RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

limited to children’s play, but it does happen that the way of carrying out a crime ог committing other criminal acts is really copied. For example, an obvious instance is the fact, cited by Bandura, that straight after the broadcast of a programme in Austraha in which a new, formerly unknown type of hijacking was shown in detail, an identical crime was carried out in reahty in that country. Some time later this broadcast was shown in the United States and the same occurrence was repeated. This shows not only that televised violence is imitated but also that the imitation of televised aggression is of exceptional social significance because of the great, even the intemational, scope of television. Besides this, it points out that it is not only individual violence which is imitated but that television is also a teacher of collective violence. Bandura’s reflections must be taken with great respect for they аге, as has been said, based on a great deal of research. In addition to this, we аге aware that man is bom with a series of inhented tendencies which аге developed by social leammg. Most probably, it is the same with aggression. ln this case, learning occupies a very important place in the development of aggressive behaviour and television makes its contribution to this with its programmes filled with aggression. WHAT DOES TELEVISION TEACH? According to Bandura, television primarhy teaches the technique of violence: the tactics of aggression and the method of conducting murders, violence and crirainal acts, i.e. aggressive acts and the consequences they involve serve the viewer as information. Despite the indubitable fact that televised violence influences viewers, it cannot be claimed that people put all that they see into practice. This, ш tact, means that it is more probable that people who have been more exposed to violence will behave aggressively when they encounter provocahon or when they are emotionally aroused. They will also behave more aggressively when they have

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