The Epistemological Argument Against a Causal Relationship Between Media Violence and Sociopathic Behavior Among Psychologically Well Viewers

Abstract

Much of the media violence research that has occurred, principally in the United States, has been based on a fundamental epistemological error: A correlation between variables— that is, between the consumption of media violence and acted-out aggression—has been inferred by many researchers to be a causal relationship. This article suggests that scholars who infer causation from correlation miss an important point. They propose to rescue a deeply flawed literary corpus by applying statistical principles that do not account for the theoretical and methodological disarray of much of the media violence literature, a disarray that invalidates their probabilistic calculations. This article suggests that rather than argue a causal hypothesis, it is more productive to untangle the conceptual and methodological confusion that hobbles this study area. A by-product could be the dissolution of the causal argument: The putative causal relationship between society's consumption of media violence and social aggression may disappear.