The slippery slope from priming to copycat to social learning theory.
Every day we are inundated with many forms of media and media content. Our diet is saturated with many different forms of media. Twitter, television, radio and print all convey messages that impact our daily lives.
Frequently our media portrays examples of hypersexuality and violence. Almost every popular television show contains at least one of those two themes. Usually they are intertwined. And it is not just television and movies that encompass these beliefs. If you scroll through social media or explore YouTube, you will undoubtedly stumble across those same themes. Common criticisms about the younger generation are on how mature the adolescent girls act. Their clothes and behaviors are labeled more promiscuous and their attitudes toward their bodies looser. But when their role models in television, movies and online are dressed in just as scandalous a manner can we really blame them? The media we consume idolizes women who expose their bodies under the guise of power and positivity, when in actuality it is simply the selling of sex.
These motifs of violence and sex can lead to the adaptation by media consumers of three different potentially dangerous impacts. Those are priming, copycat phenomenon and social learning theory.
The first being the consequences affiliated with priming. Priming is where media content encourages people to think of related things. It is a process of associations. If someone consistently watches violent movies and television, will their violent tendencies be awakened? Will seeing violence on television prime audiences for violent actions? With the aforementioned deluge of violent content, are we also priming numerous media consumers to have violent thoughts?
In addition to priming, viewers can experience the copycat phenomenon. This is the idea that a viewer or viewers could see a behavior acted out in a form of media and then be inspired to copy that behavior themselves. I can’t count the number of times I have seen the young people in my life behaving differently because they were imitating what they had seen in the media.
There is another phenomenon that is in a similar vein to both priming and copycat. This is the social learning theory. The theory was cultivated by Albert Bandura and is usually related to one of the topics at hand: media violence. It directs that consumers who view a character as being rewarded for aggressive acts will then act more aggressively. The same is true for the reverse of that statement. If a consumer watches a character be punished for their violent acts, they (the consumer) are less likely to be aggressive or commit violent acts. What if we applied this to sexual behaviors in media? Consider for a minute the example of the young girls from above. If those children see sexual behavior in media being rewarded won’t they be encouraged and more likely to engage in those antics themselves?
However, there is also the argument that content does not lead to specific actions or behaviors. In fact, depending on the person and the media content, violence and aggressive sexual tension shown in the media may not impact them at all. Furthermore, priming, the copycat phenomenon and social learning theory can all have positive aspects. Potentially they could lead to encouragement and ambition. If people see good behaviors exemplified and awarded in media, they may be more likely to embody those traits. Representation of positive role models could encourage copycats in a beneficial way.
