There's been a lot of fuss about the Raoul Moat fansite on Facebook. Distasteful as this is, what's worse is that the mass media should take some blame for Mr Moat's killings.
The coverage of Derrick Bird's killing spree was intense and hysterical. There's plenty of evidence to show that the more intense the media coverage of an event the more copycats are created.
This is because our brains naturally refer to what's happening around us to model our behaviour. We determine what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct. Presumably, Raoul Moat's fans have been affected by the mass media zeitgeist in a similar way to Moat.
The data about the affect of mass media suicide reports is amazing. Stories of car suicides, in which only one person dies, generate wrecks in which only one person dies. Stories of suicide-murder combination, in which there are multiple deaths, generate wrecks in which there are multiple deaths.
Heavyweight boxing finals influence murder statistics in the USA. When a match was lost by a black fighter, the homicide rate during the following 10 days rose significantly for young black male victims, but not young white males. And when a white fighter lost the match, it was young white men who were killed more frequently over the next 10 days.
This well-know psychological phenomenon can be used for the good. In one study withdrawn nursery-age children were shown a 23-minute video. Each scene began with a different solitary child watching some social activity and then activly participating to everyone's enjoyment. Just watching this film once was enough to reverse a potential pattern of lifelong maladaptive behaviour.
In my little corner of the world we try to use this effect to improve behaviour. I guess that's what training films are all about.
No comments:
Post a Comment