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Abstract
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Within the scarce literature concerning verbal aggression, there is some indication that verbal and physical aggression may have similar inhibitions conditioned to each. Two experiments were carried out to explore this possible relationship. In the first, middle and lower socioeconomic status (SES) adolescent boys were exposed to televised physical aggression with and without consequences to the victim shown. In the second experiment, middle and lower SES adolescent boys were exposed to televised verbal and physical aggression. For both studies, intensity of post-viewing verbal and physical aggression was measured. The hypothesized relationship between physical and verbal aggression was minimally supported. In only the second study was the previously well documented stimulative effect of viewing television violence clearly shown. Several questions are raised and research directions are suggested to better understand verbal aggression as it is related to physical aggression and televised violence.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this research by Wotring and Greenberg was to test if watching television violence increases verbal and/or physical aggression in middle- and/or lower-class adolescent boys.
METHODOLOGY:
In a post-test only experiment, 242 7th, 8th, and 9th grade male students in three Michigan schools were randomly assigned to watch one of three 5-minute black and white videotapes which showed 1) consequences of violence to the victim (blood, bruises, etc.), 2) no consequences to the victim (a red filter was used to "remove" the blood), and 3) non-violent scenes. All scenes were taken from the same movie so characters and situations were consistent across the tapes. The boys were classified as middle- or lower-socioeconomic status based on the occupation of the breadwinner in family. Verbal aggression was measured by three situational items, which offered nine statements varying in intensity of verbal aggression: Two closed statements were constructed on the basis of a verbal statement rating scale devised by Mosher (1968) and one item was open-ended. On the basis of the responses and Mosher's scale, 11 categories were constructed. Two judges independently sorted all statements. The correlation between them was .98. Three items had a correlation of .39. The sum of the items was used to index verbal aggression. Four items were adapted from Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (1957) to measure subjects' willingness to use physical aggression. The average intercorrelation was .27. The four items were summed to form an index of willingness to use physical aggression. The independent variable was socioeconomic status (middle or lower). Dependent variables were 1) intensity of verbal and physical aggression and 2) exposure to violence with or without consequences to victim (EXP 1) or aggressor (EXP 2). An overall 2 by 3 (socioeconomic status by television treatment) analysis of variance was computed for each of the two dependent indices.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Of the five hypotheses stated for the first experiment, only one was supported: Subjects from lower socioeconomic status families will demonstrate more intense verbal aggression than subjects from middle socioeconomic status families. Because the major hypotheses were not clearly supported, the authors identified several problems. First, the treatment tapes were inadequate to produce the predicted effects and/or the measurement instrument may have been insensitive to induced differences. Second, the violence without consequences treatment tape was not free of consequences, but toned down. Third, the measurement of willingness to use physical aggression tapped gross social class differences but may have been insensitive to more subtle treatment-induced differences. Fourth, the school would not allow curse words in the closed-end questions, therefore the responses were artificial, which, in turn, may have reduced the credibility of the situation and sensitivity of verbal aggression items. They modified their five hypotheses and conducted a second experiment, a post-test only experiment using 169 4th, 5th, and 6th grade boys from two schools in Detroit. They were randomly selected to watch 16-minute black and white tapes showing scenes edited from prime-time television programs. One had 16 segments of verbal aggression; another had 15 scenes of physical aggression; the nonviolent tape had 20 action segments. They attempted to include scenes from the same programs to control for context and characters. Before viewing the tapes, the students were "pre-angered" to reliably tap aggression. The angering method was developed and pre-tested. They were to copy a 7-letter nonsense word (nmplmnp) according to vague instructions, then told they were doing it wrong and had to erase it, etc. Verbal aggression was measured by the same items as in the first experiment except all items were open-ended. Subjects were told to write what they would do, not what they would say. Judges sorted responses in 17 scaled categories and they added 6 "doing" categories to the previous 11. The 17 categories were later regrouped to 5 and the 3 items were summed to form an index ranging from 3 (low intensity) to 15. Nine situational items were developed to tap arousal. Seven measured hurting behavior, 2 measured helping behavior. Choices were arranged to show intensity of hurting or helping. The 9 alternatives ranged from "do nothing" to "put him in the hospital for a long time." Scores were transformed to standard scores and summed to form an index ranging from -8.06 (low arousal) to 11.61. For the second experiment, an overall 2 by 3 (socioeconomic status by television treatment) analysis of variance was computed for each of two dependent indices. Again, only one of their five new hypotheses was supported, and this time it was "Boys who view televised physical aggression where the aggressor goes unpunished will demonstrate more intense physical and verbal aggression than those who view nonviolence."
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggested that more information needs to be known about thresholds and ceilings for this kind of behavior in different social classes. They also stated that the pre-angering may or may not have worked. There may be an interaction between pre-angering, social class and television treatment on verbal aggression. Pre-angering may effect middle-class boys more. The authors emphasize that most critical is an early usage of a measure of physical aggression that is not based on verbal responses and a parallel measure of verbal aggression that is not role playing. These more "real-to-life" options might clarify ambiguous findings in the two studies. The authors also want to develop some basic data on the consequences of violence. Do consequences for the victim serve the same or different functions than watching consequences to the aggressor? Do consequences of blood, wounds or physical abrasions serve as equivalent deterrents to subsequent aggression? Perhaps consequence thresholds are higher than operationalized here. They wonder whether viewing scenes of torture, concentration camp victims or similar holocaust events may be necessary to raise inhibitions to a sufficient level. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Michigan
KW - Media Violence Effects
KW - Film Violence
KW - Exposure to Violence
KW - Juvenile Male
KW - Juvenile Aggression
KW - Early Adolescence
KW - Late Childhood
KW - Child Male
KW - Child Aggression
KW - Grade 4
KW - Grade 5
KW - Grade 6
KW - Grade 7
KW - Grade 8
KW - Grade 9
KW - Elementary School Student
KW - Junior High School Student
KW - Aggression Causes
KW - Verbal Aggression
KW - Male Aggression
KW - Physical Aggression
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