Selecting Crime Drama and Apprehension About Crime

Abstract

Subjects' initial apprehension about crime was manipulated via exposure to a specially edited crime documentary or control film. They were then given an opportunity to select films to be viewed from a list. This list contained film descriptions that varied (according to apretest) in the degree to which they featured victimization and justice restoration. Analysis of the victimization scores of the films selected indicated that apprehensive subjects (those exposed to the crime documentary) chose films with less victimization than their counterparts in the controlgroup. Analysis of the justice restoration scores indicated that apprehensive subjects chose films that featured more justice than their counterparts in the control group. These findings are consistent with several selective exposure rationales for the well-documented relationship between exposure to televisionand crime drama in particular-and fear of crime. These rationales are fully discussed and the findings of the present study are reconciled with earlier research on the relationship between television exposure and fear of crime, including research on the cultivation of fear via television exposure.

Punishing Media Criminals and Moral Judgment: The Impact on Enjoyment

“…In other words, viewers of crime dramas might tend to expect and even demand (for the sake of enjoyment) a punishment that is greater than what is morally acceptable in reality; only such overpunishments will lead to enjoyment. This suggestion seems in line with the scholars (e.g., Wakshlag et al, 1983) who argue justice restoration as a motivation for viewing such fare, especially when one considers the suggestion that finding pleasure in the debasement of others is morally appropriate within drama if the debasement is judged to be justified (Zillmann, 1998;. The moral amnesty necessary to enjoy (and expect) an overpunishment is thus provided if it is judged as justified (or deserved) given the nature of the crime.…”

“…Perhaps. However, one should also consider additional suggestions that viewers are motivated to watch crime dramas to see justice restored (e.g., Wakshlag et al, 1983;. In the no-punishment condition, justice was decidedly left unrestored.…”

“…Justice restoration has been identified as a factor motivating exposure to crime-based and violent programming (e.g., Wakshlag, Vial, & Tamborini, 1983;Zillmann, Hay, & Bryant, 1975). It seems reasonable to expect that the nature and severity of a punishment in a crime drama, as well as the nature and severity of the crime itself, would impact a viewer's judgment of the justice restoration.…”

Media Influences on Public Perceptions of Ethnic Groups, Generations, and Individuals

“…Wakshlag, Vial, and Tamborini (1983) found results consistent with several selective exposure rationales for a relationship between fear of crime and exposure to television and crime drama in particular. Harrison (2000) found a relationship between exposure to fat-character television and body dissatisfaction for younger males.…”

Moral Judgment and Crime Drama: An Integrated Theory of Enjoyment

“…Most that have addressed the topic have focused on the desire to see the "good guy/gal" win and the "bad guy/gal" lose. This desire for and enjoyment of a just finality has been measured as a function of the level of suspense in the presentation (Zillmann, 1980;Zillmann, Hay, & Bryant, 1975), the level of anxiety created by the presentation (Bryant, Carveth, & Brown, 1981), and the viewer's preexisting apprehension toward crime and fear of victimization (Wakshlag, Vial, & Tamborini, 1983;Zillmann & Wakshlag, 1985).…”