Aggression: Media influences on aggression Flashcards
What are media influences?
They are changes in behaviour that are attributed to exposure to media such as TV or computer games.
What are the 3 primary methodologies that psychologists examining media influences on aggression?
- Experimental studies
- Correlational studies
- Meta-analyses
What was the procedure of Greitemeyer and Mugge’s (2014) procedure?
Carried out a meta-analysis of 98 studies carried out since 2009. This involved a total of nearly 37000 participants. They were testing the effects of violent games in which the goal is to harm another game character also prosocial games in which the goal is to benefit another character. The researchers were interested in how playing these games influence aggressive and pro-social behaviour as well as aggressive and pro-social cognitions and emotions.
What was the findings of Greitemeyer and Mugge’s (2014) procedure?
The research has found a small average effect size exposed to violent media and control groups in the studies, i.e violent video game use was linked to an increase in aggressive outcomes and a decrease in pro-social outcomes. Pro-social games show the opposite effect – they were linked to a reduction in aggressive behaviour and an increase in pro-social, cooperative behaviour. These effects were evident regardless of the type of study.
What methodologies studied violent films and tv?
- Lab and field experiment
- Longitudinal studies
- Meta-analyses
What methodologies studied violent computer games?
- Experimental studies
- Longitudinal studies
What was the lab and field experiment that tested violent films and tv?
A consistent finding from both laboratory and field experiments is that those who watch violence subsequently display more aggressive behaviour and have more aggressive thoughts or aggressive emotions than those who do not.
Bjorkqvist (1985) exposed 5 to 6-year-old finish children to watch violent or non-violent films. Compared with the children who had viewed nonviolent film, those who had watched violent film was subsequently rated much higher measures of physical aggression (e.g hitting other children).
What was the longitudinal studies that tested violent films and tv?
Huesmann et al (2003) studied 557 children between the ages of 6 and 10, growing up in Chicago in 1977, and then 329 of these 15 years later in 1992. They found that habitual exposure to TV violence was predictive of adult aggression in later life and that this applies to both boys and girls. This relationship persisted even when the possible effects of socioeconomic status, intelligence and any differences in printing styles were controlled
What was the meta-analysis that tested violent films and tv?
Bushman and Huesmann (2006) carried out the metal analysis of 431 studies, involving over 68000 participants. Of these, 264 studies involve children and 165 involve adults. Most of the studies had looked at the impact of violent TV, but others had also looked at the effect of video games, music and comic books. Overall, they found modest but significant effect sizes for exposure to media violent and aggressive behaviours, aggressive thoughts, angry feelings and arousal levels. The short-term effects of violent media were great for adults and children, whereas the long-term affects for great for adults.
What were the experimental studies that tested violent computer games?
Lab experiments have found short-term increases in levels of physiological arousal, hostile feelings and aggressive behaviour following filing gameplay compared to nonviolent gameplay (Gentile and Stone 2005).
Aggressive behaviour cannot be studied directly, as this is not permitted on ethical grounds, other forms of behaviour must be used instead. For example, Anderson and Dill (2000) found that participants blasted their opponents with white noise for longer and rate themselves higher on the state hostility scale after playing Wolfenstein 3D (A violent shooter game) compared to those who play myst (a slow-paced puzzle game)
What were the longitudinal studies that tested violent computer games?
Anderson et al (2000) surveyed 430 children aged between seven and nine at two points during the school year. Children who had high exposure to violent video games became over being physically aggressive and less pro-social. Adachi and Willoughby (2013) suggest the longitudinal link found between violent video games and aggression could be due to the competitive nature of the games, rather than the violence, as violent video games tend to be more competitive than nonviolent games.
A03: Media influences of aggression
- Problems with research on the effects of computer games
- Overstating the case
- Fail to consider other casual variables
- Simple but complex answers
A03: Problems with research on the effects of computer games
A major weakness of lab experiments in this area is that researchers cannot measure real-life aggression. They therefore must use measures of aggression that have no relationship to real-life aggression, and can only measure short-term effects. He used alternative measures of aggressive behaviour including administering noise blasts or even hot Chili sauce to another participant, neither of which have much to do with actual aggressive behaviour. Longitudinal studies are able to observe real-life patterns of behaviour and document both short-term and long-term effects. However, a problem for most longitudinal studies in this area is that participants may be exposed to other forms of media violence during the course of the study, meaning the effect of violent video game exposure alone is uncertain.
A03: Overstating the case
Some critics point out that, although many studies claim a statistically significant relationship between media violence and violent behaviour, this is an overstatement of the case. Studies are found in effect attributed to exposure to violent media have typically reported only small to medium effect sizes. However, very few of these actually measured aggression against another person. Ferguson in Kilburn (2009) noted that, when aggression towards another personal violent crime is the measure of aggression used in research, the relationship between exposure to media violent and aggressive behaviour is actually close to zero.
A03: Fail to consider other casual variables
Many studies in this area failed to account for other variables that explain why some people display aggressive behaviour and why those same people may choose to play violent computer games. For example, some researchers claim that much of the research on the effects of computer game violence has failed to control for other variables known to influence aggressive behaviour. The meta analysis showed that the effects of violent media content on aggressive behaviour disappears when other potential influences such as trait aggression, family violence and mental health are taken into consideration. The researchers suggest that these other risk factors, as opposed to exposure to media violence, are the primary cause of aggressive and violent behaviour.
