV watching is passive, video game play is pants reported that both types of lyrics would affect other
active, and people tend to learn better when they are actively groups more strongly than themselves.
involved. Suppose, for example, you want to learn how to fly People may also believe that violent media only affect some
an airplane. What would be the best method to use: reading a “susceptible” people (e.g., people with mentally illness,
book, watching a TV program, or using a video game flight aggressive people); it will not, however, affect them person-
simulator? ally. In sum, people seem to think that they are somehow
Second, players of violent video games are more likely to immune to media effects.
identify with violent characters. For example, if a video game
requires a player to be a first-person shooter, players have the
same visual perspective as the killer. If the game takes a third-
Faulty Reasoning
person perspective, the player controls the actions of the I cannot count the number of people of people who have told
violent character from a more distant visual perspective. In a me, “I play violent video games, and I’ve never killed anyone.”
Bushman 203

I usually explain that it is not surprising they have not killed Psycho, said, “One of television’s greatest contributions is that
anyone because very few people kill anyone, regardless of it brought murder back into the home where it belongs. Seeing
whether they play violent video games. In the United States, a murder on television can be good therapy. It can help work
for example, fewer than 5 people per 100,000 are murdered off one’s antagonism.” Despite what these directors believe,
each year (U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2016). It is the scientific evidence indicates that catharsis theory is false.
very difficult to predict rare events, such as murder, using Exposure to violent media increases (rather than decreases)
exposure to violent media or any other factor. One can, how- angry feelings and aggressive actions (e.g., Anderson & Bush-
ever, predict less extreme and more common violent behaviors man, 2002; Anderson et al., 2010; Bushman & Huesmann,
from media violence viewing (e.g., spousal abuse; see Hues- 2006; Greitemeyer & Mügge, 2014; Paik & Comstock,
mann et al., 2003). People fail to consider the low base rates for 1994). After reading the research evidence, one scholar con-
rare events. cluded, “It is time to put a bullet, once and for all, through heart
of the catharsis hypothesis. The belief that observing violence
(or ‘ventilating it’) gets rid of hostilities has virtually never
Cognitive Dissonance been supported by research” (Tavris, 1988, p. 194).
According to cognitive dissonance theory, conflicting thoughts
cause psychological discomfort—called cognitive dissonance Denial From the Media
(Festinger, 1957). For example, if people frequently play vio-
lent video games and think the games are fun, they may feel Newspapers and other media sources often deny the link
uncomfortable when they read about research studies showing between exposure to violent media and aggression (Bushman
that violent games can be harmful. The easiest way to reduce & Anderson, 2001; Martins et al., 2013), perhaps because it is
this discomfort is for people to rationalize their behavior by in their economic self-interest to deny any harmful effects. It is
bringing their attitudes into line with their actions. One easy a paradox, though. On the one hand, the TV industry claims
way to do this is to discount the research evidence as biased, that a few minutes of advertising can sell just about anything.
flawed, or inconclusive. And in fact, research shows that this is Indeed, a 30-s SuperBowl ad costs about US$5 million
exactly what gamers do (e.g., Nauroth, Gollwitzer, Bender, & (Bentley, 2018). On the other hand, the TV industry claims that
Rothmund, 2014). the hours of programming surrounding the few minutes of
advertising have no effect on viewers. How can this be?

Psychological Reactance
Psychological Processes Are Difficult to Understand
Most people dislike being told what to do; they like to be free to
Finally, people do not understand psychological processes
make their own choices. When people believe their freedom is
(e.g., priming, desensitization, and social learning) as well as
being threatened, they experience an unpleasant emotional
they understand biological processes. If one observes a player
response called “reactance” (Brehm, 1966). Reactance pro-
of violent video games assault another person, it is difficult to
duces three main consequences. First, it makes people want
know the direct cause of the assault. Was it playing violent
the option they were restricted from choosing—it makes that
video games for hours on end that caused the assault, or was
option seem more attractive. Second, reactance motivates peo-
it something else? In contrast, if one sees a chain smoker die of
ple to reclaim the lost option. Third, people may feel or act
lung cancer, it is much easier to believe that the direct cause of
aggressively toward the person who has restricted their free-
the lung cancer was smoking. One can easily grasp the idea that
dom. For example, gamers often think media researchers are
smoke going into the lungs damages cells and starts tumor
trying to restrict or ban violent media. (As an aside, I know of
growth.
no media researcher who has wanted to ban violent media.
However, most media researchers do not want children con-
suming age-inappropriate media.) Regarding the first and sec-
Teaching Students About Violent Media
ond consequences of reactance, research has shown that
warning labels can make violent media “forbidden fruit”
Effects
(e.g., Bushman & Stack, 1996). Regarding the third conse- After teaching students about violent media effects for over
quence, this may be one reason why I often receive aggressive 25 years, I have learned one important lesson: Students are
e-mails from gamers, one of whom wrote, “People who think not very receptive to the message that exposure to violent
video games cause violence should be shot.” media can have harmful effects. Overcoming this resistance
is not easy. I believe that education is the answer. I have five
suggestions for teachers.
Catharsis First, it is important to convey to your students that infor-
According to catharsis theory, acting aggressively or even mation you presented to them is not simply your opinion.
viewing aggression is an effective way to reduce anger and Rather, it is based on hundreds of scientific studies. Of course,
aggression. Many Hollywood directors believe in catharsis the- not all studies show a link between violent media and aggres-
ory. For example, Alfred Hitchcock, who directed the movie sion (e.g., Ferguson et al., 2015), but the cumulative evidence
204 Teaching of Psychology 45(2)

shows a link. Professional scientific and medical organizations time than they spend in school. When I discuss this fact, I ask
agree. It is important that students base their beliefs on scien- my students, “How can someone engage in any activity for over
tific evidence, rather than on unreliable and invalid sources of 7.5 hr per day, without it affecting them in some way?” I also
information (e.g., opinion, common sense, hunches, intuitions, point out that people want media to affect them. If a TV pro-
gut feelings, premonitions, instincts, and “alternative facts”). gram, movie, or video game does not affect people, they would
I have found that the best way to do this is to show them the become bored and turn it off.
forest (i.e., the results from meta-analytic reviews based on
hundreds of studies) and a few trees in the forest (i.e., specific
examples of carefully conducted studies).
Conclusion
Second, it is important that your students understand that In summary, teaching students about violent media effects is a
exposure to violent media is not the only risk factor for aggres- challenge, but one that I welcome. And I hope you will wel-
sive and violent behavior, or even the most important risk come it, too. Educating students about the scientific research on
factor. But it is an important risk factor that cannot be dis- violent media effects is extremely important. Confronted by the
missed as “trivial.” There have been several calls to consider scientific evidence, students just might open their minds a bit to
aggression and violence within a risk factor, public health the idea that consuming violent media might be harmful. They
framework (e.g., Browne & Hamilton-Giachritsis, 2005; Cen- might also try to protect younger children whom they know and
ters for Disease Control & Prevention, 2008). This approach love from consuming violent media. I hope this article will be
considers a number of risk factors that make people more vul- helpful to you as you share this important topic with your
nerable to a health risk as well as protective factors that make students.
them less vulnerable. For example, there are several risk and
protective factors for heart disease (e.g., smoking, alcohol con- Authors’ Note
sumption, high-fat diet, exercise, family history of heart dis- Some scholars have questioned how robust the meta-analytic results
ease). Likewise, there are several risk and protective factors for are for violent video game effects, due to possible publication bias (see
aggression and violence (e.g., gender, age, attitudes, personal- Hilgard, Engelhardt & Rouder, 2017; but also see response to Hilgard
ity traits, genetic predispositions, provocation, frustration, et al., 2017, by Kepes, Bushman, & Anderson, 2017 for a response).
alcohol consumption, parental abuse, deviant peers, easy
access to firearms, exposure to violent media). I believe that Declaration of Conflicting Interests
violent media effects can best be understood within a risk and The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
resilience framework that considers multiple factors that facil- the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
itate or inhibit aggression and violence (Gentile & Bushman,
2012). It is also worth discussing with students that exposure to Funding
violent media is one of the few risk factors that can be changed The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship,
compared to other risk factors (e.g., being a male, having a low and/or publication of this article.
IQ, living in poverty, coming from a broken home, being an
alcoholic). References
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206 Teaching of Psychology 45(2)

violent video games on children’s aggressive behavior. Aggressive Author Biography

Behavior, 34, 256–264.
Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., & Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2: Brad J. Bushman received his PhD in 1989 from the University of
Media in the lives of 8-to 18-year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: Henry J. Missouri. He is a professor of communication and psychology at The
Kaiser Family Foundation. Ohio State University,
Sports Illustrated. (2017, January 16). Super Bowl commercials: How where he holds the Rinehart
Chair of Mass Communica-
much does a spot cost in 2017? Retrieved from https://www.si.
tion. He is also a professor
com/nfl/2017/01/26/super-bowl-commercial-cost-2017
of communication science
Steinfeld, J. (1972). Statement in hearings before Subcommittee on at the VU University
Communications of Committee on Commerce (United States Sen- Amsterdam. Previously, he
ate, Serial #92–52, pp. 25–27). Washington, DC: United States was a professor at Iowa
Government. State University (1990–
Strasburger, V. C., Donnerstein, E. I., & Bushman, B. J. (2014). Why 2003) and at the University
is it so hard to believe that media affect children and adolescents? of Michigan (2003–2010).
Pediatrics, 133, 571–573. doi:10.1542/peds.2013-2334 For over 30 years, he has
Takruri, A. (2017). 100 African religions before slavery & colo- studied aggression and vio-
nization. (n.p.). Jamal White. Available at: https://www.ama lence. In the wake of the
Newtown shootings in
zon.com/African-religions-before-slavery-colonization-ebook/
2012, he cochaired a
dp/B06ZY15MBH
National Science Founda-
Tavris, C. (1988). Beyond cartoon killings: Comments on two over- tion advisory committee on
looked effects of television. In S. Oskamp (Ed.), Television as a youth violence and testified
social issue (pp. 189–197). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. before Congress on the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2016). Uniform crime reports. committee’s report. He was also a member of President Obama’s com-
Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office. mittee on gun violence, serving as an expert on media violence. He has
Yokota, F., & Thompson, K. M. (2000). Violence in G-rated animated published over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, which have been
films. Journal of the American Medical Association, 283, cited over 30,000 times. His research has been funded by federal grants
2716–2720. doi:10.1001/jama.283.20.2716 and has been featured extensively in the mass media.