Media influences on aggression Flashcards
What are media influences on aggression?
Changes in behaviour that are attributed to exposure to media such as TV and computer games
Who were Bjorkqvist’s participants?
Finnish children aged 5-6
What were the two conditions in Bjorkqvist’s study?
Children who watched violent films, and children who watched non-violent films
What did Bjorkqvist observe?
He observed more aggressive behaviour (e.g. hitting other children) in those who
had watched the violent film
Why is research into the effect of violent video games still in relative infancy?
As computer games are a relatively new invention
Why will video games have a greater effect on aggression than tv shows + films/
Because the individual isn’t passive + they get rewarded for violence
What did the longitudinal study of media influences on aggression find?
That children aged between 7 and 9 who were exposed to violent video games became more verbally and physically aggressive, and less prosocial
What are the 4 AO3 points of the media influences on aggression?
1) Failure to consider other causal variables
2) Research support
3) Issues with the methodology of lab studies into aggression
4) Game difficulty may lead to aggression
What did one psychologist argue that research into the media influences on aggression has failed to control?
Variables that are known to influence aggression
What did a meta analysis into media influences on aggression identify as the 3 main confounding variables?
Trait aggression, family violence and mental health
In the laboratory study that supports the role of media in aggression, what were the 2 types of video game?
A violent shooting game and a non-violent golf game
In the laboratory study that supports the role of media in aggression, what was the measure of aggression?
Amount of decibels sent to opponents
What did DeLisi find?
A positive correlation between characteristics of aggressive behaviour and time spent playing violent video games
What did DeLisi declare?
An epidemical health concern
Why are lab studies bad when measuring aggression?
They cannot experimentally manipulate ‘real aggression’ so have to produce artificial measures
Give two examples of artificial measures of aggression.
Administering noise blasts, or giving hot sauce to other participants
Why may longitudinal studies be better measures of aggression than lab studies?
Real life aggression can be observed + short term and long term effects can be measured
What may cause aggressive responses after playing violent video games that isn’t the content?
The player’s experience of failure and frustration
In the study looking at the effect of game difficult on aggression, what 2 things were found to have little effect on aggression in violent + non-violent games?
Storyline and imagery
In the study looking at the effect of game difficult on aggression, what 2 things were found to have a big effect on aggression in violent?
Lack of mastery and difficulty in completing the game
