Media Influences:DDC

Question 1

Outline- Desensitisation

Answer 1

Regular and plentiful exposure to violence reduces levels of arousal associated with anxiety making aggressive behaviour more likely

Question 2

Outline- Disinhibition

Answer 2

Normal social constraints agains certain behaviours can be weakened by environmental triggers. These behaviours then become more acceptable.

Question 3

Outline- Cognitive priming

Answer 3

Violent images provide us with ready made scripts about agesssion which are stored in memory and triggered when we perceive agressive cues in a situation

Question 4

Evaluation- support for desensitisation

Answer 4

Barbra et al (2011)
- group of participants watched a violent clip.
- there were each being monitored for psychological arousal.
-those who watched violent media most often showed lower arousal to the clip.
So- they have been desensitised to violence, and thereby supports desensitisation.

Question 5

Evaluation- support for disinhibition

Answer 5

Alioto (1973)
-those who watched a film on aggression as a vengeance gave more (fake) electrical shocks of longer duration to a confederate, than a control group who didn’t.
So- it shows that people are more likely to be aggressive if it’s justifiable, as it seems more socially acceptable.
So- supports the ideas of disinhibition that it’s more likely if it appears justifiable.

Question 6

Evaluation- application of cognitive priming

Answer 6

Bushman and Anderson (2002)
-found that watching violent media makes it easier to access aggressive cognitive scripts, and resort to violent behaviour in real life situations.
So- this supports the cognitive priming hypothesis.

Question 7

Evaluation- cartoon violence

Answer 7

Kirsh et al (2006)
- found that children do not learn aggression from cartoons because many of the acts of aggression are impossible (hitting someone’s head 360* round)
So- not all aggressive media influences, influence cause aggression in observers