Media influences on aggression

Question 1

Computer gaming

Reason 1 - active participation

Answer 1

Playing video games involves active participation whereas watching TV is a passive activity. People learn better when they are actively involved.

Question 2

Computer gaming

Reason 2 - identifying with a violent character

Answer 2

Players of violent video games are more likely to identify with a violent character. During a first-person shooter, players get the same perspective as the killer. If the game is from a third person perspective, the player controls the actions of the violent character from a distant visual perspective.

Question 3

Computer gaming

Reason 3 - direct rewarding

Answer 3

Violent games directly reward violent behaviour, by awarding points or by allowing players to advance in the game. In some games, players are rewarded with verbal praise, such as “Nice shot!” after killing an enemy. The work of behaviour psychologists has shown that rewarding behaviour increases its frequency.

Question 4

Cognitive Priming

Answer 4

Certain stimuli can activate our brains memory system and subsequently influence our thoughts, feelings and actions without even noticing.

Question 5

Cognitive Priming

Berkowitz (1984)

Answer 5

Cognitive priming was first proposed by Berkowitz to explain the short-term effects of media violence. This is because ‘priming’ refers to a temporary increase in the accessibility of thoughts and ideas.

Berkowitz suggested that if people are exposed to violent media, this activates thoughts or ideas about violence which then activate other aggressive thoughts due to their association in a person’s memory pathways.

Question 6

Cognitive Priming

Effect on children

Answer 6

When a child who plays a computer game where aggression is rewarded; finds themselves in a potentially aggressive situation, rather than trying to defuse the aggression the child may have an internal script that the way to “win” or handle the situation is through an aggressive response.

Question 7

Disinhibition

Answer 7

Proposes that our normal restraints are loosened after exposure to media violence. Aggressive behaviours become normalised and the norms governing our behaviour become altered from non-acceptance and therefore aggression is seen as a ‘normal’ response in certain circumstances.

Question 8

Disinhibition

An aspect of aggression that is seen as normal and acceptable

Answer 8

An aggressive response as a result of a real or imagined wrongdoing. If the viewed aggression is seen as a revenge response, this is deemed to be “normal”, and thus it is justified.

Question 9

Disinhibtion

In computer games
(Deindividualisation)

Answer 9

The disinhibition effect when on a computer can be explained due to anoymity, solipsistic introjection and minimisation of authority (Suter 2004).

If a person is anonymous and invisible behind an alias on a computer, they then view themselves as less culpable for their behaviour as the fear of identification and consequences is no longer a deterrent.

Question 10

Disinhibition

On TV

Answer 10

Observing aggressive actions on TV reduces the viewer’s guilt on using violence themselves. This causes individuals to feel less inhibited about being aggressive themselves.

Question 11

Disinhibtion

Evaluation
Collins (1989)

Answer 11

Younger children for example may be more likely to be drawn into high-action violent episodes with considering the consequences of this.

Question 12

Disinhibtion

Evaluation
Heath et al (1989)

Answer 12

For children growing up in families where violence or physical punishment is displayed by parents, the disinhibition effect may be stronger.

Question 13

Dillon and Bushman (2017)

aim

Answer 13

To test whether children who see a movie containing guns will handle a real gun longer and pull the trigger more times than the children who see the same movie minus guns.

Question 14

Dillon and Bushman (2017)

method

Answer 14

104 children (62 boys, 42 girls) age 8 to 12 years were recruited through advertisements. The child participants were randomly assigned in sibling pairs to watch a 20-minute PG-rated movie clip containing ot not containing guns in a university laboratory. Children then played with various toys and games in a room for 20 minutes. In the room, a cabinet contained a real (disabled and modified) hand gun with a sensor counting the number of times the trigger was pulled.

Recordings were monitored for the time spent holding the gun and the time spent in aggressive play.

Question 15

Dillon and Bushman (2017)

Findings

Answer 15

The children who watched the movie with the guns played more aggressively than the children who watched the movie with the guns edited out, consistent with previous research.

About 83% of the kids in the study found the gun, and most of them played with it. Of the kids who found it, 27% immediately gave it to the experimenter and the experimenter took it out of the room

Question 16

Dillon and Bushman (2017)

Evaluation/analysis
Real world applications

Answer 16

Nearly 60% of US households with guns do not secure them. If children find these guns, the consequnces can be deadly.

Children in the US are 10 times more likely to die by unintentional gun shootings than children from other developed countries.

Question 17

Dillon and Bushman (2017)

Evaluation/Analysis
Interpretation of findings

Answer 17

Violent media can cause aggressive behaviour in children, and that this behaviour can be incredibly problematic if the violent media includes guns.

Question 18

Dillon and Bushman (2017)

Evaluation

Answer 18

Only 1 modified handgun was available for the participants to find and with which they could engage, but 2 nerf guns were available. This may have invited co-play or mimicking with Nerf guns but not with the real handgun.

Question 19

Dillon and Bushman (2017)

Strengths

Answer 19

This was a lab experiment therefore it was highly controlled

Question 20

Dillon and Bushman (2017)

Weakness

Answer 20

This is unethical as it involves children who cannot fully consent. Furthermore, allowing children access to a gun could have caused children distress.