Desensitisation, Disinhibition and Cognitive priming

Question 1

Cognitive priming:

Answer 1

refers to a temporary increase in the accessibility of thoughts and ideas. For example, violent media activates thoughts or ideas about violence, which activates other aggressive thoughts through their association in memory pathways.

Question 2

Desensitisation:

Answer 2

explanations based on this assume that, under normal conditions, anxiety about violence inhibits its use. Media violence may lead to aggressive behaviour by removing this anxiety.

Question 3

Disinhibition:

Answer 3

explanation to violent media legitimizes the use of violence in real life because it undermines the social sanctions that usually inhibit behaviour.

Question 4

Desensitisation long

Answer 4

• Repeated exposure to violence reduces normal levels of physiological and psychological arousal associated with anxiety, making aggressive behaviour more likely.
• Repeated exposure to violent media promotes a belief that using aggression as a method of resolving conflict is socially acceptable.
• Funk et al. (2004) negative attitudes towards violence weaken, less empathy felt for victims, and their injuries are minimized or dismissed.

Question 5

Weisz and Earls (1995)

Answer 5

• Lab study: participants watched ‘Straw Dogs’ film, which contains prolonged and graphic scene of rape. A control group watched a non-sexually violent film.
• Participants then watched a re-enactment of a rape trial.
• Results: male viewers of Straw Dogs showed greater acceptance of rape myths and sexual aggression. They also expressed less sympathy towards rape victims in the trial and less likely to find the defendant guilty. There was no such effect of film type on female participants.

Question 6

Disinhibition long

Answer 6

• Normal social constraints against certain behaviours can be weakened by environmental triggers. These behaviours then appear temporarily socially acceptable and therefore more likely.
• General view: violence and aggression are antisocial and harmful, so there are powerful social and psychological inhibitions against using aggression to resolve interpersonal conflicts (SLT).
• Aggressive behaviour appears socially sanctioned in media, particularly the portrayal of effect of violence on victims and suggests that it is justified.
• Video games also reward violence, at the same time consequences are ignored of minimized -> creates new norms for viewer.

Question 7

Cognitive Priming long

Answer 7

• Repeated viewing of aggressive media provides a script about how violent situations play out.
• Huesmann (1998) this script is stored in memory, so we become ‘ready’ or primed to be aggressive.
• Process is mostly automatic (directs behaviour w/o us being aware).
• ‘Script’ is triggered when we encounter cues in a situation that are perceived as aggressive.
• Fischer and Greitemeyer (2006): study illustrates priming of aggressive scripts in memory using song lyrics.
• Male participants listened to songs featuring aggressively derogatory lyrics about women.
• Compared with when they listened to neutral lyrics, participants recalled more negative qualities about women and behaved more aggressively towards a female confederate.
• Procedure was replicated with women using man hating song lyrics with similar results.

Question 8

Evaluation
Research Support for Desensitisation

Answer 8

• Krahe et al. (2011) participants were shown violent and non-violent film clips while using their physiological arousal was measured (using skin conductance).
• Habitual viewers showed lower levels of arousal and reported higher levels of pleasant arousal.
• Lower arousal was correlated with unprovoked (proactive) aggression in a ‘noise blast’ task.

Question 9

Real World Application

Answer 9

• Army training involves desensitization.

Question 10

Research Support for Disinhibition

Answer 10

• Berkowitz and Alioto (1973) found participants who saw a film depicting aggression as vengeance gave more electric shocks of longer duration to a confederate.
• Suggests that media violence may disinhibit aggressive behaviour when it is presented as justified.
• Study adds validity to concept as it demonstrates link between removal of social constraints and subsequent aggressive behaviour.