What happens when parents find violence acceptable? A case of violent-humorous commercials targeted at children

Abstract

We examine the influence of violent–humorous commercials on children and whether parental mediation can temper children’s aggressive responses to violent–humorous ads. We find that (a) violent–humorous ads lead to higher levels of aggressive affect in children, and (b) violent ads lead to higher levels of aggressive cognition and aggressive affect in children (Study 1). We also find that active parental mediation does not have the intended effect of reducing children’s aggressive responses after they view violent–humorous commercials (Study 1). This effect, which is contradictory to general expectations, occurs because parents are less likely to perceive the violent–humorous (vs. solely violent) ad as violent (Studies 2A and 2B) and, consequently, they show less interest in critically mediating the ad (Study 3). Through this study, for the first time, we show (a) the impact of violent–humorous ads on children (vs. adults); (b) the impact of violent–humorous ads on aggression (beyond attitudes toward ads); and (c) the effect of parents’ violent–humorous ad beliefs on parental mediation. The findings of our study suggest that the humor in a violent–humorous ad appears to trivialize the violence in the ad, with not-so-trivial consequences.