Every time a new report comes out on violence in media entertainment
industries, reporters call up Craig Anderson and Brad Bushman.
The two Iowa State psychology professors are popular experts on the subject,
providing sound bites and commentary on the radio, in newspapers and on
television.
That's just what happened this past month when the pair was bombarded
with media requests following the publication of a new study by Jeffrey
Johnson of Columbia University in New York City. The study appeared in
Science magazine.
In a twist for Anderson, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology,
and Bushman, associate professor of psychology, the two wrote a companion
article that appeared in the same journal.
Since the article appeared, Anderson and Bushman have done interviews
with media outlets both in the United States and internationally including
"Nature," the Japan Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer,
National Public Radio and Reuters among others.
This is not unusual for the duo. The two frequently are quoted on other
individual's studies as well as their own work.
Anderson has testified in front of a U.S. Senate committee on violent
video games and his recent study found a correlation between rising temperatures
and violent crime.
Bushman, who has appeared on ABC's "20/20" and a Discovery
Channel documentary, as well as the New York Times and Wall
Street Journal, focuses his research efforts on violence and aggression.
So it was a natural for the two to be contacted by the media when the
latest report came out.
Johnson's study finds that children who watched more than an hour of
TV a day, on average, were four times more likely than children who watch
less television to commit aggressive acts. He says all kinds of programs
are to blame - even "The Wizard of Oz."
The footage of the September 11 tragedies also concerned Johnson, who
is worried about the consequences of airing such events over and over.
He says media outlets should be more responsible in those airings.
Anderson says he doubts if that will ever occur.
"The media entertainment industries have a vested interest in denying
to the general public, to elected officials, and even to themselves, the
possibility that their products might cause harmful effects in a significant
portion of the population, much as the tobacco industry has a vested interest
in denying harmful effects of their products," Anderson told Reuters.
There are ways that parents can teach their children about television,
Anderson says, including:
* Imagines on television are neither real nor realistic;
*That real aggression really does hurt people and their families;
*That aggressive solutions are not acceptable;
*That children should try to figure out possible solutions to viewed problems
are nonviolent, cooperative and helpful;
*That aggression by 'good guys' against 'bad guys' is also unacceptable;
and,
*That watching violent programs does hurt them.
"The best way to teach this is for parents to watch the shows with
their children and to discuss these issues as they arise," Anderson
continued. "This is particularly important when the children are
allowed to watch anything that contain violence in it, including Saturday
morning cartoons and Disney movies, as well as the more obvious violent
TV programs."
