ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 focuses on the effects of violent media contents on aggressive behaviour in viewers. This chapter addresses an issue that has attracted intense controversy, particularly in public debate and in confrontation between social scientists and the user community as well as the media industry. Following the presentation of content analyses showing the prominence of violent content in different types of media, three aspects are at the focus of the analysis: (a) the strength of the evidence addressing the general question of whether exposure to violent media contents leads to increased aggression in viewers, in particular children and adolescents, both in the short term and over time; (b) the psychological processes by which violent media stimuli may increase users’ aggression, both after a single exposure and as a result of habitual use of violent media over time; and (c) the role of pornography, in particular violent pornography, in promoting aggression generally, and sexual aggression in particular. Approaches for breaking the link between media violence use and aggression are discussed in the final section.
