Rod- THere is nothing "ivory tower" about my response. If you are seriously interested in helping parents you don't want to play the game of choosing between 1. there is no effect and 2. there is not yet evidence of an effect. This simply distracts from the real issue which is:
If there is an effect of TV violence it is trivial at best and pales in comparison to known *REAL* threats to children and society. To continue to worry about such ephemeral matters in the face of real problems shows an unwillingness to address the real needs of their children. So, you can either play the game with the parents about how much of a threat TV is or you can show them how their question is actually constraining their view of the world. I would suggest that, as a therapist, you have an ethical obligation to focus their attention on real issues rather than distractions. -Don. On Thu, 11 Apr 2002, Rod Hetzel wrote: > > > Rather than wondering whether to tell parents to monitor > > their kids TV viewing you might advise them to be much > > more concerned about 1. the level of economic disparity > > in the culture and 2. the prevalence of hand guns. Let's > > remember that the US and Canada are both exposed to nearly > > identical TV and yet the rate of US homicide is ten times > > (per capita) what it is north of the border. When I start > > seeing data that suggests that the effect of TV violence > > approaches this level then I'll get interested in the debate. > > > So in answer to your question I would suggest that you tell > > parents to worry about what their kids watch on TV only after > > they have made the strongest possible effort to 1. eradicate > > poverty and 2. control guns. > > With all due respect to you, Don, that seems to be giving a disrespectful response >to a very genuine concern held by many parents. The purpose of therapy is not to >patronize them with an ivory tower lecture, but to help them as they struggle with >difficult life circumstances. > > > Of course, a lot of people would prefer simpler solutions and > > it's a lot easier to blame the TV than to look for real causes. > > This statement is indeed true. And some parents will blame television programming >because they don't want to look at other causal factors that might be more complex, >difficult, and painful to discuss. Part of the role of the therapist would be to >help the parents identify and address the real causes rather than looking for a >convenient scapegoat. > > I think this is an important question for psychologists to address. How do we apply >this line of research? If there truly is no scientific evidence showing that >watching aggressive or salacious television programming *causes* harmful behavior >(and from previous posts to this list it seems that indeed there is no scientific >evidence showing causality), then do we as ethical psychologists tell our clients >that they should not worry about what kind of television programming their children >watch because research has shown that there is no evidence to support their worries? >Or do we tell them that psychological research has not yet conclusively demonstrated >a causal link and thus we don't know scientifically whether or not there is a causal >relationship? > > There is sometimes a great divide between ivory tower research and the concerns of >people working in the trenches. As a scientist-practitioner, I'm interested in how >scientific research can be applied to these kinds of real-life situations. Many of >my students are also interested in the application of our research. > > Rod > > ______________________________________________ > Roderick D. Hetzel, Ph.D. > Department of Psychology > LeTourneau University > Post Office Box 7001 > 2100 South Mobberly Avenue > Longview, Texas 75607-7001 > > Office: Heath-Hardwick Hall 115 > Phone: 903-233-3312 > Fax: 903-233-3476 > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Homepage: http://www.letu.edu/people/rodhetzel > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ******************************************************************** Don Allen email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dept. of Psychology voice: (604)-323-5871 Langara College fax: (604)-323-5555 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada, V5Y 2Z6 ******************************************************************** --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
