@article{ref1,
title="The Epistemological Argument Against a Causal Relationship Between Media Violence and Sociopathic Behavior Among Psychologically Well Viewers",
journal="American behavioral scientist",
year="2008",
author="Grimes, T. and Bergen, L.",
volume="51",
number="8",
pages="1137-1154",
abstract="Much of the media violence research that has occurred, principally in the United States, has been based on a fundamental epistemological error: A correlation between variables-- that is, between the consumption of media violence and acted-out aggression--has been inferred by many researchers to be a causal relationship. This article suggests that scholars who infer causation from correlation miss an important point. They propose to rescue a deeply flawed literary corpus by applying statistical principles that do not account for the theoretical and methodological disarray of much of the media violence literature, a disarray that invalidates their probabilistic calculations. This article suggests that rather than argue a causal hypothesis, it is more productive to untangle the conceptual and methodological confusion that hobbles this study area. A by-product could be the dissolution of the causal argument: The putative causal relationship between society's consumption of media violence and social aggression may disappear.<p />",
language="",
issn="0002-7642",
doi="10.1177/0002764207312008",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002764207312008"
}