Media influences: effects of computer games

Question 1

What is media?

Answer 1

• communication channels like TV, film & books which make news, entertainment etc available

Question 2

What are computer games?

Answer 2

• games that are generally played on screen using a key board, mouse or controller

Question 3

What may aggressive behaviour be linked to and whose findings is this based on?

Answer 3

• viewing ‘excessive’ amounts of TV regardless of whether the content is violent or not
• Robertson et al > measured TV viewing hours of over 100 NZ up to the age of 26 years (longitudinal)
• researcher found that the time spent watching TV in childhood & adolescence was a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour in early adulthood (convictions for aggressive crimes)

Question 4

What is excessive amounts of TV associated with?

Answer 4

• reduced social interaction and poorer educational achievement
  > the link between aggression and excessive viewing may be indirect

Question 5

What is said to be the most significant media influence on aggressive behaviour and what was found to support this?

Answer 5

• violent content
• Bandura et al > found that children who watched a film of bobo doll being beaten by an adult model on a screen imitated the aggressive behaviour of the model > SLT principles operate through media as well as face to face

Question 6

What was found about TV/film effects?

Answer 6

• Paik & Comstock carried out a meta-analysis of about 200 studies
• they found a significant positive correlation between viewing TV/film violence & antisocial behaviour
• but argued it accounted for between 1-10% of the variance in children’s aggressive behaviour > minor role for TV & film

Question 7

Why do computer games have more powerful effects than traditional screen based media?

Answer 7

• player takes a more active role compared to a relatively passive viewer
• game playing is more directly rewarding for the player (positive reinforcement)

Question 8

What two methods are used when measuring the effects of computer games on aggression?

Answer 8

• lab measure= Taylor competitive reaction time task (TCRTT) > delivering blasts of white noise at chosen volumes
• correlational studies

Question 9

What was found in lab studies of aggression using TCRTT?

Answer 9

• Bartholow & Anderson found that students who played violent computer games for 10 minutes selected significantly higher volumes of white noise than students who played a non-violent golfing game

Question 10

What was found in correlational studies of aggression?

Answer 10

• DeLisi et al > several measures of aggression = positively correlated with time spent playing violent games e.g. in juvenile offenders
• argues that the link is well established that aggression should be considered a public health issue & computer game violence a significant risk factor

Question 11

What is a limitation of research into media influences of aggression?

Answer 11

• aggression is defined in various ways
• e.g. the DV in studies is violent behaviour (DeLisi), volume of white noise blasted at an opponent (B & A) & criminal convictions
• however, Violence & aggression are not exactly the same behaviour > all violence is aggression but not all aggression is violent & not all aggression & violence’s are necessarily criminal
• effects found depend on how aggression is defined
• variation of definitions means aggression hard to compare in studies

Question 12

What is a counterpoint of the limitation that aggression is defined in different ways?

Answer 12

• Meta-analyses can help to overcome this problem
• Anderson et al conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of 36 studies defining aggression in different ways (behaviours, thoughts, feelings)
• found that exposure to violent computer games was associated with increases in all outcome measures of aggression
• therefore meta analyses that include various definitions of aggression are a valid method for uncovering effects of aggression

Question 13

What is another limitation of research into the effects of computer games?

Answer 13

• research area has many unsupported conclusions
• firstly many of the research studies are methodologically weak (e.g. CV’s, poor sampling methods)
• meta analyses are also not perfect on the basis of GIGO > if poor quality studies are included the analysis will be poor quality
• secondly, many studies are correlational so cause & effect conclusions are unjustified
• Thirdly, experimental studies lack external validity (unrealistic measures of aggression)
• researchers guilty of drawing premature conclusions based on findings that lack validity, making it difficult to reliably link violent media with aggressive behaviour

Question 14

What is strength of research into the effects of computer games?

Answer 14

• findings can be explained using SLT
• Anderson et al > present SLT as a convincing theoretical framework
• note that it is widely accepted that exposure to violence at home is harmful to children & TV & computer games are sources of social learning
• children are more likely to imitate aggressive behaviours when they see them being rewarded (VR) & identify with on screen characters
• unifying explanation to account for findings > enhancing validity