Assessing the Psychological Effects of Horrible Pictures on Newspaper Readers in Nigeria

8/10/2019 Assessing the Psychological Effects of Horrible Pictures on Newspaper Readers in Nigeria

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Assessing the Psychological Effects of Horrible Pictures on Newspaper Readers in Nigeria.

By

Celestine Verlumun GEVER

Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

EMAIL:[email protected]

PHONE: 08064938817

Paper presented at a conference on 50 years of psychology in Nigeria: Break through and

challenges organised by the Nigerian Psychological Association held at the University of

Nigeria, Nsukka, 25-27 November, 2014

Abstract

Horrible pictures have become a common feature of Nigerian newspapers especially in this era of

terrorism and other crimes like assassinations, lynching, kidnappings, armed robberies etc. The

prevalence of these pictures has generated heated arguments from both communication and

psychology scholars on their psychological effects on newspaper readers. While some argue that

such pictures can lead to a psychological trauma on the part of newspaper readers hence should

be avoided, others argue that pictures, not minding how horrible, give credibility to news stories

and that the readers are used to horrible scenes as such , there should be no limitations as to the

type of pictures to be used, provided the ultimate aim is to give credibility to news stories. This

study through a survey design, using a multi-stage sampling method, sampled 400 respondentsfrom two purposively selected areas of Nsukka and Makurdi. Findings reveal significant

relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and newspaper readers emotional trauma,

significant relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and newspaper readers aggressive

behaviour while other factors that can lead to emotional trauma and aggressive behaviour were

found to be family relations, friendship, colleague, tribe, race, religion and political association.

The researcher recommends among others, the enactment of an act of parliament regulating the

type of pictures to be published by newspaper editors in Nigeria. .

Keywords: Assessment, psychology, horrible pictures and newspaper readers


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Introduction

This study is a response to a rowdy session that ensued at the 16thconference of the African

Council for Communication Education (ACCE) held between 10-12 March, 2014 at the University

of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. The rowdy session was ignited by professor Chris Ogbondah in a lead

paper entitled Photo ethics in Nigerian press: will the watchdog please watch itself.During the

presentation, the US based scholar argued that some of the horrible pictures published by Nigerian

newspapers were capable of leading to emotional trauma. He argued further that gory pictures of

any kind and for whatever reason and circumstance were more harmful than merely giving credence

to news, which is the primary purpose of using them. The scholar concludes that newspaper and

magazine editors should avoid publishing gory pictures irrespective of whether they give credence

to news stories or not. Ogbondah (2014) recommends that editors should be guided by factors like

religious belief, newspaper policy and moral conviction in their choice of pictures.

The conclusion of Ogbondah did not go down well with other scholars who argued that

pictures give credence to news stories and nothing should stop newspaper editors from publishing

gory or horrible pictures provided they help in passing the message. Exponents of Ogbondah rose to

counter his opponents and soon, the conference hall was divided into pro and anti horrible pictures

with professor Ogbondah as the focal point. After a heated argument, there was no agreement from

both parties. Barely after a month, precisely on the 16thof April, the Federal Executive Council

(FEC) rose from a meeting presided over by president Goodluck Jonathan and condemned the use

of horrible pictures of the April 14, 2014 Nyanya bomb blast. The then minister of information,


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Labran Maku noted that the use of such pictures amounted to media insensitivity to national

issues.He was quoted thus:

Let me also say that we observe with regret that in spite of the greatjob the media has continue to do, we saw that the way this incident

was reported in the last two days has been very insensitive. The

council noted and this is very unprofessional that the papers and

most of the television stations just unleashed on Nigerians gory

details of pictures that should never have been published on the basis

of humanity, on the basis of professional ethics, and the basis of

feelings for the sensibilities of our people.

Whether FEC observation as conveyed by the minister has any scientific backing is subject to

empirical examination.

Statement of the Problem

Horrible pictures have become common place in Nigerian newspapers. This is partly

because of the prevalence of crimes and criminality and in worst cases, terrorist related activities.

Communication scholars are divided on whether horrible pictures should be used or not Those in

support often argue that pictures generally give credence to news stories and should be used and

that such pictures have little or no effects on the readers. Those against the use of horrible pictures

are brisk to argue that such pictures are capable of causing emotional trauma and aggressive

behaviour to the newspaper readers. This study seeks to investigate the effect of gory pictures on

newspaper readers in Nigeria.

Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this study is to determine the traumatic effect of horrible pictures

on newspaper readers in Nigeria. Specifically, this study seeks to achieve the following:

1. To determine the relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and readers traumatic

feelings.

2. To determine the extent exposure to horrible pictures lead to traumatic feelings


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3. To determine the relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and aggressive behavior

of newspaper readers in Nigeria.

4.

To determine the extent exposure to newspaper horrible pictures lead to aggressive

behaviour.

5. To determine factors that can enhance aggressive behavior and traumatic feeling after

exposure to horrible picture.

Research Questions

This study seeks answers to the following questions:

1. What is the relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and traumatic feelings of

newspaper readers in Nigeria?

2. To what extent does exposure to horrible pictures from newspapers lead to traumatic

feelings?

3.

What is the relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and newspaper readers

aggressive behaviour?

4. To what extent does exposure to horrible pictures from newspapers lead to aggressive

behavior?

5. What are other factors that can enhance trauma and aggressive behaviour after exposure to

horrible pictures?

Hypotheses

This study tested the following null hypotheses:

HO1There is no significant relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and traumatic

feelings of newspaper readers in Nigeria.


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HO2Theextent horrible pictures cause traumatic feelings to newspaper readers will not be to a

large extent if calculated contingency coefficient is less than 75%.

HO3There is no significant relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and aggressive

behavior of newspaper readers in Nigeria.

HO4The extent exposure to newspaper horrible pictures lead to aggressive behaviour will not

be large if calculated contingency coefficient is less than 75%.

Significance of the Study

This study is justifiable because of its relevance to the following people and ways:

First, newspaper editors will benefit from the result of the study as it will guide them in their

decision of which pictures to publish and which not to. The government and policy makers will

also find the result of this study useful in contemplating policies and legislations on the use of

pictures in newspaper. Public affair analysts will find the result of this study useful in analyzing the

effect of newspaper pictures on the readers. Also, teachers of mass communication will benefit from

this study in teaching photo-journalism to students. Other researchers will equally use the result of

this study in further exploring related areas.

The Place of Pictures in Newspaper Communication

Nowadays, it is doubtful if a newspaper without pictures will attract high patronage (that is

if it will be patronized at all). This goes to justify the proverbial seeing is believing. A newspaper

without picture is necked, unattractive and communicates less. Pictures take the readers to the event

and make them have an understanding, or better still, smattering knowledge of what they are read.

Pictures in newspapers give credibility to news stories. Okoro and Ikechukwu (2000)

corroboratively write Whether it is about events, places or people, in fact, whatever it is, the

picture tells it loud and clear.Though the scholars did not mention how important pictures are to

newspaper, the very fact that pictures communicate loud and newspapers are meant to communicate


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goes to show that pictures are important in newspaper communication. Scott (1999) emphasized

that images are part of the in textuality of the newspaper and that the nature of news paper coverage

of the news shows a snap shot of events on daily bases. Commenting further, Scott writes:

We can read the sequence of photographs in a newspaper as a

short or aid memoire for the current state of news even if the

available photos can only show us the prelude or aftermath of a

particular event, they have one advantage over the column (114-

5).

The comment above goes to show the importance of pictures in newspaper communication.

Hall (1972) observes that pictures have the effect of making historic instantaneous as all history is

converted into today through the use of pictures. Pictures in newspapers are often accompanied by

written word beneath known as captions. This written words further give an insight into the picture

Studies (Barthe, 1982, Burgin 1983) have shown that news paper captions are very important in the

communication process. Durrer (2008) however, expresses reservations as he writes: Since the

words that accompany pictures are of such importance, one might well wonder whether it is pictures

or whether it is words that make us see. Engel (2005) in a study Every picture tells a story: The

Language and Function of French newspaper captions observes that captions are very important in

newspaper pictures. The researcher writes:

Newspaper photos are the most salient hook which draw the reader into

the story, their captions anchor these photos in relation to the story.

Captions feed the reader with information on people, time and places,

tantalizing snippets of detail which make the reader want to read more.Caption transforms a photo into a news photo. Furthermore, they place a

particular interpretation on the image, shaping the readers understanding

of that image.

The assertion above indicates the importance of pictures and captions in newspapers.

Pictures in newspaper, could even add to the design in such papers with a corresponding reading

motivation on the part of the readers. A study conducted by Garcia and Stark (1991) revealed that

pictures and design are the main entry points in newspaper reading. According the result, readers


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usually enter the page through the dominant photo and then move to a prominent headline or

another dominant photo. Garcia and Stark arrived at the result after testing 90 readers of three

newspapers at three different sites in the United States. The editions (Prototype A and B) given to

the readers were manipulated with respect to colour- a major motivation behind the study was to see

whether colour in itself attracts readers attention. Participant could read as long as they could and

their eye movements were tacked during the reading session. The results of Garcia and Stark

basically revealed that attractive pictures in news paper could motivate readers to read newspapers.

The result of Josephsson contradicts that of Garcia and Stark. Josephsson (1996) studied the

colour Vs greyscale effect for Photos in four manipulated newspaper pages, which 32 subjects were

allowed to look at for 10 seconds per page. Her findings indicate that the position of the photo on

the page is more important than the colour/greyscale factor. Her subjects viewed the top of pages

before the bottom and the earliest position was upper left, not minding the colour. This suggests that

whatever colour a newspaper picture carries is inconsequential, what matters is where it is located.

The result of Josephsson confirms the assertion by Carter (2000) that the size photographs and the

position it takes on the front page is an important code for the reader as it affects the attention given

to the paper. Similarly, Holmqvist and Wartenberg (2005) in a study which purpose was to examine

effect of local design factors on readers visual behaviour document that pictures attracted

significantly earlier attention then picture- less areas. Their result also showed that large pictures are

looked at significantly earlier than medium and small pictures. The result of Homqvist and

Wartenberg also showed that the type of picture also affect readers fixation. In their study, the

researchers divided pictures into information graphs, maps, drawings and photos. All but

information graphics were found to contribute to early fixations. The same importance of size of

pictures (not location this time around) was reported by Lundqvist and Holmqvist (2001). Also,

Harper (2002) observes that the parts of the brain that process visual information are evolutionarily

older than the parts that process verbal information. He writes, Images evoke deeper elements of


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human consciousness that (sic) do words. Ingram and Estate (2008) observe that pictures are very

important in newspapers because of the following reasons-(i) to brighten the page. A newspaper

page devoid of a picture does not look interesting to the reader and may not attract the attention of

the public. Such a newspaper will witness low patronage and in the final analysis, the newspaper

house will fizzle out. Ingram and Estate observe further that readers who pay money for a

newspaper expect their work to be made easy for them with pictures that help tell the story.

(ii)Pictures tell the news. News is something which is new, odd, interesting, important and about

people. In media parlance, news is sacred and must be treated with sacrosanct. News can be

passed to the people with the use of pictures. Pictures add credibility to news and give them life.

Sometimes, even pictures alone with captions can tell the story. A news picture must therefore pass

message to the readers and not leaving them in conundrum after viewing it. (iii)To show what it

looks like. No matter how gifted a writer may be in manipulating words, he cannot paint the picture

of a person or something with written words more than the picture itself. A picture can let the

reader see what a person, or a place, or a building, or an event looks like. Apart from television

images, newspaper photographs are unarguably one of the ways the people can know what things

look like. With the epileptic power supply in Nigeria and poverty level on the increase as evidenced

in low ownership of television, pictures remain one of the ways that people can get to view how

their leaders look like and even view other important pictures that may help them have an

understanding of their environment. Newspaper pictures take the readers to place they have not

been and connect them with people they have not met.A survey conducted by the National Bureau

of Statistics (2011) shows that only 31.5% of Nigerians have access to television with a handful of

13.3% having ownership. However, a study conducted by Ukonu, Ani and Ndubisi (2013) among

five universities in south eastern Nigeria in which 300 students and 99 staff were sampled showed

that 295 (98%) of the students respondent and 85 (86) of the staff respondents reported that they

read newspapers. Another study conducted by Ndaliman and Agbo (2013) in which 346


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respondents were studied, 310(90%) reported that they read newspapers. Another study conducted

by Aliagan (2011) in which 147 respondents were tested revealed that 86(58.50%) of the

respondents reported reading newspapers daily, 21(14.28%) reported reading newspapers weekly

while 36 (26.53) reported reading newspapers once in a while. The study by Aliagan further goes

to show the level of newspaper readership in Nigeria. This gives insight to the fact that newspaper

pictures can go a long way in enhancing visual communication in Nigeria.

Horrible Pictures

Defining horrible picture is as horrible as horrible pictureitself. In other words, there is no

generally accepted definition of horrible pictures. What is horrible picture to one person may be

good picture to another. Consequently, this study developed a measuring method christened

Horrible Picture Scale (HPS), using three domains- mental horrible picture, emotional horrible

picture and physical horrible pictures. As a follow up, pictures were further classified as severely

bloody ( labelled as PA), bloody (labelled as PB) and average (labelled as PC).Twenty

respondents made up of ten newspaper readers and ten experts (five psychologists and five media

experts) were purposively selected in Nsukka township to determine what constitutes horrible

picture. It should be noted that multi- response was allowed for in depth understanding. The

baseline for accepting or rejecting any of the three domain was 55%. Consequently, PA had 18

(90%), PB 17(85%) and average 9(45%). As a step further, three pictures with the appropriate

labels were shown to the respondents and 19 (95%) of them identified PA as emotional horror

horrible pictures 16 (80%) identified PB mental horrible picture while 8 (40%) PC as physical

horrible picture(see appendix 1). Based on this , the researcher asserts that newspaper pictures are

said to be horrible if they are capable of terrifying the readers emotionally and mentally. When

newspaper pictures give gory details, they can be termed as horrible. These pictures often times go

with corresponding intimidating captions like Again, another twin explosion in Maidugur, 17

feared dead and scores injured, Blood bath in Adamawa among others. Umukoro in Okanume


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(2008) quips that in reporting conflict in Nigeria. The Nigerian media use pictures to give a graphic

rendition of horror and mayhem. The scholar adds that gory pictures are given larger life in the

process. A glance through newspapers in Nigeria will reveal the presence of horrible picture (see

appendix for examples published horrible pictures). A study conducted by Cope, Fitrick, Holl,

Martin, Nunnally et al (n.d) on Image impact in print media the researchers examined the impact

of images from the Iraq war on an in individuals levels of involvement, emotions and attit ude

towards the war. The result of the researchers revealed that sufficient evidence exists to support the

hypothesis that images with a caption exert greater impact on viewers attitudes compared to

images with text. It also showed that images with a caption exert greater impact on involvement

levels than full text alone and that images elicit greater affects than images with text. The

researchers note that powerful images of war can sway public opinion for or against combat

operations.

It is important to add here that though the researchers focused on war images, they did not

describe the specific type of images and how powerful they can be. This is where studies by

Nemeth (2002), Douglas, Lyon and Ogloff (1997) and Oliver and Griffit (1976) becomes relevant.

Nemeth (2002) in a study to ascertain the impact of gruesome pictures on mock Jurors. In doing so,

the researcher manipulated gruesome pictures in-photographic evidence (how gruesome, highly

gruesome or control photographs) and verbal testimony (low gruesome vs highly gruesome). The

result of the study showed that neither photographic evidence nor testimony had effect on mock

Jurors verdict or sentence decision. This result is contrary to the one documented earlier by

Douglas, Lyon and Ogloff (1997).Douglas et al found that Mock Jurors who were presented with

gruesome photographic evidence were nearly twice likely to convict the defendant than participant

who did not see the gruesome evidence. The result of the researchers confirmed the position by

Oliver and Griffit that evidence of such manner would provoke a strong emotional response in the

Jury and consequently, bias their decision. The duo (Oliver and Griffit) compared the judgements of


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mock Jurors who viewed four colour sides depicting different views of a badly cut hand including

one after infection had set in, to mock Jurors who read the trial transcript without viewing the sides

and concluded that nature of the images had effects on the judgements of the two sides.

It must be noted that though the researchers did not study the effect on gruesome picture on

newspaper readers, Jurors are human beings like newspaper readers, so the way they react to

gruesome pictures, may likely be the same way newspaper readers will. However, to establish

exactitude, this study will ascertain the psychological effect of horrible pictures on newspaper

readers in Nigeria.

Theoretical Background

This study adopted the aggressive cues theory-which is basically a television theory. The theory

was propounded by Defleur and Sandra Bell-Rockeah in 1975 (Asemah 2011). The theory suggests

that repeated exposure to violence on television has the proclivity of inciting violent behaviour from

the viewer. Adopting the theory for this study, it can be said that repeated exposure to horrible

pictures has the possibility of inciting violent behaviour on the part of newspaper readers. Based on

this theory, if newspaper readers are exposed to horrible picture, they are likely to develop

aggressive tendencies that can lead to aggressive behaviour. It should b noted that this is not

absolute until the null hypothesis on the relationship between newspaper horrible pictures and

aggressive tendencies is tested. On how newspaper editors should conduct themselves in relation

to horrible pictures, the social responsibility theory was found useful. The social responsibility

theory is an outcome of a commission of communication gurus known as the Hutchins Commission

of inquiry of 1947. (Gever 2014). The commission gave birth to the notion of social responsibility

and pointed out the key journalistic standards that the press should seek to maintain. According to

the tenets of the theory, freedom carries with it a corresponding responsibility which the media must

not compromise. . (McQuail, 2005, p.171).Base on this theory, it can be said that newspaper

journalist must be responsible in their choice of pictures so as not to abuse their power.


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Methodology

Survey research design was adopted for this study. The choice of survey was to elicit

primary data from the respondents which Gever (2013) adds is the hall mark of survey.

Multi-stage sampling was used to arrive at the sample size. First, the researcher purposively

selected Makurdi metropolis and from Benue State and Nsukka, Enugu state as the areas of the

study. These areas were selected because of the following reasons to represent the North/South

divide of the country; because they are seats to tertiary institutions, because of the presence of

newspaper stands etc.

At the next stage of the sampling, three news paper stands each were purposively selected

from Makurdi and Nsukka. In Nsukka, the newspaper stands at Nsukka main Market, Total filling

station and in front of the University of Nigeria Nsukka gate were selected. In Makurdi, the

newspaper opposite Benue State University, Makurdi gate, Wurukum market and Benue Links Park

were selected. Accidental sampling was then applied. 200 copies of the questionnaire (100 each in

Nsukka and Makurdi) were administered to respondents who gathered at those newspaper stands.

This lasted for one week in each of the states. At each newspaper stand, the research spent an

average of two hours administering the questionnaire copies. In the analysis of the data, chi-square

was used to test the existence/non existence of relationship between variable while contingency

coefficient was used to determine the degree of the relationship.

Results

The returned rates for this study showed that 91 (91%) and 87 (87%) copies of the

questionnaire were filled and returned from Nsukka and Makurdi respectively. This gives an mean

response rate of 89%.The analysis for this study were done with use of SPSS 16.0


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Table I: Feeling of trauma * exposure to horrible picture Cross

tabulation

Exposure to horrible

picture

TotalYes No

Feeling of

trauma

Yes Count 109 25 134

% of Total 61.2% 14.0% 75.3%

No Count 12 32 44

% of Total 6.7% 18.0% 24.7%

Total Count 121 57 178

% of Total 68.0% 32.0% 100.0%

Source: Field Survey, 2014

The above cross tabulation yielded Chi-square statistic 44.488 and critical value; 3.841 at 1 degree

of freedom. And hence the statistic is greater than the critical value, it indicates significant

relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and newspaper readers sense of trauma. The

cross tabulation further yielded a contingency coefficient valued of 0.447 interpreted as 44.7 .To

ascertain the relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and newspaper readers aggressive

behaviour, the following table was computed.

Table II : Aggressive behaviours exposure to horrible picture

Cross tabulation

Exposure to horrible

picture

TotalYes No

Aggressive

behaviours

Yes Count 121 14 135

% of Total 68.0% 7.9% 75.8%

No Count 14 29 43


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% of Total 7.9% 16.3% 24.2%

Total Count 135 43 178

% of Total 75.8% 24.2% 100.0%

Source: Field Survey 2014

The above cross tabulation yielded Chi-square statistic 57.977 and critical value; 3.841 at 1 degree

of freedom. And hence the statistic is greater than the critical value, it indicates it indicate

significant relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and newspaper readers aggressive

tendencies. The cross tabulation further yielded a contingency valued of 0.496 interpreted as 49.6

50%. To ascertain the factors that can enhance feeling of trauma and aggressive behaviour of

newspaper readers after exposure to horrible pictures, the following table was computed.

Table III: Factors that can enhance feeling of trauma and aggressive behaviour fromnewspaper readers after exposure to horrible pictures.

Factors SA A D SD TOTAL Mean Decision

Family relation 88 55 21 14 178 3.2 Accepted

Political

association

78 65 27 8 178 3.1 Accepted

Friendship 64 66 39 9 178 3 Accepted

Colleague 56 78 32 12 178 3 Accepted

Religion 97 76 3 2 178 3.5 Accepted

Tribe 71 56 34 17 178 3 Accepted

Race 67 82 20 9 178 3.1 Accepted

Source: Field Survey 2014

It should be noted that hence this was a four point scale, the baseline for accepting or rejecting a

statement was 2.5. Consequently, all the factors presented in the above table were accepted as


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factors that can enhance feeling of trauma aggressive behaviour from newspaper readers after

exposure to horrible pictures from the newspaper.

Discussion of Findings

The result of this study showed that newspaper readers exposure to horrible pictures have

traumatic effect on them. This is because, 61% of the respondents were found to have been

exposed to horrible pictures from newspapers and at the same time, admitted that such pictures

caused them trauma (see table I).With this therefore, the first research question- What is the

relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and traumatic feelings of newspaper readers in

Nigeria? Was answered. Also, the first hypothesis- There is no significant relationship between

exposure to horrible pictures and traumatic feeling of newspaper readers in Nigeria was rejected.

An indication that horrible newspaper pictures cause trauma to newspaper readers in Nigeria.

The second research question- To what extent does exposure to horrible pictures from

newspapers lead to traumatic feelings? Will be answered that the extent is low. This is evidenced in

the contingency coefficient value of 45%, thus supporting the second hypothesis- The extent

horrible pictures cause traumatic feelings to newspaper readers will not to be large if calculated

contingency coefficient is less than 75%.

Finding further suggests that there is significant relationship between exposure to

newspaper horrible pictures and readers aggressive behaviour. This is because, 68% of the

respondents were found to have been exposed to horrible pictures from newspapers and at the

same time admitted that such pictures can lead to aggressive behaviour.(see table II) Therefore,

the third research question- What is the relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and

newspaper readers aggressive behaviour? Has been answered. With this result, the third hypothesis-

There is no significant relationship between exposure to horrible pictures and aggressive behaviour

of newspaper readers in Nigeria-has been rejected. An indication of significant relationship between


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exposure to newspaper horrible pictures and readers aggressive behavior. This is equally not to a

large extent as evidenced from the 50% contingency coefficient value, lower than the 75%

benchmark, thus supporting the forth hypothesis- The extent exposure to newspaper horrible

pictures lead to aggressive behaviour will not be large if calculated contingency coefficient is

less than 75%.

Result further showed that the factors that can enhance traumatic feeling and aggressive

behaviour after exposure to newspaper horrible pictures are, family relations, political association,

friendship, colleague, religion, tribe and race.This answers the fifth research question-What are

other factors that can enhance traumatic feeling and aggressive behaviour after exposure to

horrible pictures?.The result of this study calls for extra care on the part of newspaper editors in

their choice of pictures so as not to further aggravate the already precarious security situation in

Nigeria.

Conclusion/Recommendations

Based on the result of this study, the researcher concludes that horrible pictures have negative

psychological effects on newspaper readers in Nigeria. It is the position of the researcher that

Nigeria is already in war-like situation and the general public need to be in proper and stable

psychological frame of mind to cooperate with the government and other security agencies in the

fight against insecurity. Sequel to the above, the researcher makes the following recommendations;

The national and state assemblies should consider the enactment of an act of parliament

regulating the use of horrible pictures by newspaper editors and their houses in Nigeria.

Newspaper editors should be self-regulatory, socially responsible and avoid the use of

pictures that can cause a sense of horror to the readers.

The Nigerian Union of Journalists should prevail on newspaper editors to avoid the use of

horrible pictures.


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Reporters and photo journalists should also refrain from capturing and submitting horrible

pictures to their editors.

Suggestions for Further Studies

There is the need to survey newspaper editors and their reporters on why they use horrible

pictures. There is also the need to survey psychologists to determine other psychological

implications of horrible pictures. Finally, the researcher suggests that subsequent studies should

investigate the effect of television horrible pictures on the viewers.

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APPENDIX I: Examples of Horrible Pictures Retrieved From The VanguardAnd Osun

Defender Newspapers. And use for measurement.

Figure 1 Severely bloody(PA)


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Figure 2 Bloody (PB)


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Figure 3 Average (PC)

Documents

Assessing the Psychological Effects of Horrible Pictures on Newspaper Readers in Nigeria