Explanations of Media Influences

Question 1

x3 explanations as to why media violence might lead to an increase in aggressive behaviour

Answer 1

desensitisation

disinhibition

cognitive priming

Question 2

what is desensitisation?

2

Answer 2

explanations based on desensitisation assume that under normal conditions, anxiety about using violence inhibits its use

but media violence may lead to aggressive behaviour by removing this anxiety as individuals become more desensitised to violence, viewing it as normal

Question 3

DESENSITISATION
outline the desensitisation explanation

6

Answer 3

explanations based on desensitisation assume that under normal conditions, anxiety about violence inhibits its use

however, media violence may lead to aggressive behaviour by removing this anxiety concerning the use of violence

the more televised violence a child watches, the more acceptable aggressive behaviour becomes for the child

frequent viewing of television violence may cause children to be less anxious about violence

someone who becomes desensitised to violence may therefore perceive it as more normal and be more likely to engage in violence themselves

desensitisation to media violence typically takes a long time and is the result of numerous repeated exposures to violent films or computer games

Question 4

DESENSITISATION
indications that desensitisation has occurred

3

Answer 4

Linz et al (1989) argues that one indication that desensitisation has occurred is a reduction in physiological arousal (such as heart rate and skin conductance response) when individuals are exposed to real violence after having been repeatedly exposed to media violence

other indications are a change in the cognitive and affective reactions that would otherwise have occurred in the absence of desensitisation

for example, desensitised individuals are less likely to notice violence in real life, they feel less sympathy for the victims of violence and they have less negative attitudes towards violence — all of which would increase the likelihood of aggressive responses in real life

Question 5

what is disinhibition?

1

Answer 5

exposure to violent media legitimises the use of violence in real life because it undermines the social sanctions that usually inhibit such behaviour

Question 6

DISINHIBITION
outline the disinhibition explanation

4

Answer 6

our ideas of the acceptability of harming others are primarily acquired through social transmission, including exposure to moral messages on television and in other media

therefore, the justification of violence in the media is one of the ways in which children can infer standards of acceptable behaviour

according to the disinhibition explanation, watching or playing violent media may change these standards or what is considered acceptable behaviour

exposure to violent media can legitimise the use of violence by the individual in their own lives because it undermines the social sanctions that usually inhibit such behaviour

Question 7

DISINHIBITION
effects of disinhibition

6

Answer 7

disinhibition may have both an immediate effect and a long-term effect

SHORT TERM — violence on TV or in a computer game triggers physiological arousal, which leads to a greater probability of behaving aggressively

in this aroused state, inhibitions are temporarily suppressed by the drive to act

LONG TERM — prolonged exposure to media violence gives the message that violence is a normal part of everyday life

when violence is justified or left unpunished on television, the viewer’s guilt or concern about the consequences of violence is also reduced

the child then feels less inhibited about being aggressive again

Question 8

what is cognitive priming?

2

Answer 8

refers to a temporary increase in the accessibility of thoughts and ideas

for example, violent media activates thoughts or ideas about violence which then activate other aggressive thoughts through their association in memory pathways

Question 9

COGNITIVE PRIMING
outline the cognitive priming explanation

5

Answer 9

Berkowitz (1984) proposed the idea of cognitive priming to explain the short term effects of media violence

the term priming refers to a temporary increasing in the accessibility of thoughts and ideas

he proposed that when people are constantly exposed to violent media, this activates thoughts or ideas about violence which in turn activate and prime other aggressive thoughts through their association in memory pathways

for example, playing a computer game in which the player kills other characters may prime thoughts of physical fighting which may then lead to feelings of anger and motivation to harm others

according to this explanation, a violent film can temporarily lower the threshold for activation of these thoughts, making them accessible for a short time

Question 10

COGNITIVE PRIMING
the more accessible a thought or idea….

4

Answer 10

the more accessible a thought or idea, the more likely it is to be used to interpret social information

frequent activation through prolonged exposure to violent media may result in a lower activation threshold for these aggressive thoughts

this allows them to be accessed more readily and so be used to process and interpret information

Zelli et al (1995) found that priming by aggressive stimuli influenced individuals to make hostile attributions about the behaviour of other people — these hostile attributions, in turn, increase the likelihood of aggressive behaviour

Question 11

x2 evaluation points for desensitisation

Answer 11

research support for desensitisation

positives and negatives of desensitisation

Question 12

EVALUATION
research support for desensitisation

6

Answer 12

Carnagey et al (2007) tested the claim that playing violent computer games produces physiological desensitisation

in other words, a person will show less physiological arousal to violence in the real world after exposure to computer game violence

participants played either a violent or non-violent video game for 20 minutes and then watched a 10 minute film clip containing scenes of real life violence

their heart rate and skin conductance response (both measures of physiological arousal) were monitored

they found that participants who had previously played the violent computer game had a lower heart rate and skin conductance response while viewing the real life violence

this demonstrates a physiological desensitisation to violence, as predicted by the desensitisation explanation of media influences

Question 13

EVALUATION
positives and negatives of desensitisation

6

Answer 13

desensitisation can be adaptive for individuals

for example, for troops, desensitisation to the horrors of combat makes these individuals more effective in their role and able to carry out their tasks more efficiently

however, desensitisation to violent stimuli may also be detrimental for both the individual and society

Bushman and Anderson (2009) suggest that there are worrying consequences when individuals are desensitised to violence after exposure to violent media

they found that violent media exposure can reduce helping behaviour that might otherwise be offered to others in distress

they claim that people exposed to media violence become ‘comfortably numb’ to the pain and suffering of others and are consequently less helpful

Question 14

x2 evaluation points for disinhibition

Answer 14

the disinhibition effect depends on other factors

research support for disinhibition

Question 15

EVALUATION
the disinhibition effect depends on other factors

6

Answer 15

the likelihood of disinhibition taking place is determined by a number of factors, some of which relate to the viewers themselves and some to the context in which media is viewed

for example, younger children are more likely to be affected because they are more likely to be drawn into high action violent episodes without considering the motives or consequences of the violence

children growing up in households with strong norms against violence are unlikely to experience sufficient disinhibition for them to exhibit aggressive behaviour

whereas the disinhibition effect is stronger in families where children experience physical punishment from their parents and where they identify more with violent heroes

this demonstrates that the relationship between media violence and disinhibition is not a straightforward one and is mediated by a number of individual and social characteristics

this suggests that the disinhibition explanation of media influence may be rather simplistic as it does not consider these factors and should be viewed with caution

Question 16

EVALUATION
research support for disinhibition

5

Answer 16

research by Goranson (1969) supports the idea that seeing the negative consequences of violence decreases the likelihood of disinhibition

they showed people a film of a boxing match where there were two alternate endings

in one ending, there were no apparent consequences but in the second ending, the loser of the fight was seen to take a bad beating and ended up dying

participants who did not see the negative consequences were more likely to behave aggressively after viewing the fight than those who did see the consequences

this supports the suggestion that disinhibition may be far more likely in violent media where the negative consequences are not made apparent or understood by viewers

Question 17

x2 evaluation points for cognitive priming

Answer 17

research support for cognitive priming

priming is less likely with less realistic media

Question 18

EVALUATION
research support for cognitive priming

7

Answer 18

Bushman (1998) tested the hypothesis that exposure to violent media makes aggressive thoughts more accessible to viewers

in this study, undergraduate participants watched either a 15 minute segment of a violent film or a non-violent film

participants who watched the violent film subsequently had faster reaction times to aggressive words than those who had not seen the violent film

however, video content did not influence reaction times to non-aggressive words

this suggests that exposure to violent media primes memories related to aggression

cognitive priming has also been supported in research on computer game play — Anderson and Dill (2000) found that individuals who played violent computer games had more cognitively accessible aggressive thoughts than individuals who played non-violent computer games

they concluded that a single incident of violent gameplay had primed aggressive thoughts in these participants

Question 19

EVALUATION
priming is less likely with less realistic media

5

Answer 19

Atkin (1983) suggests that film or game realism is an important factor in the relationship between exposure to violent media and the priming of aggressive thoughts and behaviours

Atkin found that higher levels of aggression resulted from the viewing of more realistic or realistically perceived violence

for example, the fictional violence in some computer games may not have the same priming effects as games with more realistic violence

this suggests that exposure to more realistic and intense forms of aggression versus cartoon or animated forms of aggression may influence the types and intensity of activated thoughts and ideas, which may then manifest themselves in different ways

as the cognitive priming theory doesn’t seem to consider this possibility, it may be a simplistic explanation of media influences and should be viewed with caution