Aggression-media influences Flashcards
What is media influences of aggression
Media influences of aggression - such as tv , films but primarily the effects of video games can be argued that it causes aggression others argue it decreases aggression.
What is one research into aggression in media influences? (Mathews 2006)
Matthews (2006) found that when participants played violent computer games they had decreased activity in the prefrontal lobe (which is responsible for controlling aggression) and more activity in the amygdala
What is desensitisation?
This involves the more that someone is exposed to violence and aggression in the media; the less they are affected by it, their emotional responses reduce.
What is a strength of the role of desensitisation in the media. (Cranegey-2007)
Carnegey (2007) believes that playing computer games can desensitise people to real life violence.
E: They found that when participants who had played on a violent video game for 20 minutes watched a film of real life violence, they had lower heart rates and galvanic skin response compared to those who had played a non-violent video game for 20 minutes.
C: This suggests that
What is one weakness of the role of desensitisation in the role of aggression? - individual differences
A weakness of the role of desensitisation is that it ignores individual differences.
E: Media influence is widespread, many people watch aggressive films, TV programmes and play aggressive computer games but not many people act aggressively. This suggests that there must be an alternative explanation as to why some people are aggressive and some people aren’t.
What is the role of disinbitation?
This means when someone displays uncharacteristic behaviour (e.g. aggression) when they watch violent/aggressive media or play violent games. - because when they play games they’re anonymous - this means they become aggressive and they feel less responsible for their actions
What is a weakness of the role of dishinbition?
Another weakness of the role of disinhibition is that it can only explain aggression whilst playing the computer game
E: Disinhibition explains why a person is unusually aggressive whilst playing the computer game. However, it does not explain long-term aggression. When they finish playing the computer game, they are no longer anonymous and they do not have a minimisation of authority, so they are less likely to be aggressive
What is cognitive priming?
This is the assumption that aggression cues presented in the media affect aggressive behaviour in real life, with people memorising aggressive acts in the media as scripts or schemas for later.
When the person is in a similar situation to that of the media, this acts as a cue which triggers their schema of how to behave and is more likely to behave in the same aggressive way as they did in the media.
What is one strength of cognitive priming? (A03 - EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT - MURRAY-FMRI SCANS)
A strength of the role cognitive priming in aggression is that there is evidence to support.
E: Murray (2007) gave fMRI scans to children watching violent and non-violent films, and found that those watching violence had increased activity brain areas associated with emotion / aggression (the amygdala) and personal memories (the hippocampus)
