Herb Coleman wrote:
>  
> Here's some data.
> 
> http://www.killology.com/art_beh_solution.htm
> 
> Prior to the Korean war there was a consistent finding that only about 15-20% of 
>guns were actually fired on the battle field.  It seems it is counter instinctual for 
>human to shoot at another human being.  I recall on the Discovery Channel it was once 
>reported that a Civil War musket was found to have 4 or 5 rounds stuffed in the 
>barrel.  This means the soldier was going through the motions of loading but never 
>actually firing.
> 
> To over come this we stopped training soldiers by having them shoot at round targets 
>with the "bulls eye" center and went to human shaped figures in 1946.
> 
> "The application and perfection of these basic conditioning techniques appear to 
>have increased the rate of fire from near 20% in World War II to approximately 55% in 
>Korea and around 95% in Vietnam. "
> 
> The analogy here is that if kids get desensitized to shooting at human figures, it 
>will become easier to do in real life.  I'm convinced that this is what was operating 
>in the Columbine situation.
> 
> but that's just my opinion...or is it? 



It certainly is also one of the premises of Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a
psychologist and professor. See:

Grossman, D. (1995). On killing: The psychological cost of learning to
kill in war and society.  New York: Little, Brown, and Company.

Discusses the inhibitions of individuals towards killing and the need by
the military to train soldiers to kill.  Provides information regarding
the military training process and notes similarities to the use of video
games and violent media exposure in the United States.  Discusses the
traumatic effect of killing on soldiers during wartime.

Warm regards,

Linda 

-- 
Linda M. Woolf, Ph.D.
Book Review Editor, H-Genocide
Associate Professor - Psychology 
Coordinator - Holocaust & Genocide Studies,
Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights
Webster University
470 East Lockwood
St. Louis, MO  63119

Main Webpage:  http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/  
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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