Film Violence and Subsequent Aggressive Tendencies

In a world greatly concerned about peace, it seems ironic that there should be so much violence. Not only are the newspapers filled with reports of mob action, forceful overthrow of established governments, and local wars, but the mass media also present a surprisingly large number of fictitious accounts of violence. The relation of such themes to fundamental aspects of human nature and their effect upon human behavior are a matter of dispute. Here is a study aimed at developing experimentally some evidence with respect to the effect of the presentation of violence in moving pictures. Leonard Berkowitz is Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin. Ronald Corwin is a graduate student at Syracuse University, and Mark Heironimus is a graduate student at the University of Washington.