Most of us know the studies about violent entertainment and aggression. They're the reasons why our parents didn't let us play violent video games as kids. However, there is a much more sinister side effect to watching violent television lurking in the shadows. It's the reason why your heart pounds when you hear a sound at night and you're home alone. It's why you flinch when something brushes past your foot in murky ocean waters. It's why you don't trust the innocent smiles on clearly inanimate porcelain dolls.
That's right. It's fear.
Fear is normal to have every once in a while in certain situations, like when your car skids on ice or if your birthday candles accidentally catch your hair on fire. However, fear is the primary factor of a phobia, "a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it." Phobias can be extremely debilitating to someone's lifestyle, especially if agoraphobic behavior is exhibited (inability to leave one's home due to fear). Imagine having a fear of dogs so bad that you couldn't leave your house for fear of seeing your neighbor walking their dog.
Allow me to explain how we think this all works. George Gerbner, a professor of communication, developed a theory entitled cultivation theory. Cultivation theory states that television "cultivates" our worldviews - basically, it teaches us what the world is like. So when we view violent television and violent movies, they are "cultivating" us into thinking the world is a violent, scary place. This perception is called the "Mean World Syndrome." You can see how this would lead to agoraphobia, I'm sure. If I thought I was going to be the victim of a crime every time I left my home, I wouldn't leave either.
When cultivation theory talks about fear, it is specifically talking abut fear of crime. There have been several studies that state that violent television shows, such as "Criminal Minds," can increase fear. However, I have not encountered research studying whether cultivation theory might apply to other fears, meaning that we could possibly develop these fears in similar ways. Remember watching "Jaws" as a kid, and never being able to go in the ocean without picturing that great white? Or watching It and becoming uneasy around clowns for the rest of your life? These fears could also be "cultivated" in us. Comfortingly, though, the "Mean World Syndrome" is usually refuted in studies, so at least we can rest at night knowing that the world isn't that bad and that all of our fears are just in our heads.
