media influences on aggression

Question 1

who studied the effect of computer games?

Answer 1

Bartholow and Anderson

Question 2

what was Bartholow and Anderson’s study?

Answer 2

•students either played violent computer games or non-violent ones for ten minutes
•they then all carried out a task where they black white noise at chosen volumes to punish the opponent
•those who played the violent video game selected significantly higher noise bevels compared to non violent

Question 3

evaluation of Bartholow and Anderson

Answer 3

+ independent groups design, no order effects of figuring out the hypothesis
- not tested on ability before entering the study

Question 4

who else studied computer games and their effect on aggression?

Answer 4

•studied 277 juvenile offenders with histories of serious aggressive behaviours such as gang fighting
•they gathered information on aggression and violent computer game playing using unstructured interviews
•the offenders aggressive behaviour was significantly correlated with how often they played violent video games and how much they enjoyed them

Question 5

evaluation of DeLisi

Answer 5

+ in depth, qualitative data acquired
- social desirability bias
- subjective interpretations of aggression
- correlation shows association, not causation

Question 6

who conducted a study on excessive TV watching?

Answer 6

Robertson

Question 7

what is Robertson’s study?

Answer 7

•conducted a longitudinal study to investigate the link between excessive TV watching in childhood and aggression in adulthood
•they found a positive correlation, more TV more aggression
•those who watched the most TV were more likely to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder

Question 8

evaluation of Robertson

Answer 8

-participants from New Zealand, issues of generalisation
- correlation does not equal causation
- subjective interpretations of aggression

Question 9

what was Anderson’s study?

Answer 9

•did a meta-analysis of 136 studies which included 3 types of research method (experimental, correlational, longitudinal)
•findings- exposure to violent computer games was associated with increases in aggressive behaviour, thoughts and feelings
•true for males and females universally
•’the effect of violent video gaming on aggression is more than the effect of second- hand smoke on cancer’ - Anderson