Media Influences: Computer Games Flashcards
Outline- Correlational study
Delisi et al (2013)
-227 prisoners with violent history’s
- did structured interviews to determine how much violent computer games they played
- found there was a definite positive correlation between the two.
So- suggests the media does have an influence on aggression
Outline- experimental studies.
Barthlow and Anderson (2003)
- Independent groups
- one played violent game and one played PGA tour for 10 mins
- measured aggression by them delivering blasts of white noise to a non existent opponent at a chosen volume.
Results- violent game did louder white noise than non violent group.
Outline- Longitudinal studies
Robertson et al (2013)
- they looked at 1037 participants and measured how much TV they watched up until age 26
Results- correlations between most to watching and violent/aggressive crimes in adulthood.
Outline- Meta-analysis
Anderson et al (2003)
- 136 studies
- playing violent video ages, resulted in more agressive, thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
- true for both males and females.
Evaluation- experimental studies
-studies in labs are often artificial and unrealistic, and are not how you would behave in real life as there’s no consequence to the aggressive behaviour.
- poor ecological validity
- but of course you can’t have participants being harmed as they may do as a result of aggressive behaviour.
So- experimental studies aren’t necessarily valid.
Evaluation- Correlational studies
- you can’t say cause or effect.
- we don’t know if those who are already aggressive choose aggressive media, or that people who watch aggressive media are more aggressive as a result.
So- correlation studies can’t be sufficient evidence.
Evaluation- non equivalence problem
-Violent and non violent games are very different in more ways than just the violence.
-there are many other factors in the game that may play a part in it.
So- it may not be the violence in the games that’s the problem
