Television and violence

In spite the many observational and experimental studies on the relations between television and violence found in the literature, there is still no agreement about an eventual causal relationship. Even if most authors have observed a positive correlation between both variables, these do not have to be necessarily causal; both might depend of a third factor. Although most results show eventual short term causal effects of mass media on violent behavior, some ones suggest the opposite direction of the effect, a third group suggest rather bidirectional influences, and finally other authors talk about the cathartic effects of some violent programs. The final part of the article suggests some possible psychological models as explanation of the eventual relationship between both variables.