aggression - media, desensitisation, disinhibition, cognitive priming Flashcards
(media influences)
what is Desensitisation
-when children in particular view aggression on TV or computer games become habituated to its effects.
so stimulus usually aversive has diminishing impact = results in reduction of anxiety + psychological arousal on repeated viewing or playing.
-is psychological + physiological
what was Weisz and Earls study into desensitisation
(media influences)
Lab study: Weisz + Earls 1995.
-showed: their Ps film straw Dogs, contained graphic scenes of rape.
-Ps then watched re-enacted rape trial
- compared with those watched non-sexually violent film.
what is disinhibition
(media influences)
Powerful social + psychological inhibitions against using aggression to resolve interpersonal conflicts.
-learned directly + indirectly by SLT.
-these usual restraints are loosened after exposure to violent media.
-aggresive beh often made to appear normative + socially sanctioned in such media especially if portrayals minimise effects of violence on its victims + suggest its justified.
-not unusual for video games to show violence being rewarded + consequences minimised or ignored.
=created new social norms in the viewer.
what is cognitive priming
(media influences)
Huesmann
repeated viewing of aggressive media esp games provide us with ‘script’ about how violent situation may ‘play out’.
Huesmann 1998 script stored in memory so we become ready or primed to be aggressive.
-process automatic - directs our behaviour without being aware.
-script triggered by cues that we perceive as aggressive.
what was the study into cognitive priming
Fischer and Greitemeyer 2006
(media influences)
Fischer + Greitemeyer 2006
-looked at priming of aggressive scripts in memory by investigating neglected form of media violence- song lyrics.
-male Ps listened to aggressively derogatory lyrics about women.
-compared to when they listened to neutral lyrics.
what was Funk et al thoughts on the effect of media
negative attitudes towards violence weaken, less empathy is felt for victims + their injuries are minimised and dismissed.
whats the effect of repeated viewing of aggressive media on children
repeated viewing teaches aggression is method of resolving conflict is socially acceptable.
who are more vulnerable for the effects of aggressive media
children
what were Weisz and Earls findings
male views of straw dogs showed greater acceptance of rape myths + sexual aggression.
-also expressed less sympathy towards victim in trial, less likely to find defendant guilty.
-no such effect of film type on female Ps.
what were Fischer and Greitemeyer’s findings
Ps subsequently recalled more negative qualities about women + behaved more aggressively to female confederate.
-THis was replicated with female Ps using ‘men-hating’ song lyrics got similar results.
evaluation of Desensitisation, disinhibition and cognitive priming
Research support for desensitisation:
Krahé et al 2011
showed Ps violent + non violent film clips while measuring physiological arousal using skin conductive.
Ps with habitual viewers of violent media lower levels of arousal.
-alos reported higher levels of pleasure + lower levels of anxiety
-lower levels of anxious arousal was correlated with unprovoked aggression in ‘noise blast task’.
Findings: confirmed hypothesis of desensitisation
Research support for disinhibition:
Berkowitz + Alioro 1973
found Ps who saw film depicting aggression as vengeance gave more (fake) electric shocks w longer duration to confederate.
Suggests: media violence may disinhibit aggressive beh when it’s presented as justified. = violence more likely to been seen as socially accepted.
Adds validity to disabled connected, because demonstrates link between removal of social constraints + subsequent aggressive beh.
Practical application of cognitive priming:
potential life-saving benefits to understanding cognitive priming influences aggression in real-life situations.
-Depends on how participants interpret environmental cues + depend on cognitive scripts have been stored in memory.
Bushman + Anderson 2002
someone who watches violent media store aggressive scripts more readily.
-means: more likely to interpret cues as aggressive resort to violent solution + fail to consider alternatives.
-effective intervention could potentially reduce aggressive behaviour by changeling hostile cognitive biases + encouraging habitual violent media users to consider alternatives to aggression e.g. humour or negotiation.
