International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Media desensitization is a reduction in emotional, physiological, cognitive, and/or behavioral reactivity resulting from extensive media exposure. Communication researchers have primarily used the term “desensitization” to label the effects of repeated media violence exposure on violence tolerance, meaning both a decrease in empathy and concern and also an increase in callousness toward victims of violence (→  Violence as Media Content, Effects of ; Violence as Media Content, Effects on Children of ). The rise in popularity of media desensitization research starting in the 1960s roughly coincided with the development and popularization of exposure treatments for phobias of various kinds (→  Media Effects, History of ). In systematic desensitization therapy, patients are exposed to anxiety-provoking stimuli (real, imagined, or mediated) at gradually increasing levels of intensity. Flooding therapy rejects graduated hierarchies in favor of immediate introduction to intense anxiety-evoking stimuli (→  Fear Induction through Media Content ). Research has established the effectiveness of both approaches in dulling adverse emotions; regardless of the precise sequence, exposure to a previously aversive object reduces fear and anxiety. The predominant theoretical reasoning behind exposure treatments is that pairing aversive stimuli with relaxation reinforces positive associations with ... log in or subscribe to read full text