Violence and Media Factors

Often, the media is a great source of information. Sometimes, this information can influence people negatively or positively. In today’s society, different types of media can create these effects on different types of people depending on certain factors. There are seven different set point factors which can influence these media effects, and when watching a violent film, I determined which of these factors influenced me.

One of these factors is developmental maturities. Because of differences in cognitive development, children learn things from the media at different ages. Children who are younger are not able to follow everything going on when watching TV, or dramatic plots; they sometimes construct false images of the world. Since I am an adult, I am not scared of certain sound effects; I know what is real and fake, and how the media portrays certain things for effect.

The degree of identification factor says, a person pays more attention to the character they identify with. People identify with characters who have similarities to them but who also have qualities that they would like to possess but do not. I usually don’t chose violent films to watch so most of the characters that I relate to are the “good” characters. The characters who try not to create conflict, or use violence. The probability of this media effect occurring would increase if you related more to violent characters. According to the states factor, the emotion a person is feeling at the time of viewing can potentially increase the media effect. So in order for this film to have a higher potential of creating aggression in myself I need to view it after having a bad day or feeling frustration.

I can see several factors that could make me behave aggressively, but there are many factors that would decrease my chances of this media effect occurring. Since the socialization factor states that, a set point is hard to move when a person has been exposed consistently to anti-aggression norms all their life. I grew up in a small town where there is not a lot of violence that takes place; my college choice was based on that sole reason. I was raised in a religious environment where I would attend church with my family and sit down to have a family dinner no matter how crazy our schedules were. My chances of acting aggressively after this film are very small.

Playing a college sport, I am part of a team so I am very social and active. The lifestyle factor refers to how active and social a person is. So these factors reduce my chances of acting violent because of my low exposure to media. With thirteen different factors which influence media effects, I think that after viewing a violent film the likely for aggressive behavior to occur would be very low. Due to my lifestyle, low exposure to violence, and how I was brought up, I believe that the chance of this media effect occurring is very slim.