Media influences - The Effect of Games

Question 1

Anderson - experimental study

Answer 1

Demonstrated that playing a violent computer game (Mortal Kombat)
for just 10 minutes resulted in higher levels of aggression compared to playing non-violent games (PGA Tournament Golf), as assessed using the TCRTT. The researchers found that participants in the violent group delivered sounds 1.37 decibels greater than the non-violent group.

Question 2

DeLisi

Answer 2

Demonstrated a strong positive correlation between an increasing number of
characteristics of aggressive behaviours (shown in the 227 juvenile offenders studied) and an increasing time playing violent video games, thus reaching the conclusion that aggression should be treated as an epidemical health concern.

Question 3

Robertson

Answer 3

Showed that the time spent engaging in
computer games which featured aggressive acts was highly predictive of future aggressive behaviour in adulthood, as measured by criminal convictions and the development of antisocial
personality disorder.

Question 4

Anderson - meta analysis

Answer 4

Provided evidence that the effects of watching playing violent/aggressive computer games are not exclusive to gender and culture. A meta-analysis of 136 studies further supported the strong positive correlation between increased exposure to aggressive media and an increased likelihood of observers displaying aggressive behaviours themselves. This was found to be irrespective of gender or cultures types (i.e. collectivist or individualist).

Question 5

• P - File drawer problem and publication bias

Answer 5

E- This suggests that publishers favour studies which show statistical significance, as opposed to non-significant results which do not show any differences between experimental conditions.
E - However, this publication bias means that only studies finding significant
results will be included in meta-analyses, resulting in an inaccurate and misrepresentation of research into the effects of aggressive computer games.
L - This therefore reduces the universality of
the causal conclusions reached.

Question 6

• P - Methodological issues

Answer 6

E - The research assumes that the only
difference between violent and non-violent video games is the level of violence displayed, as suggested by Przybylski. Video games which include complex dimensions and numerous keys, such as Marathon 2, are often more engaging and require more of the user’s attention compared to ‘simpler’ games.
E- This creates systematic errors in that the more complex games may result in the development of a more influential cognitive script, resulting in more disinhibition and desensitisation, and consequently higher levels of violence.
L - Thus, such a simplistic distinction made between games does not make for reliable conclusions.

Question 7

• P - Low mundane realism

Answer 7

E - This is due to the artificial tasks and highly controlled conditions of a
laboratory experiment.
E- For example, as there is no risk of retaliation in such an environment,
participants may behave more aggressively than they usually would, resulting again in a
systematic error.
L - The assessment methods of aggression are unlikely to be accurate, such as the
TCRTT used by Anderson, due to their artifical nature, thus reducing the ecological validity of the findings.