Fluent Essays

Desensitization is a well-documented consequence of years-long exposure to media violence. From early exposure, children—especially boys—learn that aggression pays off (Bushman, Gollwitzer, & Cruz, 2015). Aggression—especially if it means you “win” the game, “defeat” the adversary, or “force” a resolution to a conflict—earns the aggressor attention, praise, respect, reverence, adoration, money, and power. These are the rewards that often accompany aggression portrayed by the film industry (e.g., Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Die Hard With a Vengeance, Live Free or Die Hard, A Good Day to Die Hard), making it more likely that the aggressive behavior will persist. The number of films in this series is evidence of their popularity. From classical conditioning theory, we learn that bad behavior paired with rewards can make the bad behavior desirable; moreover, the prevalence of violence in the media, over time, normalizes it. Studies show that when exposed to violent films daily over a week’s time, participants rate films as less violent with each film viewed (Dexter, Penrod, Linz, & Saunders, 2006). This is evidence of desensitization. Desensitized people tend not to acknowledge the effects of media violence, because they dont see that theres a problem. However, a growing body of research finds that desensitized individuals downplay or tend not to acknowledge egregious harm done to others; because a steady diet of violent media normalizes violent behavior, injury suffered by people in real life does not seem like cause for concern (Vossen, Piotrowski, & Valkenburg, 2016). Thats the nature of desensitization, and that is indeed a problem. Convinced there is no harm in violent media consumption—that their behavioral tendencies will not have been influenced by it—desensitized consumers probably would not be interested in changing their media viewing habits (Funk, Baldacci, Pasold, & Baumgardner, 2004). For this Assignment, you will examine the concept of desensitization, methods used to increase the desirability of violence, and ways for parents to reduce aggression exhibited by their children. References: Bushman, B. J., Gollwitzer, M., & Cruz, C. (2015). There is broad consensus: Media researchers agree that violent media increases aggression in children, and pediatricians and parents agree. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 4(3), 200—214. Dexter, H. R., Penrod, S., Linz, D., & Saunders, D. (2006). Attributing responsibility to female victims after exposure to sexually violent films. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27(24), 2149–2171. Funk, J. B., Baldacci, H. B., Pasold, T., & Baumgardner, J. (2004). Violence exposure in real-life, video games, television, movies, and the internet: Is there desensitization? Journal of Adolescence, 27(1), 23–39. Vossen, H. G. M., Piotrowski, J. T., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2016). The Longitudinal relationship between media violence and empathy: Was it sympathy all along? Media Psychology, 20(2), 175–193. Search the Walden Library and/or the Internet for the definition of desensitization, its symptoms, and the process that creates it. From your search and from the Learning Resources for this week, consider the ways that violence is presented and whether or not its presentation is appealing to children. Also, from your search, consider how social psychology theory is applied to reduce aggression.   Submit 3–5 pages, not including title page and reference page: Define desensitization and describes its process. Identify and describe symptoms of desensitization. Explain the methods used in the media to increase the desirability of violence. (i.e., what is rewarding the violence). Suggest ways for parents to reduce aggression exhibited by their children. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or Internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.lable at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior 69 (2017) 268e274 Contents lists avai Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh Review Cyberbullying in higher education: A literature review Lynette K. Watts a, *, Jessyca Wagner b, Benito Velasquez c, Phyllis I. Behrens d a Radiologic Sciences Department, Midwestern State University, 3410 Taft Blvd., Bridwell Hall Office 201E, Wichita Falls, TX 76308, USA b Radiologic Sciences Department, Midwestern State University, 3410 Taft Blvd., Bridwell Hall, Office 216, Wichita Falls, TX 76308, USA c Athletic Training Department, School of Allied Health, Lincoln Memorial University, 6965 Cumberland Gap Parkway, Harrogate, TN 37752, USA d University of Missouri Extension, 3950 Newman Road, Plaster Hall 107A, Joplin, MO 64801-1512, USA a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 29 January 2016 Received in revised form 10 November 2016 Accepted 15 December 2016 Available online 18 December 2016 Keywords: Higher education cyberbullying Cyberbullying prevalence Cyberbullying awareness Social media cyberbullying * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (L.K. Wa http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.038 0747-5632/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. a b s t r a c t With the more pervasive use of technology, the prevalence of cyberbullying has increased. Universities and colleges have implemented more ways to reach students over the Internet and by other electronic means; consequently, itisimportant to investigate the prevalence of cyberbullyinginhighereducation.Thisliterature review was created to raise awareness of this continuing trend of cyberbullying among college students. Cyberbullying is defined as intent to consistently harass another individual to cause harm via any electronic method, including social media, and includes defamation, public disclosure of private facts, and intentional emotional distress. An exhaustive search of current literature was conducted using a variety of databases including Academic Search Complete, Education Source, E-Journals, ERIC, PsycArticles, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and PsycINFO. Google, Google Scholar, and reference lists from key studies were also used to gather relevant studies for inclusion in this review. Articles were used to define cyberbul- lying, build a historical base of cyberbullying among adolescents, examine factors involved in cyberbullying, describeeffects ofcyberbullying,and examine thistrend among college students. Strategies suchasreporting, monitoring online interactions, and legal actions to address cyberbullying in all areas of education were included. Future research should investigate if educational programs lead to decreased cyberbullying, increased rates of reporting, and how cyberbullying may change social media etiquette. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Historically, in the wake of interpersonal violence, the restriction of individual freedoms has often followed. This pattern can be observed at various levels of analysis. A recent example at the level of national policy includes the passage of the contro- versial USA PATRIOT Act by the US Government in October, 2001, following the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. Since that time, the Act has been widely criticized for weakening government protection of civil liberties. Prior research has demonstrated that surveillance by an authority figure(s) in itself tends to be experienced as con- trolling (Lepper & Greene, 1975). Towns and cities routinely institute curfews, along with various other restrictions of freedom, following violent riots. At the person-level, parents, teachers, and various other authority figures very typically respond to violent behavior by exercising more control and taking away the rights of others to choose. Certainly, these measures of increased control and restricted freedom are effective toward achieving some desired ends, at least temporarily, Interpersonal control, dehumanization, and violence: A self-determination theory perspective Arlen C. Moller1,2 and Edward L. Deci3 Abstract Interpersonally controlling approaches are often used to keep individuals in line, ostensibly in order to create a safer, more civilized society. Ironically, emerging research findings indicate that when people feel controlled, they often respond by behaving in a less civilized, more antisocial manner (Gagné, 2003; Knee, Neighbors, & Vietor, 2001; Mask, Blanchard, Amiot, & Deshaies, 2005; McHoskey, 1999). The present research investigation explored whether a process of mechanistic dehumanization might help to explain the observed relation between interpersonal control and antisocial behavior, specifically with regard to tendencies toward violence. The results indicated that a significant relation between interpersonal control and tendencies toward interpersonal violence was partially mediated by perceived mechanistic dehumanization. Keywords aggression, autonomy, dehumanization, hostility, interpersonal control, mechanistic, self-determination theory, violence Paper received 27 December 2008; revised version accepted 31 August 2009. 1Northwestern University 2Gettysburg College 3University of Rochester Corresponding author: Arlen C. Moller, Department of Preventive Medicine, 680 N Lake Shore Dr., Suite 1220, Chicago, IL, USA [email: [email protected]] Article Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 13(1) 41–53 © The Author(s) 2009 Reprints and permission: http://www. sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermission.nav DOI: 10.1177/1368430209350318 http://gpi.sagepub.com G P I R Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 42 Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 13(1) and have much intuitive appeal. However, emerg- ing research on self-determination theory suggests that these controlling straParental Desensitization to Violence and Sex in Movies WHAT’S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Movie ratings designed to warn parents about violence and sexual content have permitted increasing amounts of each in popular films. One potential explanation for this “ratings creep” is parental desensitization to this content as it becomes more prevalent in movies. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: This study adds experimental evidence that parents become desensitized to movie violence and sex and are more willing to allow children to view such content. abstract OBJECTIVES: To assess desensitization in parents’ repeated exposure to violence and sex in movies. METHODS: A national US sample of 1000 parents living with at least 1 target child in 1 of 3 age groups (6 to 17 years old) viewed a random sequence of 3 pairs of short scenes with either violent or sexual content from popular movies that were unrestricted to youth audiences (rated PG-13 or unrated) or restricted to those underage 17 years without adult supervision (rated R). Parents indicated the minimum age they would consider appropriate to view each film. Predictors included order of presentation, parent and child characteristics, and parent movie viewing history. RESULTS: As exposure to successive clips progressed, parents sup- ported younger ages of appropriate exposure, starting at age 16.9 years (95\% confidence interval [CI], 16.8 to 17.0) for violence and age 17.2 years (95\% CI, 17.0 to 17.4) for sex, and declining to age 13.9 years (95\% CI, 13.7 to 14.1) for violence and 14.0 years (95\% CI, 13.7 to 14.3) for sex. Parents also reported increasing willingness to allow their target child to view the movies as exposures progressed. Desensitization was observed across parent and child characteristics, violence toward both human and non-human victims, and movie rating. Those who frequently watched movies were more readily desensitized to violence. CONCLUSIONS: Parents become desensitized to both violence and sex in movies, which may contribute to the increasing acceptance of both types of content by both parents and the raters employed by the film industry. Pediatrics 2014;134:877–884 AUTHORS: Daniel Romer, PhD,a Patrick E. Jamieson, PhD,a Brad J. Bushman, PhD,b,c Amy Bleakley, PhD, MPH,a Anli Wang, PhD,a Daniel Langleben, MD,a,d and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, PhDa aAnnenberg Public Policy Center, and dDepartment of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; bSchool of Communication and Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; and cDepartment of Communication Science, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands KEY WORDS movie violence, movie sex, movie ratings, desensitization, parents, adolescents ABBREVIATIONS CARA—Classification and Rating Administration CI—confidence interval MPAA—Motion Picture Association of America Dr Romer conceptualized and designed the study, conducted the statistical analyses, and drafted the initial