14 DAY TRIAL // As human beings, we have evolved over millions of years to show empathy to other people's suffering, and to display emotions when we witness violent behavior towards others. But constant exposure to violence may actually be desensitizing today's teens.
This is the conclusion of a new scientific research, which sought to determine whether repeated exposure to constantly violent behavior had the same effect on the minds of teenagers.
For this purpose, a team of experts devised a setup in which young males were asked to watch a series of video clips depicting repeated violence, while they were hooked up to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.
This medical imaging technique allows investigators to look at what areas of the brain activate under specific circumstances, and if he activation patterns holds constant once those circumstances start repeating themselves.
The early results of this research are unlikely to appease the controversy as to whether teen exposure to TV programs, movies and video games depicting violence is having an adverse effect on their minds.
“In our study, any effect would be temporary, but in the course of life with repeated exposures to violent media, you are shaping your brain networks to be more accommodating to aggression,” explains Jordan Grafman.
The expert holds an appointment as the head of the cognitive neuroscience division at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in Bethesda, Maryland, LiveScience reports.
But not everyone agrees with the new conclusions. One psychologist argues that the investigators made too many assumptions during the MRI-based research.
“At first they [the teens] got excited and then over time they grew bored. That's all this study really says,” argues Texas A&M International University psychologist Christopher Ferguson.
Ferguson concedes that the new investigation does not provide evidence of the fact that watching violent scenes in the media actually translates to a higher risk of developing violent behavior in real-life.
“What does seem to happen is that as individuals watch more violent media, it generally becomes less startling over time. There is no evidence that this effect transfers to real-life violence,” he explains.
Grafman also concedes that some aspects of the new investigation might merit more long-term observations, especially in regards to the impact teens may be unwillingly experiencing.
“Based on other aspects of the study, we might predict, under certain circumstances, that repeated desensitization to violence might lead to a greater likelihood of accepting, if not participating in, violent behavior,” he says.
Details of the new research were published in the latest online issue of the esteemed Oxford Journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.