media influences

Question 1

robertson et al’s findings on TV watch time and aggression

Answer 1

robertson et al (2013)
= measured TV watch time in 1000+ new zealanders, at regular intervals up to age 26

• time spend watching TV in childhood/adolescence = reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour in early adulthood

Question 2

how has aggressive behaviour been linked to viewing ‘excessive’ amount of TV

Answer 2

indirect link
= excessive TV watching associated with reduced social interaction/poorer educational achievement

Question 3

what is deemed to be the most significant media influence on aggressive behaviour

Answer 3

viewing violent content

bandura et al = variation of bobo doll study where children watched film of bobo doll being beaten by adult

= similar outcome, SLT operates through media aswell as in person

Question 4

what contradictory evidence has there been against the influence of media on aggression

Answer 4

paik and comstock (1994) = meta-analysis of approx. 200 studies

= argue/estimate that despite finding sig. positive correl. between viewing TV/film violence & antisocial behaviour
= this only accounts for 1-10% of variance in children’s aggressive behaviour

(imply relatively minor role)

Question 5

why may computer/video games be argued to have more powerful influence than traditional screen-based media, on aggression?

Answer 5

1. player take more active role compared to relatively passive TV viewer
2. game-playing = directly rewarding for player (operant conditioning)

Question 6

strength and weakness of using lab experiment when studying aggression

Answer 6

strength
= demonstrate cause/effect

weakness
= unethical = directly expose pps to violence to encourage aggression

Question 7

what alternative measures of aggression are used in labs

Answer 7

taylor competitive reaction time task (TCRTT)
= pps deliver blasts of white noise at chosen volume to punish (non-existent) opponent

Question 8

what did studies using the TCRTT find

Answer 8

students who played violent computer game for 10 mins
= selected sig. higher vol of white noise

• in comparison to students who played non-violent golfing game

Question 9

what did DeLisi et al argue about video games

Answer 9

link between aggression and computer games so well-established that;
- aggression should be considered public health issue (like HIV/AIDS)
- computer games should be considered as sig. risk factor (like not using condoms)

Question 10

limitation of using media influences to explain aggression

Answer 10

aggression defined in diff. ways
e.g. studies looking at media influence on aggression measure through violence

not all aggression is violence, and neither are necessarily criminal

= effects found depend on how aggression is defined

= this means variations in definitions makes findings hard to compare

Question 11

further limitation of using media influence to explain aggression

Answer 11

research plagued by unsupported conclusions

e.g.
- many studies methodologically weak
- if poor quality studies incl. in meta-analysis = poor quality analysis
- many studies only correlational
- experimental studies lack external validity = not generalisable to real world

= means some research guilty of drawing premature concl. based on findings that lack validity

Question 12

strength of using media influence to explain aggression

Answer 12

findings can be explained through SLT
= acts as ‘convincing theoretical framework’ (anderson et al)

• children more likely to imitate aggression when they see it being rewarded (vicarious reinforcement), even more so if able to identify on-screen characters

= having unifying explanation to account for findings = key feature of science = enhance research validity