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Example research essay topic: Violence On Television Abused As A Child - 1,221 words

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... th no existing norms or values. As discussed earlier, the experiences of a newborn will actually determine which neuropath ways are developed in the brain. Psychiatrist Dr. Dorothy Lewis has spent more that twenty-five years studying the motives of murderers. She believes that the seeds of violence are sewn by childhood abuse (Vaughan 551).

One of her most striking realizations after interviewing scores of kids behind bars has been the high rates of child abuse among children who kill. In one study, ninety-six percent of homicidal children have come from chaotic family backgrounds, usually including family violence. Ninety percent have been abused as a child by a family member (Morse 122). Jo Anne Page, executive director to the Fortune Society, an organization that helps ex-offenders reenter mainstream society, states that it is rare for them to see someone who wasn't savagely abused as a child (Goodwin 18). Without knowing why, young children may act as brutally as they were treated. Because they have been abused at such an early age, they consider the abusive behavior as the "norm." This can be reflected in the words of Jeffery, a seventeen year old on death row for murder: I thought it was ordinary for so long, that every kid lived the same kind of life I did.

I didn't think it was anything unusual to see a kid get beat up or to see him come to school with black eyes or bruises, maybe a broken arm or something like that. I didn't think that was ever- every kid went through it. I look back on it now, and I realize how sad that is. (q. in Morse 246) The famous case of Pavlov's dogs is an example of classical conditioning. The dogs learned to associate the ringing of the bell with food, and, once conditioned, the dogs would salivate every time they heard the bell. Television, movies, and videos are enforcing violence in our children through classical conditioning.

The Journal of American Medical Association published a definitive epidemiological study on the impact of television violence. The research demonstrated what happened in numerous nations after television made its appearance as compared to nations and regions without television. In every nation, region, or city with television, there was an immediate explosion of violence on the playground, and within fifteen years there was a doubling of the murder rate (Grossman 34). Children watch vivid pictures of human sufferings and death, and they learn to associate it with their favorite soft drinks and candy bar. A five year study by the American Psychological Association found that the average child in this country witnesses eight thousand murders and one hundred thousand other acts of violence on television by seventh grade (Goodwin 45). The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) contends that the television is a very powerful influence on the values and behaviors of children.

A report from this organization of psychiatrists states that hundreds of studies have been conducted over the years on the ways viewing violence on television effects children and teenagers. According to the AACAP, most of the evidence shows that children become immune to the horror of violence, come to accept violence as a way to solve problems, imitate the violence they see, and often start picturing themselves as similar to particular victimizer's. After the Jonesboro shooting a high school teacher reported how her students had reacted after she told them about the shootings at the middle school. "They laughed, " she said in dismay. A similar reaction frequently occurs in the movie theaters when there is blood or violence. The young people laugh and continue eating their popcorn and soft drinks (Grossman 25). The third method the military uses is operant conditioning.

This is a very powerful procedure using stimulus-response. Interactive point-and-shoot video games and computer games also employ operant conditioning to increase violence in children. A child puts his quarter in the video machine with the intention to try to shoot as many objects as he can to win points. One study done by The National Coalition on Television Violence charted the effects of a video game played frequently by eight to ten year olds.

The game involved shooting interactive laser video weapons at the "enemy" projected on the television screen. The findings revealed a dramatic rise, nearly eighty percent, in playground fighting following the period in which the young people played the video game (Goodwin 42). Many computer games are violence oriented and teach the same skills. Adding to this problem, many children today have easy access to guns. One of the Jonesburo killers had a fair amount of experience with guns, but the other boy had almost no experience shooting a gun. Between them, the two boys fired twenty seven shots at one hundred yards and hit fifteen people.

According to Grossman, that is remarkable shooting. He contends that shooting accuracy in children can be contributed to the video games they play (38). In the military the drill sergeant serves as a role model. He personifies violence and aggressiveness. Along with military heroes, these violent role models have always been used to influence the young soldiers. Our youth have plenty of violent role models supplied to them by the movies, television, rock musicians, and the media.

In one study, adolescents listed their favorite rock music. One fifth of the favorite songs picked had destructive themes which explicitly advocated and promoted homicide, suicide, or satanic practices (Leone 83). Violent themes in rock music, especially in contemporary heavy metal and punk rock, and their influence on children and adolescents, have been of concern in this country for several years. A number of professionals, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Education Association, have suggested that such lyrics promote destructive and suicidal behavior in adolescents (84). A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In order to break the chains of violence we must concentrate on the most vulnerable areas.

The children that have been raised in an abusive home are at a much greater risk of exhibiting violent behavior than those that have experienced a loving, secure relationship from birth. And, unfortunately, as we have learned, by school age the pattern has already been set. Intervention must be started at a much earlier age. Some suggestions are: pre-parenting classes should be made mandatory in our high schools, home visitation by trained personnel for all newborns in high risk areas, education for first time parents about the emotional and behavioral development of the infant.

Some laws should be passed to monitor the violence children are exposed to through television, video games, the movies, and music. Once the chains of violence are broken, we can hopefully start to rebuild the links with love and security. Bibliography: Works Cited Goodwin, William. Teen Violence. San Diego: Lucent Books, Inc. , 1998. Hyde, Margaret.

Kids In and Out of Trouble. Dutton, NY: Cobblehill Books, 1995. Zimring, Franklin E. American Youth Violence. NY: Oxford UP, 1 1998.

Krantzler, Nora J. and Kathleen R. Miner. Violence Health Facts.

Santa Cruz, California: ETR Associates, 1996. Land, Elaine. Teenage Violence. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Julian Messner, 1990. Leone, Bruno.

Youth Violence. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. , 1992. Craig, Richard. "Colorado School Shooters Identified." Cable News Network. April 21, 1999. November 12, 1999


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Research essay sample on Violence On Television Abused As A Child

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