Children, Adolescents, and Media Violence 2/e

Steven J. Kirsh is a Professor of Psychology at The State University of New York at Geneseo. During his youth, he reports spending many hours, and dollars, in the video arcades of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Professor Kirsh's primary areas of research focus on the influence of violent media consumption on emotion recognition and social information processing. He has published Media and Youth: A Developmental Perspective (2010) and coauthored the most recent edition of Psychology for Living: Adjustment, Growth, and Behavior Today (2011), as well as numerous scientific articles and book chapters. Professor Kirsh currently teaches courses in the areas of child development, introductory psychology, research methods, and media violence.

Preface Acknowledgments About the Author Part I: Understanding Aggression Chapter 1. Media Violence: History and Key Issues Concerns About Media Violence Throughout History Aggressive Behavior and Aggression-Related Constructs Answering Questions So New Questions Can Be Raised Preview of Coming Attractions Chapter 2. Aggressive Behavior Across Development Developmental Change in Aggression Individual Variation in Aggressive Behavior Sex Differences in Aggressive Behavior Across Development Excessive Aggression in Youth Chapter 3. Theories of Aggression Domain-Specific Theories of Aggression Integrative Theory Chapter 4. Violent Media Consumption Across Childhood and Adolescence Investigating Media Consumption Across Development Patterns of General Media Consumption What We Know About Violent Media Consumption Reasons for Consuming Violent Media Part II: Effects of Specific Forms of Violent Media on Youth Chapter 5. Can Youth Benefit From Violent Media Consumption? Research Related to the Benefits of Media Violence Consumption Chapter 6. Sports Violence and Aggression Aggression in Sport Modeling Aggression and Its Consequences Factors That Influence Imitative Behavior in Youth Sports Violence and Aggression in Youth Laying the Smackdown on Sports Entertainment Chapter 7. Comic Books, Literature, and War Toys Comic Book Violence Violence in Literature and Its Relationship to Aggression and Fear War Toys and Aggression Chapter 8. Cartoon Violence Cartoons: A Brief Historical Overview Violence in Cartoons Cartoon Violence and Aggression Chapter 9. Violence in Music and Music Videos Historical Overview Violent Lyrics Backward Masking and Satanic Messages The Effects of Music Violence on Aggression Violent Music Videos and Aggression Chapter 10. Live-Action Television and Movie Violence Violence in Movies Violence on Television Factors That Influence the Perception of Live-Action Violence Television Violence and Aggressive Behavior The Effect of Television Violence on Aggression-Related Constructs Desensitization Television Violence and Fear Chapter 11. The Effects of Violent Video Games and Internet Aggression on Youth Characteristics of Violent Video Games The Effects of Violent Video Games on Youth as a Function of Video Game Era and Game Type Internet Aggression Part III. Media Violence and the Concept of Risk Chapter 12. Aggression: Risk and Protective Factors Beans and Aggression Risk Factors for Aggression: Child Characteristics Risk Factors for Aggression: Environmental Characteristics Aggression: Protective Factors On the Importance of Risk and Protective Factors in Media Violence Research Chapter 13. Media Violence Effects: Magnitude and Mitigation Meta-Analysis Violent Media Effect Sizes in the Context of Other Risk Factors for Aggression Moderators of Media Violence Effects Which Media Have the Most Negative Impact on Youth? Reducing the Effects of Media Violence Consumption Through Mediation Chapter 14. Media Violence and Public Policy Legislating Media Violence: Is There Really a Need? A Brief Look at Policy Making Violent Media and Current Policy References Author Index Subject Index

"This is an outstanding book. Key strengths are professional and comprehensive treatment of the literature and reader accessibility. I am a mass communication scholar, and with the aid of Kirsh's text I feel I have a psychologist in the classroom with me. I have adopted this book for my course several times and will continue to do so in the future. Please let me summarize the above review in three words. "This book rocks!" Thank you for this great addition to the literature." -- Don Diefenbach "It is an excellent book which my students lilted a lot. It is a very good intro into the domain of media violence research for anyone who wants an accessible yet comprehensive coverage of the area. I will certainly continue using the book for my courses and look forward to the new edition." -- Barbara Krahe "Kirsh strikes a good balance between breadth and depth, presenting a concise yet holistic review of the media violence literature. The book does a great job of integrating diverse findings and providing a deeper understanding of processes underlying media violence effects that can benefit both psychologists and a general audience." -- Craig A. Anderson; * -- Myths and facts about youth and violent media. * "Since Steven Kirsh pays attention to introduce all necessary methodological aspects as well as discuss the different aspects of media violence research in detail, this book can be used as a textbook in undergraduate as well as graduate courses. However this book is not limited to the context of the university, but also a helpful resource for teachers and parents. They can easily understand the mechanism by which violent media influences children." -- Robert Busching * The Bulletin of the International Society for Research on Agression, Vol 34, No 1 June 2012 *