Summary: Scenes of justified and unjustified violence in films engage different brain regions in adolescents. Unjustified violence activates the lateral orbital frontal cortex (lOFC), while violence perceived as justified engages the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC).
Source: Frontiers
Overview: Since the PG-13 rating was introduced in 1984, on-screen gun violence in popular films targeted to children and teens has more than doubled. This increase, and the frequent depiction of violence as “justified,” has heightened concern that such portrayals could encourage imitation. Until now, however, it was unclear whether the adolescent brain responds differently to violence that appears justified versus violence that appears unjustified.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have now shown that adolescents’ brains respond differently to these two types of cinematic violence. Using functional MRI, the team found that scenes portraying violence as justified produce synchronized activity across viewers in a brain region linked to moral evaluation—the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). In contrast, scenes judged unjustified elicit synchrony in the lateral orbital frontal cortex (lOFC), a region typically associated with aversion and disapproval.
“These results indicate that not all movie violence elicits the same reaction,” said Dr. Dan Romer, senior author and research director at the Annenberg Public Policy Center. “Adolescents tend to disapprove of violence they see as unjustified, but when violence is framed as justified, their brains appear to regard it as more acceptable.” Romer and colleagues caution that popular films that normalize justified gun use may cultivate approval of such portrayals.
Viewing movies in an MRI scanner
The study recruited 26 late adolescents (ages 18–22), balanced by sex. All participants regularly watched violent films and about 70 percent reported playing shooter video games. While undergoing fMRI, each participant watched eight pairs of 90-second film clips taken from PG-13 and R-rated movies. Each pair began with a nonviolent exchange followed by violent action. Half of the violent clips depicted violence framed as justified—defending oneself, family or friends—while the other half depicted violence driven by cruelty or malice. Parents and young adults pre-rated the clips to confirm differences in perceived justification.
The research team edited the R-rated clips to reduce graphic depictions such as explicit blood or suffering so that all clips were comparable in intensity and closer to typical PG-13 portrayals. Justified-violence clips were drawn from films including Live Free or Die Hard (2007), White House Down (2013), Terminator Salvation (2009), and Taken (2008). Unjustified-violence clips came from Skyfall (2012), Jack Reacher (2012), Sicario (2015) and Training Day (2001).
A synchronized brain response
Watching the clips produced synchronized fluctuations in brain activity across participants at similar moments in the films. However, the pattern of synchrony differed by whether the violence appeared justified or not. Unjustified violence produced stronger intersubject synchrony in the lOFC, which is known to respond to aversive events and social disapproval. These scenes also synchronized activity in the insular cortex—often linked to empathy and the perceived pain of others—consistent with an aversive, empathetic response to victims.
“It was striking to see how consistently viewers’ brains reacted at the same points in the clips,” said lead author Dr. Azeez Adebimpe. “Our findings demonstrate that violent scenes exert similar neural effects across adolescents, but the neural signature depends on how the violence is framed.”
Justified violence and the trolley problem
The vmPFC is active during moral reasoning, particularly in dilemmas that pit harm to one person against saving several others—famously illustrated by variations of the trolley problem. People typically endorse actions that minimize overall harm when the decision is impersonal, and vmPFC activation often accompanies those judgments. When violence in a film appears motivated by protection or other virtuous aims, the vmPFC shows synchronized responses across viewers, mirroring moral endorsement of the action. This pattern aligns with virtue-ethics perspectives that weigh an actor’s motives when judging the acceptability of otherwise harmful acts.
In the study, participants rated violent actions by protagonists as more acceptable when those actions were framed as protecting others, and their brains exhibited vmPFC synchrony in those moments. The results echo previous findings that parents are also more permissive of films when on-screen violence appears to serve a socially redeeming purpose.
Will justified screen violence encourage imitation?
The researchers emphasize that the neural differences show adolescents are sensitive to the moral framing of on-screen violence, even when they are drawn to such content. However, the study does not resolve whether vmPFC responses to justified violence increase the likelihood of imitation, weapon acquisition, or real-world use of force for perceived self-defense. Laboratory research indicates that witnessing justified violence can increase aggressive responses when individuals are provoked, but whether cinematic depictions translate into long-term behavior or firearm acquisition remains an open question for future study.
The paper’s authors include Azeez Adebimpe (postdoctoral fellow in Psychiatry at Penn), Danielle S. Bassett (Penn Bioengineering professor and APPC research fellow), Patrick E. Jamieson (director of the Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute), and Daniel Romer (APPC research director).
Source:
Frontiers
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Image adapted from the original Frontiers news release.
Original Research: Open access
“Intersubject Synchronization of Late Adolescent Brain Responses to Violent Movies: A Virtue-Ethics Approach.” Azeez Adebimpe, Danielle S. Bassett, Patrick E. Jamieson, and Daniel Romer. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00260.
Abstract (summary):
As violent films attract large adolescent audiences, concern grows that such entertainment—especially when violence appears justified—could encourage imitation. The study measured intersubject correlations of fMRI BOLD time courses in late adolescents viewing paired film segments that transitioned from dialogue to violent action. Consistent with a virtue-ethics approach emphasizing motives in moral judgment, unjustified violence increased synchrony in lOFC and insular cortex (associated with aversion and empathy), while justified violence increased synchrony in vmPFC (linked to moral evaluation). These findings support distinct roles for lOFC and vmPFC in judging cinematic violence and suggest that justified portrayals may be more acceptable to youth accustomed to this content.