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Unfortunately, due to competition for viewers, in particularly young and adolescent viewers,
a premium has been placed on media depictions of violence. Throughout history the old age debate
between nature and nurture has played a major part in research and has been the focus of attention
for psychologists throughout the years. For example, Francis Galton, the cousin of Charles Darwin,
was the first person to use the phase ³Nature versus Nurture´ who determined if that ³if one
supports the nature side of the debate, they believe that no matter what kind of environment an
individual is in they will turn out the same´. (Dodge, 2008). Conversely, the nurture side of the
debate stated that ³people are born with a blank slate and their experiences throughout their life and
the environment in which they are raised shape their behaviour´. (Dodge, 2008). The debate
continued into the 17th century by French Philosopher René Descartes, and British Philosophers
John Locke and Thomas Hobbes who took a more empirical approach between the effects of mass
media and the ³Nature versus Nurture´ debate which is far from being settled in relation to
antisocial behaviour and aggression. (Dodge, 2008).

The definition of antisocial behaviour refers to damage to interpersonal relationships,

whereas in comparison aggression is defined as an act that may be social or antisocial. To
determine whether media violence is related to antisocial and aggressive behaviour research carried
out by Gerbner and Paquette (1950) will be discussed to determine after carefully priming whether
violent and non-violent cartoons can influence behaviour. To determine whether aggression is
innate or learned the work of Bryan and Schwartz (1994) in respect of the abduction and subsequent
killing of James Bulger in 1993 will be discussed. To enhance Bryan and Schwartz (1994) theory
Bandura¶s (1972) concept of the social learning theory by the use of the Bobo doll to determine if
behaviour can be learned if observed by children will be discussed. To conclude the work of
Clemente, Espinosa and Vidal (2008) to determine the effects of video gaming will be discussed
including the negative effects, of using media to commit violence as can be seen within the High
School Shootings in America.

Research undertaken by Gerbner and Paquette (1950), attempted to define the relationship
between aggression and antisocial behaviour if carefully primed with violent and non-violent
cartoons. Two studies of 24 children, aged between five and seven participated and were spilt into
two groups. The first group consisted of 12 children who watched a violent episode of Woody
Woodpecker whereas the second group watched a non-violent cartoon, The Little Red Hen which
depicted non violent acts. These cartoons were shown to the children for a period of two weeks,
followed by mixing both sets of children from both conditions at the end of each session. Upon
completion results concluded that the children who watched the violent cartoon were found to have
high stress levels, and prepared themselves in a way to fight aggressively whereas the children who
watched the non-violent cartoon would flee from the perceived attack, harm or threat to their
survival. (Gerbner and Paquette, 1950).

To complete their research, both groups of children were observed for a period of one month
prior to the ending of the research to determine if the previous response was still present. However,
upon completion only 25% of the children continued to act impulsively, often picking fights, were
arrogant, overly confident, and not following rules, the same behaviour as Woody Woodpecker
displayed. In comparison, 75% showed no signs of antisocial behaviour even though they had
previously displayed acts of violence. Within the previous non-violent group 18% showed signs of
being victimized by other children for being too emotional, with 60% showing no abnormal
behaviour. The remaining 15% once back within their normal environment changed completely
from committing non-violent behaviour to returning to their previous antisocial behaviour in school.
(Gerbner and Paquette, 1950). However, in 1993, the world was thrown into turmoil when two
teenage boys abducted and murdered James Bulger, a two year old boy in Liverpool.

Following the murder, the media depicted the boys negatively reporting them as aggressive
and out of control but failed to mention that both boys had been watching violent media in the form
of films called Childs Play 3 and several others showing sexual abuse. They also failed to report
that both boys lived in an environment that consisted of antisocial behaviour from both parents. To
answer these questions Bryan and Schwartz (1994) looked at the backgrounds of their biological
parents to determine a genetic link, followed by whether watching violent films was a major factor.
In conclusion, Bryan and Schwartz (1994) discovered that both ³nature´ and ³nurture´ were to
blame for the killing as both boys had mimicked the actions of the Chuckie doll in Childs Play 3
which saw him kill and murder numerous people, in particular by throwing a body onto the railway
track. Prior to this incident however, the boys already had participated in antisocial behaviour both
with their parents and on their own in the form of picking fights at school, shop lifting and having a
total disregard for rules. (Bryan and Schwartz, 1994). To enhance the above research Bandura
(1972) conducted research, by using the Bobo doll called the social learning theory.

The social learning theory is one of the most famous psychological studies, the first being
conducted on children of nursery school age who were required to observe an adult throwing,
kicking and punching an inflatable doll, in order to create an observable violent environment. The
children were then observed as they played with the doll for 10 to 20 minutes to determine whether
the previous violence observed would be copied. Upon completion Bandura (1972) and colleagues
were able to determine that children displayed violent behaviour through simply observing someone
else. The second study involved the use of violent video material to determine whether the children
would be willing to hurt another child by simply observing aggressive behaviour. To determine the
level at which a child would hurt another they were required to press a button to make a handle hot
in order to hurt the child holding the other end. These results confirmed that the more violence
observed, the greater the likelihood that aggression will be learned. (Bandura, 1972). In attempt
to go one step further the work of Clemente, Espinosa and Vidal (2008) attempted to study the
effects of video games on adolescent boys.

The controversial game called ³Rule of Rose´ which depicted a young girl being subjected
to not only physical aggression but also psychological harm. The game when released had a16 plus
rating in England and the United States, but banned in eight other countries. The game encounters a
young girl trapped in an orphanage, bound, gagged, doused with liquids and buried alive. The aim
is to see how much more psychological harm could be caused by putting the player in the shoes of
the young girl. (Clemente, Espinosa and Vidal, 2008). The study involved 227 college students
who completed a measure of trait aggressiveness and reported their actual aggressive behaviours
(delinquency) in the recent past. They also reported their video game playing habits. (Clemente,
Espinosa and Vidal, 2008). Upon completion results indicated that the students who reported
playing more violent video games in junior and high school engaged more in aggressive behaviour.
(Clemente, Espinosa and Vidal, 2008). However, not all aggression is learned by watching media
violence as in the case of the High School Shootings in America.

In America 17 school age children were killed between 2001 and 2002, as opposed to 1999
and 2000 in which 32 children died. One of the most devastating shooting sprees was at the
Columbine High School, in Colorado, by two students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who killed 12
of their classmates and a teacher. Whilst attending school both boys were subjected to aggressive
behaviour from their classmates and were bullied on a daily basis. One year from both starting at
the new high school and being subjected to antisocial behaviour Klebold and Harris searched the
internet to determine ways to kill hundreds of their classmates. In total they found hundreds of
websites which described the process of making carbon dioxide bombs, pipe bombs and how to
cause the most devastation using 1.5 gallon propane containers. They were also planning to use the
media to convince Spielberg to make a movie once they were resettled in Israel. In conclusion
research carried out by Leary, Kowalski, Smith and Philips (2003) depicted their actions as
consistent with being subjected to antisocial behaviour which in turn, influenced their behaviour to
use the media as a means to retaliate.

In conclusion, antisocial behaviour is often seen as public behaviour that lacks judgment and
consideration for others and may cause them or their property damage. It may be intentional, as
with vandalism or graffiti, or the result of negligence. Persistent antisocial behaviour may be a
manifestation of an antisocial personality disorder and research has shown that the media does have
a positive relationship when it comes to aggressive and antisocial behaviour. Evidence obtained
from Gerbner and Paquette (1950), shows that children as young as five can be influenced by
cartoons if the characters are depicting violence. However, within this study no prior restrictions
were made for example, were any of the children involved in antisocial or aggressive behaviour.
This evidence was further backed up by Bandura (1972) who used the Bobo doll to show that if
children are shown violence from an adult or another child they will mimic the behaviour known as
the social learning theory. However, in 1993 the media used the murder of James Bulger to sell
their newspapers, reporting stories of how the boys were aggressive and acted frequently with bouts
of antisocial behaviour, but failed to mention that the media may have been a contributing factor.
Not all cases however, are due to individuals¶ behaviour being influenced by the mass media. For
example Leary, Kowalski, Smith and Philips (2003) researched how the behaviour of others could
influence an individual and in contrast use the media to commit an act of violence. Evidence
provided by Clemente, Espinosa and Vidal (2008) to study the effects of video gaming and possible
behaviour after playing the controversial game called ³Rule of Rose´, which was banned in eight
countries but given a 16 rating in England and the United States. The game depicted a young girl
being subjected to not only physical aggression but also psychological harm which the video
gaming board recognised could cause irreversible damage to children who play the game.
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& ÷
 
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