CRIME & THE MASS MEDIA

ACTIVITY

Unscramble the following. What do they have in common?

CALL HID SPYSALMON ARMY INNGODFATHER TAUNTERROR PANG SEW

1. MEDIA INFLUENCE ON BEHAVIOUR

1A. TELEVISION

INDIVIDUALLY • Calculate how many hours of television you have watched in the last seven days.

(The total should include any television programmes you have watched online, on

catch-up or on Netflix/DVD etc).

OFCOM • According to Ofcom, the average Briton views 3.5hrs of television each day.

• Claims that television can be a factor in causing aggressive behaviour, particularly in young children, are almost as old as the medium itself.

• Chief concerns are hours spent watching and, especially, violent content.

• Studies into this area are among the most popular and controversial in criminology.

EFFECTS OF TV VIOLENCE (HUESMANN ET AL; 2003)

Studied the viewing habits of 557 children and their aggression levels as adults

• Short Term EffectPeople act out what they see on television. Can be explained as imitation, excitation transfer (increased/pent-up arousal) or priming (viewing leads to violent fantasies).

EFFECTS OF TV VIOLENCE (HUESMANN ET AL; 2003)

• Long Term EffectWatching a lot of violent television can alter a child’s perception of violence. This can be linked to theories of observational learning and cognitive scripts that facilitate aggression.

ACTIVITY • Refer back to your own hours spent watching television.

• Estimate how many of these hours were spent watching the following:

Real Violence (e.g. news/documentaries)

Sport Violence (sporting aggression)

Fictional Violence (e.g. dramas)Sanitised Violence (e.g. cartoons)

ACTIVITY: PAIRS (5 MINS)

Regarding the four types of violent television described: Which are more likely to…

(a)Promote short-term increase in violence

(b)Have a long-term effect, because it changes perceptions on violence.

Discuss with a partner and identify at least TWO reasons for each to justify your answers.

HUESMANN’S FINDINGS…

Of those who watched a lot of violent television…

• Men were more likely to be aggressive within relationships and to have been convicted of a crime.

• Women were more likely to have committed a criminal act, and to respond with aggressive actions when made angry (4 x more likely to have been violent against another adult).

WHY? Watching a lot of violent television may make children think…

• The world is dangerous and full of ‘bad guys’ who need to be ‘sorted out’ (hostile attribution bias)

• Violence can be a valid way of resolving a problem situation (aggressive ‘scripts’)

• Violence is normal, effective and – in some situations – the appropriate behaviour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxyTO-Q40u4

1B. VIDEO GAMES

VIDEO GAMES & VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR…

• Normalisation of violence• Excitation Transfer• Aggressive Modelling (Bandura)• Catharsis

“Video games don’t influence behaviour; if they did, everykid that grew up with Pac Man in the ’80s would have

endedup jumping around in darkened rooms, eating pills and listening to loud techno music. Oh, wait a minute...”

BENSLEY & VAN EENWYK (2001)

• Meta-analysis of 28 research studies.

• Among 4-8yr old children, playing violent games was linked to brief aggressive play (imitation/excitation transfer)

• No effect seen on older age groups

• The findings were thus inconclusive – no strong link can be demonstrated between violent video games and violent behaviour.

• Bensley & Van Eenwyk suggest that this could change as games become more realistic.

PAIRS Rank the following in how effective you think they are in helping children deal with violent images in the media. You need to justify your ranking:

a) CENSORSHIPb) BANNING MEDIA PRODUCTSc) AGE-RATINGSd) PARENTAL CONTROLSe) MANDATORY SHOWING OF

CONSEQUENCES (e.g. bad guys always get punished)

MODELS OF MEDIA EFFECT

Hypodermic Syringe Model(aka ‘Magic Bullet Theory’)Media images are ‘injected’directly into the brain, having an immediateeffect on behaviour.

MODELS OF MEDIA EFFECT

Cultural Effects ModelRepeated viewing of similarcontent will have a gradualeffect on behaviour through changing or slowlyreinforcing beliefs andattitudes.

MODELS OF MEDIA EFFECT

Uses & GratificationsIndividuals choose media tomatch their needs and takean active role ininterpreting it.

SOME OTHER STUDIES ON MEDIA & BEHAVIOUR

CLEMENTE & KLEINMAN (1977)

• Studied perceptions of crime – particularly sexual crime – by women. How at risk did women feel?

• Noted that women’s fears of being the victim of sexual assault were exaggerated.

• Theorised that this was because the extent of sexual crime was being distorted by media coverage.

The results of these exaggerated fears were...

CLEMENTE & KLEINMANN (1977)

1. Fewer women went out at night.

2. The streets became emptier at night, meaning assaults more likely to go unseen.

3. Minority of women that did go out were therefore statistically less safe than they had been before.

4. The fear of crime, therefore, actually made the situation more dangerous for some people.

BELSON’S STUDY

• His hypothesis: “High exposure to violence on television increases the degree to which boys commit acts of violence”.

• His method: Studying the history of violence and television viewing habits of nearly 1,600 boys aged 12 – 17.

• His findings: "Children who tend to watch violent TV programmes do become more violent themselves to some extent, largely because violence comes to be seen as a legitimate problem solving device for them."

Bandura: Bobo Dolls

• Using your own examples and research, alongside the concepts and studies we have covered, prepare a 5 min presentation to the class that addresses the argument:

Does exposure to violent media make people violent?

20 mins to prepare

SMALL GROUPS

2. MASS MEDIA & THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF CRIME

WHAT DO THESE IMAGES SUGGEST ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN SHAPING OUR IDEAS ABOUT CRIME AND DEVIANCE?

• What studies/theories have we already discussed regarding the role of the media in the social construction of crime?

RECAP

• Moral Panics create ‘folk devils’ – stereotypes of deviance.

• They promote the idea that these folk devils are evil or wicked and that their behaviour needs to be controlled and/or neutralised so that society can return to normal.

• They encourage the public to put pressure on the law-makers and law-enforcers to deal with the folk devils.

• Moral panics tend to erupt suddenly and disappear just as suddenly – but often leave a lasting effect (e.g. a change in the law).

MORAL PANICS:GOODE & BEN-YEHUDA (1994)

Fawbert (2008) – HoodiesFawbert studied newspaper reports between 2004-2008. In 2004word ‘hoodie’ became commonly used by the media in referring to young ‘thugs’. Over the following years, bans on hooded tops were introduced in many public/private buildings and the Prime Minister promised to clamp down on the behaviour of ‘hoodies’.Fawbert noted that most media stories depicting criminal ‘hoodies’ never actually mentioned whether the criminal was actually wearing a hooded top. As the ‘moral panic’ increased, sales of hooded tops increased massively…Jewkes (2006) – Pampered Prisoners

Jewkes conducted a content analysis of the way British newspapers reported on prisoners. She found five different key themes, four of which suggested that prisoners led easy lives in relatively pleasant environments. The view that prisoners are ‘pampered’ rather than punished is promoted by the media and therefore commonly held by the public, despite little actual evidence to support it (the papers themselves tend to offer only anecdotal evidence). Jewkes suggested the papers intentionally sought to outrage the public, offering confirmation of existing views.Borsay (2007) – Binge Drinking

Borsay studied the ‘binge drinking’ moral panic in 2007/8 and identified that an almost identical moral panic had gripped the country in the early 1700s (centred around gin-drinking). He noted that both these moral panics, like many others, were symbolic of wider anxieties about social breakdown.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CRIME & MEDIA

MARXIST THEORY ON MEDIA AND CRIME

Marxists would argue it is not surprising that moral panics centre around groups viewed as deviant or threatening to the rich and powerful in society

Marxists would argue it is not surprising that moral panics centre around groups viewed as deviant or threatening to the rich and powerful in societyThey highlight the way the media portrays criminals as working-class, ignoring white-collar or corporate crime.

They highlight the way the media portrays criminals as working-class, ignoring white-collar or corporate crime.

The Frankfurt School point to the ideological control the media exerts in perpetuating false consciousness. Louis Althusser would describe the media as an ideological state apparatus.

The Frankfurt School point to the ideological control the media exerts in perpetuating false consciousness. Louis Althusser would describe the media as an ideological state apparatus.

Recap: Hall ‘Policing The Crisis’

FUNCTIONALIST AND PLURALIST THEORY ON MEDIA AND CRIME

Functionalists and Pluralists argue the media is simply a ‘window on the world’ reflecting life as it is.

Functionalists and Pluralists argue the media is simply a ‘window on the world’ reflecting life as it is.

Therefore, the media simply reflects a true or real picture of crime.

Therefore, the media simply reflects a true or real picture of crime.

However, critics argue that this is rather naïve given the fact that the real figure of crime is way above the official figure.

However, critics argue that this is rather naïve given the fact that the real figure of crime is way above the official figure.

FEMINIST THEORY ON MEDIA AND CRIME

Feminists argue that the media plays down the extent of women as victims of crime.

Feminists argue that the media plays down the extent of women as victims of crime.

Feminists argue that the sexually explicit representation of women in all forms of pornography (including tabloid newspapers and ‘lads mags’) renders all women potentially unsafe since they encourage predatory attitudes amongst men.

Feminists argue that the sexually explicit representation of women in all forms of pornography (including tabloid newspapers and ‘lads mags’) renders all women potentially unsafe since they encourage predatory attitudes amongst men.

POSTMODERNIST THEORY ON MEDIA AND CRIME

Postmodernists see the media as a crucial player in our perception of crime (regardless of whether this perception is accurate or not).

Postmodernists see the media as a crucial player in our perception of crime (regardless of whether this perception is accurate or not).

They highlight how the media present crime with a mixture of entertainment and sensationalism ('infotainment').

They highlight how the media present crime with a mixture of entertainment and sensationalism ('infotainment').

The ultimate expression of this is crime expressed as a spectacle.The ultimate expression of this is crime expressed as a spectacle.

WRITTEN ACTIVITY

•Outline and evaluate the role of the media in

creating or reinforcing the

problem of crime [50]