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by becoming more aggressive and violent. While that is one of the
documented effects, it is not the only one. Meta-analyses (studies that
analyze data presented across large numbers of studies) have shown that
there are at least four main effects of watching a lot of violent media.

These effects have been called the aggressor effect, the victim effect, the
bystander effect, and the appetite effect (Donnerstein, Slaby, & Eron,
1994). The aggressor effect describes how children and adults who

watch a lot of violent entertainment tend to become meaner, more
aggressive, and more violent.
The victim effect describes how children and adults who watch a
lot of violent entertainment tend to see the world as a scarier place,

become more scared, and initiate more self-protective behaviors
(including going so far as to carry guns to school, which, ironically,
increases one’s odds of being shot). The bystander effect describes how

children and adults who watch a lot of violent entertainment tend to
habituate to gradually increasing amounts of violence, thereby becoming
desensitized, more callous, and less sympathetic to victims of violence

(both in the media and in real life). The appetite effect describes how
children and adults who watch a lot of violent entertainment tend to
want to see more violent entertainment. Simply put, the more one

watches, the more one wants to watch. These effects are well-
documented in hundreds of studies. What is less well known is which
people are more prone to which effects (although these effects are not
mutually exclusive). In general, females tend to be more affected by the

victim effect, whereas males tend to be more affected by the aggressor,
bystander, and appetite effects. But it is still unclear how to predict
exactly how any given individual will be affected by any given media

violence presentation. However, the fact that we cannot yet make this
prediction reliably should not be taken as evidence that there is no
effect. Furthermore, that everyone is not affected in the same way does
not mean that everyone is not affected. To understand where children

learn their attitudes, values, and patterns of behavior, we can consider
the effects of various proximal and distal sources of influence. The
family is closest to children, and children clearly have their attitudes,

values, and behavior patterns shaped and modified by their families. The
behaviors defined as “normal” within each family affect the behaviors of
the individuals within that family. Beyond the level of the family, the

norms of the community affect the norms of families and individuals
within it. Beyond the level of the community, the norms of society affect