Report: Comic Book Violence Affects Readers
United Press International
August 04, 2000
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Reading violent comic books makes people more likely to interpret ambiguous social situations as potentially hostile acts, according to new research."This is more evidence supporting a negative effect of violent media on behavior," said Steven J. Kirsh of the State University of New York at Geneseo. "Exposure to situations of physical aggression affects the way people think and evaluate social situations."
Among 85 college students, those reading a violent comic book series known as Curse of the Spawn were more likely to read hostile intent into socially ambiguous situations -- such as conversation ceasing when a child sat down at a lunch table -- than were people reading the less-violent Archie & Friends.
Curse of the Spawn relays the saga of two characters who attempt to fight evil with combat skill, intellect and ruthless tactics. About 85 percent of the panels contain violent acts or aggressive themes, Kirsh said. Archie & Friends follows the humorous, although occasionally aggressive, adventures of several high school friends. About 7 percent of the panels include mildly aggressive acts or themes.
Those college students who read Curse of the Spawn were also more likely to attribute upset or angry emotional states to the person provoking the situation than were those reading Archie & Friends, Kirsh and his colleague Paul V. Olczak reported at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.
Previous work has shown that violent comic books are more likely to make men respond aggressively in physically ambiguous situations, although women do not respond the same way. In this relatively small study of mostly female participants, the researchers found no differences in how men or women responded to these socially ambiguous situations.
It isn't clear how long those reading violent comic books remain hostile and suspicious, said Kirsh. In this study, the situations were presented soon after the readers finished a comic book.
"This is nothing unexpected, given the number of studies linking violence in the media to negative behaviors," said Rowland Miller of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Tex.
"However, though all forms of violent media can contribute to creating an atmosphere where violent responses to situations are taken for granted, you can't equate all things as equal. If you are worried about comic books, you should have long since unplugged your television, which is more vivid and more realistic in its portrayal of violence," he said. Parents should also note that comic books have the advantages of getting children to read and get them to use their imaginations, he said. Another study presented at the meeting said that even concerned parents have a hard time limiting the amount of violence their children see on television.
"Parents who say they are concerned about television are much better at regulating the amount of time their children spend watching television than at regulating the percentage of violent shows their children watch," said Jennifer A. Kotler of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Among 893 children ages 3-12, those whose parents monitored television watched slightly less television than did children whose parents did not monitor viewing habits. Both groups of children watched the same percentage of violent shows.
"There have been many, many studies making a link between violent content and subsequent aggressive behavior," Kotler said. "Parents are saying they are very concerned...and yet it doesn't translate into significant changes in 1/8their child's3/8 television watching behavior." The recently released V-chip may help parents reduce children's exposure to violence on TV more effectively than limiting the amount of time kids spend watching television, she noted. The chip, which is included in all new television sets, allows parents to block television channels or particular shows they consider violent.
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This news story is not produced by the American Psychological Association and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the association.