Developmental approaches to understanding media effects on individuals
Douglas
We address some common beliefs regarding media effects, and how these beliefs may actually
hamper a fuller comprehension of how various media influence youth. Following this discussion, we
describe two general approaches to development – one based on normative developmental theory
(the developmental task approach) and the other focused on individual differences among children
(the risk and resilience approach)
Seven myths about media effects
1. Media effects are simple and direct
Most media effects are cumulative and subtle, even when they are designed to influence behavior.
The effects of media usually happen at a level of which we are not consciously aware. This is because
ads are generally presented as entertainment, so that viewers are less likely to notice any effect or to
resist their messages. The more one participates claims that he/she doesn’t get affected by the ads,
the more likely one is to be affected.
2. The effects of media violence are severe
The largest effect of media violence is probably not illustrated by individual examples of violent
behavior, but by the ‘culture of disrespect’ it has fostered and nurtured. Positive and negative
emotional and physiological reactions to violent media are media effects. Violent media have many
effects, including emotional, physiological, cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral effects.
3. Media effects are obvious
The effects of violent media are usually indirect, subtle, and cumulative (and thus not obvious), many
people then argue that researchers and policymakers are trying to find an easy scapegoat to explain
violent behaviors. Cause-effect relationships need not be obvious to be significant. Most people
accept that smoking causes lung cancer, even though the effect is subtle and cumulative.
4. Violent media affect everyone in the same way
Meta-analyses have shown that there are at least four main effects of watching a lot of violent media.
The aggressor effect describes how children and adults who watch a lot of violent entertainment
tend to become meaner, more aggressive, and more violent. The victim effect describes how children
,and adults who watch a lot of violent entertainment tend to see the world as a scarier place, become
more scared, and initiate more self-protective behaviors. The bystander effect describes how children
and adults who watch a lot of violent entertainment tend to habituate (wennen) to gradually
increasing amounts of violence, thereby becoming desensitized, more callous, and less sympathetic
to victims of violence. The appetite effect describes how children and adults who watch a lot of
violent entertainment tend to want to see more violent entertainment. Simply put, the more one
watches, the more one wants to watch. In general, females tend to be more affected by the victim
effect, whereas males tend to be more affected by the aggressor, bystander, and appetite effects.
5. Causality means ‘necessary and sufficient’
Most complex issues of interest (such as aggressive behavior) are multicausal. Media violence is likely
to be one of the pushes that interacts with other forces at work. In most situations, it is neither
necessary nor sufficient. However, that does not mean that it is not a cause – it just means that it is
one of the causes.
6. Causality means immediacy
Some researchers have presented evidence that the effects of media violence may be long term. It
has been hypothesized that about 15 years must elapse before the full effect is revealed, as that is
the time it takes for a generation to grow up with the violent media and to reach a prime crime-
committing age.
7. Effects must be ‘big’ to be important
There are probably hundreds of reasons for any aggressive act. If there are hundreds of reasons, then
any single one of them should not account for much variance. That media violence consistently
appears to account for at least 1 to 10 percent of the effect is actually surprisingly large.
Developmental tasks approach
In developmental psychopathology, adaptation is often defined in terms of developmental tasks. The
basic idea is that in order for a person to adapt, there are developmental challenges that must be
met. Some arise through biological maturation, others are imposed by families and society, while
others arise from the developing self. Researchers have used this approach for at least two purposes
- It provides a set of criteria by which to judge adaptation at any particular point in development.
These tasks serve as a barometer from which to infer competence
- The developmental task approach provides researchers and practitioners with a framework for
understanding how development unfolds over childhood
,A number of principles are specific to a developmental task approach:
- There is a hierarchy to these tasks. Different issues rise in importance depending on the
developmental level of the child. Development proceeds in this way, building on past resolutions and
negotiations
- Although current adaptation is predicated (voorspeld) on prior adaptation, change is still possible;
future developmental progress is not determined or fixed as a result of how earlier developmental
tasks are organized. Adaptation is a dynamic process, predicated both on past history and current
context
- While change is possible, it is constrained by prior adaptation. The longer a child is on an adaptive
pathway, the less likely it is that dire, current circumstances can bump the child onto a maladaptive
pathway.
As children face different developmental tasks, media are likely to have a greater or lesser effect
depending on the specific issues the children are facing at that time.
Examples of developmental tasks
Media violence and developmental tasks example
The effects are likely to differ greatly, depending on the age of the child. The developmental tasks
approach provides a framework to understand how children may be affected at different ages. We do
, not mean to suggest that watching one episode of any program is likely to have a large, immediate
effect. But any immediate effects as well as long-term effects are likely to be different based on the
age of the child, and the developmental tasks approach provides a framework for designing and
testing hypotheses about the types of effects we might expect at different ages.
A risk and resilience approach to development
A risk and resilience approach focuses on differential life experiences among children that may put
them at risk for future maladaptation (risk factors), and those factors that serve to ‘protect’ children
from this risk exposure (protective factors). This approach is likely to be useful to help explain why we
may see greater effects of media violence on some children than on others. The more risks
encountered by a child, the greater the likelihood of problematic functioning. These studies have also
found that there are individuals who aren’t as vulnerable to risk factors as other individuals. This
phenomenon, termed resilience, refers to the observation that despite experiencing severe adversity,
some children display normal or above normal levels of competence across an array of domains
With regard to media violence, our view is that exposure to entertainment media violence is a risk
factor for aggressive behavior and other negative outcomes. The presence of this single risk factor is
not sufficient to cause children to pick up guns and begin shooting. However, with each additional risk
factor children have for aggressive behavior (e.g., gang membership, drug use, poverty, history of
being abused, access to guns, etc.), the risk of that child acting violently compounds. In contrast, with
each additional protective factor children have (e.g., stable family environment, good school
performance, open communication with parents, etc.), the risk of violent behavior decreases.
Conclusion
To begin to come to a deeper understanding of the effects of media violence on children, we have
provided a brief discussion of two developmental frameworks that can help us to understand how the
processes of media effects and development interact. The developmental tasks approach helps to
describe why children at different developmental stages would be expected to be affected differently.
The risk and resilience approach helps to describe why children at any given age could be affected the
same way, but that one child would show the effects behaviorally and another might not. These two
developmental approaches have great promise for the field of media effects research, as they help us
to understand why children may be affected differently by exposure to media violence, and also why
