2. Copycat theory and bobo doll experiment Critics of the media effects theory point out that many copycat murders, suicides and other violent acts nearly always happen in abnormal upbringings. Violent, emotionally neglectful or aggressive environments influence behaviour more than watching certain programs, films or listening to certain music. Most people who carry out these acts are also mentally unstable to begin with. The Bobo doll experiment was the name of two experiments conducted by Albert Bandura in 1961 and 1963 studying patterns of behaviour associated with aggression. Bandura hoped that the experiments would prove that aggression can be explained, at least in part, by social learning theory. The theory of social learning would state that behaviour such as aggression is learned through observing and imitating others. The experiments are important because it sparked many more studies on the effects of violent media on children.
3. Cultivation theory Cultivation theory is a social theory which examined the long-term effects of television on American audiences of all ages. Cultivation Theory looks at media as having a long term passive effect on audiences, which starts off small at first but has a compound effect, an example of this is body image and the bombardment of images. For example the change of attitudes towards gay marriage. The society has become more accepting with Elton John being a key role in attitude changes
4. Desensitized This theory posits that because people are exposed to so much violence in the media, violence no longer makes a strong emotional impact upon them. Most people would agree that by watching lots of violent movies, a viewer no longer gets upset while watching violent movies. However, the debate surrounding this concept is whether people will also be desensitized to real life violence. If a person leaves the movie theatre after seeing a violent film, and then sees a real dead body on the street, will this person still experience desensitization? For example violent video games and the effect they have on teenagers
