desensitisation, disinhibition, cognitive priming

• Desensitisation 


  Reduced sensitivity to a stimulus. This may be psychological (e.g. less emotional response) or physiological (e.g. lowered heart rate). This reduced response may make a behaviour such as aggression more likely.
• Disinhibition 


  A lack of restraint (no longer being inhibited). May be due to environmental triggers or overexposure to a stimulus, resulting in socially unacceptable behaviours becoming acceptable and therefore more likely.
• Cognitive priming 


  The way a person thinks (cognitive) is triggered by cues or 'scripts' which make us ready (primed) to respond in specific ways. For example, watching violent films provides a 'script' about how to react in certain situations so a person is more ready to respond in the same way.
• Desensitisation is psychological as well as physiological. Repeated exposure to violent media promotes a belief that using aggression as a method of resolving conflict is socially acceptable.
• A lab study: desensitisation effects by Weisz and Earls (1995)

  • Compared with those who watched a non-sexually violent film, male viewers of Straw Dogs showed greater acceptance of rape myths and sexual aggression
  • They also expressed less sympathy towards the rape victim in the trial, and were less likely to find the defendant guilty
  • There was no such effect of film type on female participants
• One strength of the desensitisation explanation is research support.

  • Krahé et al. (2011) showed participants violent (and non-violent) films while measuring physiological arousal using skin conductance
  • Px who were habitual viewers of violent media showed lower levels of arousal as they watched the violent film clips
• Strength of the desensitisation explanation: research support by Krahé et al. (2011)

  • They also gave louder bursts of white noise (a measure of aggression) to a confederate without being provoked (proactive aggression)
  • This lower arousal in violent media users reflects desensitisation to the effects of violence, and it was also linked to greater willingness to be aggressive
• One limitation is that desensitisation cannot explain some aggression

  • Study by Krahé et al. failed to link media viewing, lower arousal and provoked (reactive) aggression
  • A more valid explanation for this might be catharsis
  • This psychodynamic theory suggests that viewing violent media is a safety valve, allowing people to release aggressive impulses without behaving violently
  • Therefore, not all aggression is the result of desensitisation and alternative explanations may be more valid
• Proactive or instrumental aggression is goal-directed behavior designed to achieve an objective beyond physical violence (e.g. robbery)
• Reactive or hostile aggression, on the other hand, is performed in response to provocation (e.g. retaliation)
• Catharsis is believed to be a process of releasing negative emotions such as grief and anger, thereby relieving the adverse psychological impact of these emotions
• Research support - strength of the disinhibition

  • Berkowitz and Alioto (1973) found that participants who saw a film depicting aggression as vengeance gave more (fake) electric shocks of longer duration to a confederate
  • Media violence may disinhibit aggressive behaviour if it is presented as justified and socially acceptable - as in the case of vengeance
  • This demonstrates the link between removal of social constraints and subsequent aggressive behaviour.
• Cartoon violence - strength of disinhibition

  • Children do not learn specific aggressive behaviours from cartoon models
  • Instead they learn that aggression in general is acceptable (socially normative)
  • This is especially true if the cartoon model is not punished which disinhibits aggressive behaviour
  • Therefore disinhibition explains how cartoon aggression can lead to aggression in those who observe it
• Real-world application: strength of cognitive priming

  • Whether real-world situations become violent often depends on how people interpret environmental cues or depending on the cognitive scripts they have stored in memory
  • Bushman and Anderson (2002) argue that someone who habitually watches violent media accesses stored aggressive scripts more readily
  • They are more likely to interpret cues as aggressive and resort to a violent solution without considering the alternatives
  • This suggests that interventions could potentially reduce aggressive behaviour by challenging hostile cognitive biases
• Desensitisation: Negative attitudes towards violence weaken, less empathy is felt for victims, and their injuries are minimised and dismissed (Funk et al. 2004)
• What is one limitation of cognitive priming in research?


  Confounding variables
• How do violent video games affect behavior compared to non-violent games?

  They prime violent behavior more than non-violent games
• What is a characteristic of violent games compared to non-violent games?

  Violent games tend to be much more complex in their gameplay
• Why is the complexity of gameplay considered a confounding variable in the context of violent video games?


  Because it may cause the priming effect, not the violence itself
• What did Zendle et al. (2018) find regarding the priming effects of violent video games?


  When complexity was controlled, the priming effects disappeared
• What can be concluded about the supportive findings of studies into priming?


  They may be partly due to confounding variables
• A lab study: desensitisation effects by Weisz and Earls (1995)

  • They showed their participants the feature film Straw Dogs, which contains a prolonged and graphic scene of rape
  • Px then watched a re-enactment of a rape trial