The hypodermic syringe model suggests that audiences passively accept messages injected by the media, and that this directly correlates to anti-social behavior. Research by Bandura found children imitated aggressive behaviors they saw acted out. This supported the model by indicating media violence can lead to copycat violence. However, the model has been criticized for oversimplifying audiences and failing to see them as sophisticated media consumers.

1. Hypodermic Syringe Model

2. The Hypodermic Syringe Model This model suggests that the audience passively accepts the message ‘injected’ into them by the mass media. This model believes that there is a DIRECT correlation between the violent behaviour shown on TV, computer games etc and anti-social and criminal behaviour in real life.

3. Jamie Bulger- Can violent films be blamed? Jamie Bulger, a two- year old toddler who was abducted and murdered by two 10 year old boys The boys had apparently watched ‘Child’s Play 3’ before they murdered the toddler. As Bulger’s death was very similar to a death in the film, newspapers such as ‘The Sun’ began to fuel the debate as to whether such violence in the media should be accepted. Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, aged 10. Found guilty of the murder, and were sentenced to imprisonment in a young offenders institution.

4. Calls for more censorship reflect the logic underlying this model. Psychologists (Bandura, Ross and Ross) have carried out laboratory experiments that are claimed to prove a cause and effect relationship between media images and behaviour.

5. Thirty years before Albert Bandura conducted research into how we ‘learn’ to behave Imitation or Copycat Violence

6. He made a film of a young woman beating up a Bobo doll.

7. A Bobo doll is an inflatable, egg-shape balloon creature with a weight in the bottom that makes it bob back up when you knock him down.

8. The young woman punched the clown, kicked it, sat on it, hit with a little hammer and so on. She shouted various aggressive phrases

9. Bandura showed his film to groups of small children.

10. They then were let out to play! In the play room there was a bobo doll and various toys; including toy hammers.

11. Bandura watched as the kids beat the daylights out of the bobo doll. They punched it and shouted kicked it, sat on it and hit it with the little hammers.

12. In other words, they imitated the young lady in the film.

13. The children changed their behaviour in response to what they had seen on the TV! Bandura also showed the children a film of the young woman beating up a live clown.

14. When the children went into the other room, what should they find there but -- the live clown! They proceeded to punch him, kick him and hit him with little hammers.

15. Therefore Bandura concluded that violent media content could lead to imitation or copycat violence.

16. Supporting Research… McCabe & Martin (2005) argued that imitation was a likely outcome of media violence because, often media portrays such violence as being ‘heroic’. Such acts are then carried out by young people as they believe it is acceptable- this is known as the ‘disinhibition effect’

17. Task: 15 Mins Everyone will be given a newspaper article about the Virginia shootings and the Mass Media coverage of the events. Read through your newspaper article highlighting any key points which relate to audience effects. Violence and the Mass Media “ Do you think that the American press should have released the video footage?”

18. Hypodermic Syringe Model- Recap

19. Recap: Briefly explain what is meant by the ‘hypodermic syringe model ’ Give 2 contemporary examples of mass media violence to illustrate this model How does McCabe & Martin’s research support this model? How can Bandura’s research support this model?

20. Desensitization Elizabeth Newson , as a result of the James Bulger case has since been investigating the effects of violent TV on young people. She suggested that such exposure of violent killings etc create a drip-drip effect amongst young people. This results is such violence becoming desensitized- they begin to see such behaviour as ‘normal’ and they are socialised into accepting deviant behaviour.

21. Censorship Newson’s research/findings have had a major influence over censorship Video Recordings (Labelling) Act 1985, which resulted in all videos and DVD’s being given British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) age certificates.

22. Other Developments include: The introduction of a 9 o’clock watershed In 2006 an advertising campaign for a film starring 50 Cent was criticised for glamorising gun crime In 2007 the government launched a review on the impact of violent TV on young chilren In 2008 an Ofcom survey suggested that 2/3rds of their sample of young people between the ages of 12-15 yrs claimed that violent computer games had effected their behaviour.

23. Feminism & The Hypodermic Syringe Model Morgan (1980) along with other Feminists have suggested that there is a causal link between pornography and real life sexual violence Q. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS?

24. Dworkin (1990) suggests that pornography trivialises rape and makes men ‘ increasingly callous to cruelty, to infliction of pain to violence against persons, to abuse of women’ Other research suggests that exposure to pornography makes both men and women less satisfied with their partners.

25. Other research suggests the opposite- and that pornography actually has a positive role to play in relation to behaviour in real life. Denmark (2007) concluded that pornography actually led to improved sex-lives, sexual knowledge and attitudes towards the opposite gender.

26. Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree “ The Mass Media does have a DIRECT influence over our behaviour” Task : On your piece of paper write your name. As we go round the class come and stick your name somewhere on the board, explain why you have positioned yourself there.

27. Critique of The Hypodermic Syringe Model Catharsis - Sensitisation - Methodology - Children as sophisticated media users Audiences are not homogenous  Scapegoating the Media-