Music videos can make viewers less sensitive to warning signs of abuse

What is it about?

This experiment exposed college students to music videos portraying realistic or symbolic relationship violence. Watching the videos, becoming engaged in the videos, and enjoying the videos led people to rate warning signs of abuse as less abusive.

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Why is it important?

Relationship violence portrayed realistically and in an engaging narrative has the potential to desensitize viewers to the possibility of relationship violence in real life. Relationship violence is a serious problem, and not recognizing warning signs can put people (more likely women, but not exclusively) at risk.

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