Ronald Bailey Parses New Research That Shows That Killing Pixels Doesn’t Lead to Killing People

For decades it has been a shibboleth among most
social psychologists that increasingly violent media—violent
television, movies, and video games—increase the risk of violence
in society. Their basic theory linking media violence to real
violence can be summarized as “monkey see/monkey do.” They believe
that media consumers have difficulty distinguishing between real
and fictional mayhem. Violence on movie or video screens supposedly
supplies behavioral scripts that viewers and players later act out.
Reel violence leads to real violence. Reason Science
Correspondent Ronald Balley shows that new research is finally
calling these theories, methods, data, and sweeping assertions into
question.

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