Laura Stockdale, a researcher studying media violence exposure and behavior, published the paper entitled, “Emotionally anesthetized: media violence induces neural changes during emotional face processing”. The paper details the analysis of the response and processing of emotional faces after watching violent or nonviolent videos using reaction time and EEG readings of brain regions involved in processing facial emotions. Stockdale et. al were able to prove that exposure to violent videos decreased sensitization to emotion and face processing. After her research with adults knowing that exposure to violent media can affect behavior and processing, Stockdale set her sights on researching childhood development and violent media. Now she is leading her newest research called Project M.E.D.I.A. which serves to discover the effect of media violence exposure on the development of children.
Media violence that young children may be exposed to includes video games, TV or movies with aggressive behavior, especially superhero movies. Stockdale claims that exposing children to superheroes too early in their development only increases physical aggression and not prosocial behavior. In the article titled, “Superhero culture magnifies aggressive, but not defending behaviors” Science Daily explains this phenomenon by sourcing a project that Stockdale also worked on at Brigham Young University. The lead researcher, Sarah Coyne, found that children exposed to or involved in superhero culture are more aggressive behaviorally within a year. In a world where superheroes are often regarded as the best role models where kids can’t wait to dress up like them, buy toy replicas of their shields or hammers and act out their favorite superhero scenes parents must reconsider if their kids are getting the right message. When kids have superhero dreams at an age when they cannot process the wider moral message beyond the fighting it is just encouraging aggressive and negative behavior. Coyne understands the difficulty in preventing superhero exposure to preschool age children, she says even her own three-year-old idolizes Spiderman despite never having seen a movie. She adds that it is important to have balance with exposure to superhero culture. When children choose a superhero role model to help the child understand the positives and prosocial nature of the hero.
With parents and children stuck inside for all hours of the day with COVID quarantining it is important now more than ever for parents to consider the media they exposure their children to. While it may be easy to put a three-year-old in front of a Marvel movie, those consistent exposures will only construe the wrong message to that child. Laura Stockdale’s Project M.E.D.I.A. research hopes to provide more research about the effect that different media has on children during development. That research may help parents have a better grasp as to what is helping or hurting their child’s development and when to show them those wildly popular superhero movies.
This research also begs new questions about superhero culture and the effect it has on not only children, but all of society. During Stockdale’s presentation Dr. Morrison also pointed out that certain products, like Apple, only allow their products to be used by the heroes, or “good guys” of movies. It would be interesting to see at what point of development children are influenced by product placements like that. Clearly the aggression influences them, but does the products used also influence them? With media all around children it is vital to study the effects it has on their psychology and development.
Brigham Young University. "Superhero culture magnifies aggressive, not defending behaviors." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 January 2017. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170111131122.htm
Stockdale, Laura A., Robert G. Morrison, Matthew J. Kmiecik, James Garbarino, and Rebecca L. Silton. "Emotionally anesthetized: media violence induces neural changes during emotional face processing." Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 10.10 (2015): 1373-1382.
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