Newly published evidence from a Kansas researcher suggests TV violence affects children more seriously than previously believed.
Children apparently store memories of TV violence in much the same way people remember traumatic events they directly witness or experience, the research shows.
John Murray, professor of developmental psychology at Kansas State University has reported that MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) views of children's brains showed the posterior cingulate was activated when they watched scenes of violent entertainment, suggesting that children apparently store memories of TV violence in much the same way people remember traumatic events they directly witness or experience.
John Murray, professor of developmental psychology at Kansas State University, has been studying the impact of violent entertainment for more than 30 years. He reported the findings in a February issue of The Advocate, a newsletter of the American Psychological Assn.
Murray reported that MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) views of children's brains showed the posterior cingulate was activated when they watched scenes of violent entertainment. Previous research on rape victims, war veterans and emergency personnel shows that part of the brain is used for long-term storage of traumatic memories.
"Given the ... suggestion that neurological processing of 'entertainment' violence is not different from processing 'real' violence, there are clear reasons for serious concern about the ways in which our culture uses violence in films and video," Murray wrote.
U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., has been a vocal critic of violent entertainment. He said Murray's study adds to a mountain of evidence about the negative effects of entertainment violence.
"John Murray's research confirms that entertainment violence has a measurable and harmful effect on children," Brownback said Friday in a prepared statement. "With so much compelling evidence, I call on the entertainment industry, and its licensees and retailers, to stop exposing children to poison."
Not everybody agrees the mountain of evidence exists. Jonathan Freedman, a Toronto University psychology professor, says most studies of the impact of violent entertainment have "greatly exaggerated" their findings.
Murray and Freedman are familiar with, and dismissive of, each other's work. Freedman said Friday that he hadn't seen Murray's new article, but that MRI evidence would prove little about the impact of violent entertainment.
"The fact (entertainment violence memories) are stored in a particular place in the brain doesn't tell us much about how it affects behavior," said Freedman, who has done some of his research on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of America.
Murray said entertainment violence has three effects: aggression, desensitization and fear.
"I think we're all affected, children and adults, in that we become ... hardened, desensitized and fearful," he told the Journal-World. "We're all affected this way, but children even more so, since they're picking this up from the very beginning."
Most people wouldn't line up to get punched in the stomach. If entertainment violence has effects akin to real violence, why do people watch it?
Murray said he believes entertainment violence triggers the same neurochemical release that a real threat would. Without the danger of a real threat, however, that release becomes its own "rush."
"The brain likes that," he said. "That keeps them coming back."
Murray suggests parents view television and movies with their children to help them process what they've seen and to impart values.
"I know that sounds syrupy and sappy, but it is effective," he said. "If you're not opposing this as a parent, you're de facto sanctioning it."
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