MEDIA & BEHAVIOR-CRIME

Chapter 1 Introduction: Crime and the Media

Brief Review of Violent Crimes

Jack The Ripper (1888-1891)

Mutilated & killed prostitutes in Whitechapel, London Five attributed to Jack, but 11 unsolved femicides Never caught

Ian Brady & Myra Hindley (1963-65)

Abducted, tortured & murdered 5 children (10-17yo) Buried the bodies in Saddleworth Moor, England Brady was sent to Ashworth Hospital Published a The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and its Analysis (2001) Hindley died in jail in 2002

Ted Bundy (1974-79)

Raped, mutilated & murdered 38 women in 6 states Caught in 1977 in Colorado but escaped Second time he escaped, he fled to Florida Some estimate 100 women Executed in 1989

Henry Lee Lucas (1975-82)

Killed his mother & strangled 1st sex-partner (jailed) Confessed around 360 murders In 1999 death sentence was commuted to one life in prison The Milwaukee Cannibal Murdered 15 young males Victim escaped and went to the police Killed by inmate in prison in 1994
Stalked & raped 8 women in Toronto, Canada Drugged & raped Homolkas younger sister Videotaped 3 of their violent crimes Bernardo sentenced to spend all his life in prison Cooperated with police & due to be released in 2005

Jeffrey Dahmer (1978-91)

Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka (1987-92)

Aileen Wuornos (1989-91)

Lesbian prostitute killed 7 heterosexual men Acted on self-defense when raped by a man Executed by lethal injection in 2002

Robert Thompson & Jon Venables (10yo - 1993)

Abducted a 2yo from shopping center (Liverpool, England) Exposure to violent video-games partially responsible British press focused on Childs Play 3 (Chucky) Released with new identities in 2001

Eric Harris & Dylan Klebod (1999)

Columbine Massacre in Littleton, Colorado Highly armed with assault weapons killed 12 students &1 teacher Injured many others before committing suicide

Adam Lanza (2012)

Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut Killed 20 children & 6 adults (also his mother) Lanza shot himself in the head

Ch.1 INTRODUCTION

The Virginia Tech Attack:

Blacksburg, VA on April, 16th, 2007 Seung-Hui Cho shot 2 students in campus dorm Slow response to 1st attack by administrators Approx. 2hrs later, 90min rampage 32 people dead & 17 wounded Cho committed suicide (apparently ran out of targets) Jack Thompson (FL lawyer) - videos games responsible Dr. Phil McGraw on Larry King Live v-games & media = murderers The Washington Post claimed - Counter-Strike was responsible The W. Post later retracted (faulty info) Most people retain the view that v-games were responsible

Immediate Assumptions:

Virginia Review Panel:

Exonerated v-games as responsible for massacre Yet it received less attention by the media Attention moved into South Korean movie Oldboy No evidence that Cho had seen the movie

NBC:
Showed video of Cho posing with weapons Cho statements about Columbine H.S. Massacre American Psychiatric Association worry about copycat attacks Media coverage of mass murderers = potential road to fame

What causes violent crimes/aggression?

Media v-games, movies, music, TV shows Youth easily manipulated by the media Media coverage glorify & make the attackers famous First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution Too much media coverage = exaggerated statistics

ANALYTICAL THINKING

Question Reports:
Media coverage Authority & experts statements Peer Communication Research

Peer-reviewed Longitudinal, cross-sectional... Observational (field or laboratory) Hypothesis (operational definitions, clearly stated) Experimental (between or within groups, pre or post test) Longitudinal (correlation coefficient, .30, -.50, .60, -.85) Sample population (simple, stratified, purposive, convenient) Methodology (assessment tools, validity & reliability) Statistical analyses (T-test, ANOVA, post-hoc) Results (p<.01, p<.05, statistically significant or not, marginal results) Limitations within the study (co-founders, males or females only) Beware of discussion section (hypothesis, researcher biased) Psychology, Communications, Criminal Justice, & Sociology

THE POLITICS OF SCIENCE: THE POLITICS OF VIOLENCE

Human nature to protect the youth but hard to be objective

After Columbine shooting, N.Y. & L.A. Times focused on:

V-game Doom Other subcultures (e.g., gothic)

People usually misled by research findings:

Dont know about research (designs & techniques) Picture direct aggression being studied not ethical Aggression & violence studied indirectly (defeat or cooperate, hot sauce) Usually in laboratory settings using college students Not real world situations lack of external validity

Company funded vs. anti-media groups:

Tobacco companies vs. American Heart Association V-games companies vs. Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence Pornography industry vs. Catholic Church

THE CAUSE OF YOUTH VIOLENCE

Interdisciplinary Theorists:

C. Darwing: biologist, survival of the fittest (biology or genetics) C. Beccaria: criminologist, deterrence using punishments K. Marx & E. Durkheim: sociologists, society shapes behavior S. Freud: psychoanalysis, deterministic & pessimistic (unconscious) A. Adler: individual, inferiority complex & sibling rivalry (conscious) B.F. Skinner: behaviorism, rewards vs. punishments G. Allport, R.B. Cattell, & H. Eysenck: personality traits A. Bandura: social learning, modeling & imitating behavior A. Ellis & A. Beck: cognitions are irrational or faulty American Psychological Association (2011): violence is learned Others: linguistics, communications, mental process & cognitions Holistic View: different factors play a role in aggressive behavior Aggression: direct, indirect, hostile, instrumental, personal

THE MISINTERPRETATION OF CRIME RATES

Reliance on: TV news, newspapers, internet, twitter... Highest Crime Rates:

Late 1800s & 1930s (social upheaval) During 1980s (crack cocaine epidemic) Early 1900s before dropping dramatically Around 1992-1994 highest crime rates (p.9) Around 1974, 1980, & 1992 highest murder rates (p.9) In 2010 dropped 12% Mall del Norte Torta-Mex Target Cowboys South Laredo

Laredo, TX:

Per Capita Murder/Manslaughter Rate

10 12 0 2 4 6 8

1960 1963 1966 1969 1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005
Year

Series1

Violence, disasters, wars, & morbid = more viewers

Our darkest impulses, the violent, cruel side of our species C.G. Jung = our shadow (archetypes collective unconscious) Examples:

The pope Benedict XVI resigned Madonna kissed Britney Spears & Cristina Aguilera Ex-President George W. Bush smoked pot in college The 9-11 attack

Good news = less popular

Nobel Prize winners in 2012:

Physics: Serge Haroche & David J. Windland Chemistry: Robert J. Leftkowitz & Brian K. Kobika Literature: Mo Yan Others: http://www.nobelprize.org

Violence Consensus:

Multivariate caused by multiple factors

Society, genetics, environment, personality, substance abuse, anomie... Not a single theory is fully comprehensive to account for human behavior

WHAT IS ADOLESCENCE?

Adolescence: period between onset of puberty and age of majority

Age of majority: society, culture, moral values, religion... Rights of passage:

Jump from a tree, hair pulling, quinceaeras or sweet sixteen Greeks: youth = education

View Across Eras:

Industrial Revolution: kids & adolescents were treated as adults G. Stanley Hall (1904) = time of storm & stress (13-18yo) Protect youths from exploitation (20th Century) Societal expectations have changed (marriage, education) Failure to launch (not yet ready to assume adult roles) High School, College, University, Post-Graduate School Adolescence, early adulthood, & young adulthood Delaying marriage, childbearing

Other Factors

Differences between genders Education about gender roles

Juvenoia:
David Finklehor (2010) View adolescents & youth culture with suspicion & hostility Younger generations viewed as:

More aggressive, deviant, rebellious, less empathic Politicians, scholars, & others, exaggerate fears towards adolescents

Moral Panic Theory:

Fear that grips a large group of people that feel threaten by a smaller group of people It triggers hostility or violence towards those thought to be responsible Fueled by mass media, rumor, those in power Arise from a sense of danger & thrive on social uncertainty & anxiety

Risk-Taking Theory:

Youth homicide & accidental death rates lower than those of adults
Inexperienced, peer pressured, cognitively undeveloped, irrational...

Other Contributing Factors: