Media Influence On Anti-Social Behaviour Flashcards
What are 3 ways the media can cause people to act in a more anti-social way?
- Social learning
- Desensitisation
- Cognitive priming
What does the social learning theory suggest?
People learn by observing and imitating models.
What are ‘models’ and why are people likely to observe and imitate them?
People that they admire and see as successful and receive reinforcement for their actions - we are more likely to imitate people we admire and those who receive reinforcement for their actions.
What is Bandura’s bobo doll study? (Method and findings)
Children watched a video, 3 conditions - violent, non violent and one with no model.
Those who watched the video that featured violence behaved the most aggressively.
What are 5 evaluative points of Bandura’s bobo doll study?
- Children - average age was 4-5 - external validity.
- Lab - ecological validity.
- Demand characteristics - internal validity.
- Ethical issues.
- Some parents in those in group 1 had described their child as aggressive.
What study did Parker et al carry out that also supported the social learning theory? (Method and findings).
Young offenders in an institution, 1 group only watched violent tv, other group only watched non violent. Staff observed and recorded p’s behaviour.
Found - those watching violent tv behaved more aggressively.
What are 4 criticisms of Parker et al’s study? (1 pos, 3 neg).
- Higher ecological validity than Bandura’s study - not in a lab.
- Biased sample - young offenders - likely to already be aggressive.
- Findings from observations from staff - open to bias and subjectivity.
- Ethical issues.
What contradictory study did Charlton carry out? (Method and findings).
Observed behaviour in St Helena’s residents before and after the introduction of TV in 1995.
Found - very little changed after introduction of TV, even discovered some increases in pro-social behaviours.
What are 3 criticisms of Charlton’s study?
- Aggression measured through peer and teacher ratings - can be biased and unreliable.
- Parental mediation wasn’t assessed and effective mediation can reduce any negative effects.
- Unclear if same results would have been found if monitored over a long period of time - lack of interest in TV may have led to lack of attention in content in short term.
What is a real life example of media coverage leading to normal people behaving in anti-social ways?
England riots - many people saw the news coverage and then decided to join in.
What is cognitive priming and who first introduced it?
Berkowitz - aggressive ideas shown in media can ‘spark off’ existing aggressive thoughts. After viewing a violent film, the viewer is ‘primed’ to respond aggressively.
When discussing cognitive priming, what ma viewers store in their memories?
Schemas - ideas that they can use at a later date.
Who is J and what study did they carry out into cognitive priming?
Josephson
Made hockey players deliberately frustrated and then showed them a violent or non-violent film where the actor held a walkie talkie.
Found - those who saw the violent film acted more aggressively when the referee held a walkie talkie when they were playing a game of hockey.
What is 1 criticism of Josephson’s study?
- Demand characteristics - compromises internal validity as findings could be incorrect.
What is desensitisation?
The more violence a person witnesses, the more desensitised they become and therefore they are more likely to become violent and aggressive.
Who is B and what contradictory study did he carry out into desensitisation?
Belson
1500 teenage boys
Found - no evidence of high exposure to tv violence would desensitize them into become violent, or even reduce their consideration for others and respect for authority.
1. Large sample - large amount of data can be generalised.
2. Gender (beta) bias and age limits - lowers ext validity as results difficult to generalise.
What did Huesmann and Moise find about boys who watch TV frequently?
Boys who watch TV frequently show lower physiological arousal in response to new violent scenes, so may be more inclined to use violence.
What have large scale studies shown about the difference in desensitization between males and females?
Greater desensitisation effects in males than females.
What do some psychologists say about violent behaviours on TV and moral standards?
The may provide a justification for a child’s bad behaviour - moral standards become blurred.
Watching violent TV programmes may provide relief for a child’s guilt - especially when violence goes unpunished.
What did Singer et al state about violence on TV?
It has a cathartic effect and makes someone less likely to be aggressive.
What are X major criticisms of research into the media’s influence on anti-social behaviour?
- Gender bias - much of the research is focused on males - can’t generalise to females - low ext. validity.
- Results are correlational - cause and effect - other variables e.g. personality, home life, etc.
- Ethics - studies may have lasting effect on p’s and make them more aggressive.
