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22 Hofstra L. Rev. 833 (1993-1994)
Viewing Television Violence Does Not Make People More Aggressive

handle is hein.journals/hoflr22 and id is 843 raw text is: VIEWING TELEVISION VIOLENCE DOES NOT MAKE PEOPLE MORE AGGRESSIVE Jonathan L. Freedman* I. INTRODUCTION You have heard two slightly different descriptions of the current status of the research on the effects of viewing violent programs on aggression. Professor John Murray is what I might call the true be- liever.' Professor Edward Donnerstein is mostly a true believer, but he is willing to hedge a little bit.2 But, both of them clearly think that watching violent programs causes an increase in aggression, and that the research proves this. I do not agree. Before telling you why, let me mention briefly the role of psy- chology in the political debate about restricting television programs. Most of us in psychology tend to be of a liberal persuasion at least in terms of censorship. Professor Donnerstein makes it very clear that he does not think that censorship is a good idea. He does not think that anyone should use social science data to support censorship or to support the kinds of bills that Senator Ernest Hollings and others are proposing that would restrict what could be shown on television. However, the fact of the matter is that we do not make those deci- sions. This morning you heard a talk by John Windhausen defending the Hollings Bill, one of the most restrictive bills ever proposed.' He made it very clear that he and the Senator consider the social science research a major justification for the bill. Indeed, he implied that without the social science research there would be no such bill-not because they would not like it-but because they would not be able * Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto. B.A. 1958, Harvard University; M.A. 1960, Ph.D. 1961, Yale University. Editor's note: This article was originally presented at a live Symposium on Television and Violence held at Hofstra University School of Law on April 8, 1994. 1. See John P. Murray, The Impact of Televised Violence, 22 HOFSTRA L. REV. 809 (1994). 2. See Edward Donnerstein, Mass Media Violence: Thoughts on the Debate, 22 HosTRA L. REv. 827 (1994). 3. John Windhausen, Congressional Interest in the Problem of Television and Violence, 22 HOFSTRA L. REv. 783 (1994).

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