1. Reported incidents of sexual assault on college campuses, including military academies, continue to rise. Reported incidents of "date rape" and gang rape at parties and other social gatherings are also increasing. Unlike the laws concerning stalking that were discussed in this week's reading, laws about sexual assault are clear, direct, and unambiguous. Yet, many offenders (and witnesses to sexual violence) have stated they did not interpret their actions, or those of the actual perpetrator(s), as sexual assault. What type and degree of social influence may be impacting this reported lack of understanding and awareness of sexual assault as a crime? What steps would you recommend, or endorse if they are already in place, as necessary to address this situation? Include information from your review of a relevant scholarly journal.
2. The authors in Chapter 8 of the Bartol & Bartol (Bartol A., & Bartol C. (2015). Introduction to forensic psychology: Research and application (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.) text state that socialization factors "refer to those processes through which a person learns patterns of thinking, behavior, and feeling from his or her early life experiences." They also maintain that children can learn as much through observation of another person they deem significant or highly admire as they can from their own direct experiences. Therefore, the argument remains that children learn through exposure to television, movies, or fictional characters found in video games. A great deal of research has been conducted over the years indicating that children tend to mimic specific violent or antisocial responses they have observed in others through vicarious means.
Discuss the impacts this research could have for supporting the argument for limiting young children's exposure to violent media images. Answer the following questions in your post:
• What have the vast majority of research studies delving into the effects of violent media found with respect to children and violent imagery?
• Do you believe it is a parental right to allow young children to freely view or consume violent media imagery?
• Should additional governmental policies be developed and implemented to limit violent media exposure for children?