Document Type

Thesis

Date of Degree Completion

Summer 2018

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mental Health Counseling

Committee Chair

Marte Fallshore

Second Committee Member

Elizabeth Haviland

Third Committee Member

Jeffrey Penick

Abstract

There is an age-old question that surrounds whether or not media have an effect on its viewers. There is substantial evidence that supports the claim that violent content in media may increase relational, physical, and/or overall aggression levels. The aim of the current study is to explore the relationship between several factors that may be related to one’s belief in one’s ability (self-efficacy) to commit and get away with murder. These factors are the amount of crime TV a person watches, aggressive tendency, recklessness tendency, and potential protective factors. It is hypothesized that the more crime TV watched, the higher aggressive and recklessness tendencies and fewer protective factors, the higher their self-efficacy will be in committing and getting away with murder. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression with amount of crime TV watched, their basic aggression level, recklessness tendencies and potential protective factors as predictors of their belief in their self-efficacy to commit and get away with murder. The results showed that the only significant predictor was amount of crime TV watched in a week, meaning people who report higher amounts of crime TV per week have higher self-efficacy scores in committing and getting away with murder. The implications of this result will be discussed.

Language

English

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