triday, november 18, 1977
daily nebraskan
page 5
UN L psychologist claims
TV violence drugs viewer
By Marv Jo Pitzl
Splat! Crunch! Pow! Holy shades of
anti-social behavior, Batman! Not only is
television showing us daily displays of
violence and crime, but it is increasing our
tolerance for these forces of evil! To the
Batmobile at once!
The Caped Crusaders may righteously
lament such callous attitudes, but their
violent crime-fighting activities are part of
the reason these attitudes exist. Their
sphere of influence is, not limited to
Gotham City citizens, but includes all
Americans feeding themselves with a
steady daily diet of the boob tube.
Studies have indicated that television
violence may be anesthesizing society's
views of violence, making violence and
aggression more accepted and tolerated.
Exposure to television violence
definitely causes a greater tolerance for
aggression, according to Richard
Dientsbier, chairman of the UNL psychol
ogy department.
Dientsbier's study of media influences,
entitled "Sex and Violence:' Can Research
Have it Both Ways?" was published in the
Journal of Communication earlier this
year. In his study, Dientsbier discussed two
national reports that examined the effects
pf sex and violence on society.
Callous attitude
Some of the repercussions of constant
exposure to television violence include a
more aggressive attitude, a fear of the
world and a callous attitude toward the
victims of aggression, Dientsbier said.
Positive benefits are few, if any, he said,
adding that the only one he could recall
is that displays of violence keep people
entertained.
"Most people are aware of it (tele
vision violence), but most people just plain
like it," Dientsbier said.
Violence is a main ingredient in most
television adventure shows and viewers
seem to relish it, he said.
"When you do violence to somebody
else, you're exercising- as much power as
possible on someone," Dientsbier said.
Effects of seeing such shows are mani
fested in all age groups, according to
Dientsbier. Children especially may be left
with a high tolerance for aggression, which
could be reflected in their behavior, he
said.
Dientsbier said it is apparent from
studies that the most aggressive behavior is
found in the younger age groups. However,
television violence cannot take the entire
blame for aggressive actions, he added.
The recent case of a 15-year-old Florida
boy who claimed he was influenced by
televised displays of violence when he
killed an 83-year-old woman is such an
example, Dientsbier said.
Contributing factor
"It's entirely possible that watching
violence on TV could be a contributing
factor," he said, "but to suggest it would
be the whole reason it is nonsense."
Dienstbier said television violence could
foster aggressive actions because it gives
a detached view of violence.
"Television exposes you to violence in
a way that the feelings get removed from
the victim," Dientsbier said.
Television programs do not present all
aspects of reality, he said, pointing out that
programs rarely show funeral scenes or the
grief violent actions cause.
This detachment can cause a more
callous attitude toward violence, he said.
Although children mainly seem to be the
subject of concern in complaints of tele
vision violence, adults are not exempt from
such influences, Dientsbier said.
Adults often feel more threatened by
the world after constant exposure to tele
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vised violence, he said,
A study concentrating on the 19-year-old
age group has indicated that there is
no correlation between violence on tele
vision and aggression in young adults,
Dientsbier said,
However, as a generation of Americans
who have been brought up in front of the
television reach adulthood, it will be
interesting to study how exposure to tele
vision violence may affect their decision,
Dientsbier said. .
Already proven
The idea that viewers come away with
a higher tolerance for aggression already is
being shown in society, he said.
"For example, legislation to help the
victims of violence is generally unsuccess
. ful," Dientsbier said. "We forget about the
victim of the crime and worry about
punishing the perpetrator. That's very,
very callous."
Dientsbier said television violence
should be protested on an individual level
by the public. If viewers do not want so
much violence on television they should
boycott programs and their sponsors,
"Hie producers only make shows the
public wants," Dientsbier said. He added
that if Americans want less televised vio
lence, they should use their influence as
consumers to curtail it.
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