desensitisation and disinhibition Flashcards
in simple terms, how could media
be argued to explain why it does and doesn’t cause aggression?
does = created desensitisation
doesn’t = provides an outlet for anger and stress (catharsis)
what was the contemporary research done by Pinto da Mota Matos, Alves Ferreira and Haase in 2011?
-722 students (353m, 369f) aged 9-16
-data on age, social class and school year
-also measured : exposure to tv violence, aggression, enjoyment of tv violence, perceived reality of tv violence and identification with violent tv heroes
-found that physical aggression was influenced by enjoyment, perception of reality and identification
-verbal aggression was mediated b enjoyment but not perception of reality and identification
-identification with tv heroes supports SLT
-hypothetical situations mean low predictive validity
-correlational research so no cause and effect
research on video games and aggression
-Matthews et al 2006 - brain scans found adolescents who played violent computer games had decreased activity in their prefrontal lobe (control area) and increased activity in emotion-centred areas
-Kestenbaum & Weinstein 1985 - adolescents playing video games could release aggression and feel calmer
evaluate the role of videogames in aggression
-source of research seems to effect findings (Harris 2001 - research conducted by the gaming industry found no relationship)
-cause and effect is difficult to establish, could be that aggressive people choose to play aggressive games
-could effect young people more as they are still developing their moral code
-aggression, hostility and desensitisation are all difficult to measure, self-report must be used, so predictive validity and reliability is questionable
what is desensitisation?
habituating to the violence seen in media so when it reoccurs at a similar level it has no emotional effect
continual exposure to aggression in video games could reduce the revulsion that have for such violence
research on desensitisation
-bushman 2009 - when individuals playing violent video games for only 20 minutes saw someone injured in a real fight, they took longer to help than people who didn’t play them, as they were desensitised so the fight didn’t have an emotional effect
evaluate desensitisation
-research evidence is mixed, so the link may be more complex than assumed
-exposure to violence could actually have a diminished emotional response, making aggression less likely, as aggression is prompted by high emotions
-hard to establish a connection, as media is widespread and yet we aren’t all affected equally (could be individual vulnerability)
what is disinhibition?
being caught up in media forms of aggression making someone behave how they wouldn’t normally
what were the 3 ways Suler (2004) said the computer can cause disinhibition?
-anonymity and invisibility (responsibility for behaviour is reduced)
-solipsistic introjection (feeling of becoming cognitively merged with an actor in the game)
-minimisation of authority (no law enforcement)
research on disinhibition
-Josephson 1987 - groups of 6 boys watched either violent or non-violent tv, priming prompted by cues associated with violence, violent tv and cues prompted aggression only in boys who were described as normally aggressive, seems disinhibition didn’t occur
evaluate disinhibition
-not all media will evokes disinhibition, bias in research on video games
-effects seem to be contained to the period of playing the game
-extent in which someone will become involved will vary, may only occur in people who aren’t distracted by external stimuli (introverts)
