[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 26, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H636-H637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     VIOLENT MEDIA AND GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about the failure to discuss 
mental health issues and the impact of the violent media in the whole 
debate following the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. There 
needs to be a three-legged approach to this problem. It is 
disappointing that the President only addressed the issue of guns in 
the State of the Union speech.
  In a number of these tragic shootings, there has been a pattern of 
the shooters' playing violent video games. Do you remember Columbine? 
And do you remember the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado? Now 
comes a report from the Hartford Courant. I quote from the Hartford 
Courant:

       During a search of the Lanza home after the deadly school 
     shootings, police found thousands of dollars worth of 
     graphically violent video games. And detectives working the 
     scene of the massacre are exploring whether Adam Lanza might 
     have been emulating the shooting range or a violent video 
     game scenario as he moved from room to room at Sandy Hook 
     spewing bullets, law enforcement sources have told the 
     Courant.
       Before he killed his mother and set off for Sandy Hook 
     Elementary, Adam Lanza destroyed the hard drive on his 
     computer, which probably kept some of the records of the 
     games he played and whom he played with. He also may have 
     destroyed any chance to see if he had a manifesto or had 
     written down anything indicating that he planned the 
     shootings, or why he chose the elementary school.

  Soon after the Newtown shooting, I asked the National Science 
Foundation, which is funded as a result of the subcommittee which I 
chair, to pull together experts, some of the best experts--and the 
National Science Foundation picked them--from across the country to 
look at the impact of all three contributors to mass violence. Earlier 
this month, the National Science Foundation released its report.
  This is the report, ``Youth Violence: What We Need to Know,'' which 
supports my belief that rampage shootings are a result of multiple 
factors, including access to firearms, mental health issues, and 
exposure to violent media, including violent video games. This report 
can be found on my Web site. I would urge anyone who really wants to 
see what we need to do to go look at the National Science Foundation 
report. It is guns, it is mental health issues, and it is violent video 
games.
  It is easy for the President of the United States to take on the NRA. 
Why hasn't he asked the entertainment industry to play a greater role 
in this debate? Common sense tells us that the level of violence on TV, 
in the movies and in many video games is a problem. One only has to 
read the piece from the Hartford Courant to understand that this is a 
very serious problem.
  You have to look at guns, you have to look at their mental health--
and, quite frankly, the administration has not looked at mental health, 
and this Congress is not looking at mental health--and you have to look 
at violent video games and media. The administration is not looking at 
that, and, quite frankly, this Congress is not looking at it.

                   Media Violence and Youth Violence

  Brad J. Bushman, Ph.D., Professor of Communication and Psychology, 
 Margaret Hall and Robert Randal Rinehart Chair of Mass Communication, 
  The Ohio State University & Professor of Communication Science, VU 
                 University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

       When violent shooting sprees occur, people want to identify 
     ``the'' cause. Violent behavior is very complex and is caused 
     by multiple risk factors, often acting together. One possible 
     risk factor is exposure to violent media (e.g., TV programs, 
     films, video games). Of course, it is impossible to know 
     whether exposure to violent media causes shooting sprees 
     because researchers can't use guns in their laboratory 
     experiments! However, in one experimental study, we measured 
     what could be considered assaultive behavior. Dutch boys 
     (Mage=14) played a violent or nonviolent video 
     game for 20 minutes, and rated how much they identified with 
     the game character (e.g., ``I wish I were a character such as 
     the one in the game''). Afterwards, they competed on a task 
     with another ``boy'' where the winner could blast the loser 
     with loud noise through headphones. They were told that the 
     highest noise levels (i.e., 8, 9, or 10) could cause 
     ``permanent hearing damage.'' Boys who played a violent game, 
     and identified with the violent character in that game, did 
     in fact administer potentially damaging noise blasts. During 
     the debriefing, one boy said, ``I blasted him with level 10 
     noise because he deserved it. I know he can get hearing 
     damage, but I don't care!'' Another boy said he liked the 
     violent game ``because in this game you can kill people and 
     shoot people, and I want to do that too.'' A third boy said, 
     ``I like Grand Theft Auto a lot because you can shoot at 
     people and drive fast in cars. When I am older I can do such 
     things too. I would love to do all these things right now!''
       A comprehensive meta-analysis of violent video game 
     effects, which included 381 effects from studies involving 
     130,295 participants from all over the world, found that 
     violent video games increased aggressive thoughts, angry 
     feelings, physiological arousal, and aggressive behavior. 
     Violent games also decreased prosocial behavior (e.g., 
     helping, cooperation) and feelings of empathy for others. The 
     effects occurred for males and females of all ages, 
     regardless of the country they live in. Similar effects have 
     been found for all types of violent media (e.g., TV, film, 
     music and music videos, comic books). A meta-analysis of 26 
     studies involving 13,661 participants found that violent 
     media exposure is also significantly linked to violent 
     behavior (e.g. punching, beating, choking others), although 
     the effects are smaller than for aggressive behavior. This 
     makes sense because violent criminal behavior is rarer and 
     more difficult to predict than less severe aggressive 
     behavior. As one example, a recent CDC-funded, cross-
     sectional study involving incarcerated delinquents (and a 
     comparison group of high-school students), parents/guardians, 
     and teachers/staff, found that consumption of violent media 
     was related to serious violent behavior such as using a 
     weapon against another child.
       It is well known that people who consume a lot of violent 
     media come to view the world as a hostile place. People who 
     consume a lot of violent media also think violence is 
     ``normal'' behavior, because media characters often use 
     violence to solve their problems.
       It is useful to consider a child's life as filled with a 
     succession of social problems that must be solved. The child 
     uses a set of programs (called scripts) for solving social 
     problems. In theater, scripts tell actors what to do and say. 
     In memory, scripts define situations and guide behavior: The 
     person first selects a script for the situation, assumes a 
     role in the script, and behaves according to the script. In 
     many shooting sprees, the perpetrator puts on a uniform 
     (e.g., hockey mask, trench coat, movie costume, military 
     uniform), as if following a script. This allows the 
     perpetrator to identify more closely with other killers. The 
     perpetrator then gathers up a bunch of guns and ammunition, 
     goes to a place where there are a lot of people gathered, 
     kills as many people as possible, and then often kills 
     himself. For most people, carrying out such a script would be 
     impossible. But it can occur for some people who don't 
     experience negative emotions or who see such acts as 
     normative, or for whom performing such an act might be 
     perceived as achieving a sense of accomplishment and 
     ``leaving their mark on the world.'' Consider, for example, 
     statements made by the two killers at Columbine High School. 
     Dylan Klebold said, ``Directors will be fighting over this 
     story.'' Eric Harris added, ``Tarentino, Spielberg.''
       There is also a downward spiral between aggression, 
     rejection, and consumption of violent media. Aggressive youth 
     tend to be rejected by their peers, and therefore spend their 
     time consuming media (often violent

[[Page H637]]

     media) and associating with other aggressive youth (who have 
     also been rejected by others), which, in turn makes them even 
     more aggressive.
       Aggressive youth often consume violent media because it 
     allows them to justify their own behavior as being normal. A 
     child's own aggressive behavior normally should elicit guilt, 
     but this guilt is relieved if the child who has behaved 
     aggressively consumes violent media. The reduction in guilt 
     that consuming violence provides makes continued aggressive 
     and violent behavior by that child even more likely.
       Violent media often contain guns, and research has shown 
     that the mere presence of guns, even at a subliminal level, 
     can increase aggression. In summary, violent behavior is very 
     complex and is caused by multiple risk factors, often acting 
     together. One possible risk factor is exposure to violent 
     media (e.g., TV programs, films, video games). Although it is 
     not the only risk factor, or the most important risk factor, 
     it is one of the easiest risk factors to change. Other risk 
     factors (e.g., being male, social rejection) are difficult or 
     impossible to change. Parents can, however, restrict the 
     amount of violent media their children consume.
       Parents are the key, but producers of violent media can 
     help parents out. For example, there could be a universal 
     rating system on all media (TV, films, video games), with 
     universal symbols that are easy for parents to understand. 
     The PEGI (Pan European Game Information) system, for example, 
     has five age-based ratings (3+, 7+, 12+, 16+, 18+) and six 
     well-recognized symbols for potentially objectionable 
     material (violence, sex, drugs, discrimination, fear, 
     gambling). The current rating system is like alphabet soup 
     and is confusing to parents (e.g., R for movies; TV-MA for 
     TV, FV for fantasy violence in video games). Another possible 
     idea is to put warning labels on violent video games. In 
     1964, the U.S. surgeon general issued a warning on tobacco, 
     and that warning appears on all tobacco products. In 1972, 
     the U.S. surgeon general issued a warning for violent TV 
     programs: ``It is clear to me that the causal relationship 
     between televised violence and antisocial behavior is 
     sufficient to warrant appropriate and immediate remedial 
     action . . . There comes a time when the data are sufficient 
     to justify action. That time has come.'' Warning labels are 
     like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, parents find 
     warning labels informative.' On the other hand, they are like 
     magnets to children.
       Educating parents about the research on violent video games 
     is also important. This is an uphill battle, however, because 
     the source of news and information for parents is the mass 
     media, and the mass media are reluctant to report that 
     violent media are harmful.
       Almost all of the research on violent video games has been 
     conducted using single-player video games. But players often 
     play with others. In a pair of studies conducted in our lab, 
     participants were tested in pairs with an ostensible partner 
     of the same sex (actually a confederate). Participants in the 
     cooperative condition were instructed to work together with 
     their partner to get as many points as possible by killing 
     enemies and staying alive. Participants in the competitive 
     condition were instructed to try and kill their partner more 
     times than their partner killed them. Participants in the 
     control condition played the game in the single player mode. 
     After gameplay, participants competed with their ostensible 
     partner on a task in which the winner could blast the loser 
     with loud, unpleasant noise through headphones. In both 
     studies, participants in the cooperative condition were less 
     aggressive than participants in the other conditions. More 
     research on multi-player games is clearly needed.
       More research is also needed on what types of individuals 
     are most strongly affected by violent video games. Many of 
     the spree shooters have been described as ``social 
     outcasts.'' Are such individuals more likely to behave 
     aggressively after playing a violent game? Are such 
     individuals more likely to play violent games alone?
       Research should test whether aggression is enhanced by 
     playing in a first-person compared with third-person mode, 
     and by whether the enemies are realistic humans versus 
     aliens. Some research has shown that the gorier the video 
     game, the larger the effects, but more is needed.

                          ____________________