Viewer characteristics, film context and habituation/desensitisation to filmed violence

This thesis comprises three studies aimed at examining viewers' responses to filmed violence. The first focused on habituation, the second desensitisation and the third compared the paradigms. Results indicated that several factors influence how an individual responds to filmed violence and provide some insight into the impact of repetitive exposure to media violence. The portfolio presents four case studies emphasising the difficulties for assessing risk and associated interventions in the client population of individuals found not guilty because of mental impairment. This as an area of fundamental discord between psychology and law.