Psychology - Aggression explanations of media

• desensitisation: physiological

  • when witnessing violence we experience response in sympathetic nervous system
  • when children repeatedly view aggression on TV or playing games they become habitualised to effects of SNS.
  • leads to reduction of anxiety and physiological arousal on repeated viewing or playing
• desensitisation: psychological

  • repeated exposure to violence promotes belief that it is socially acceptable
  • ways of resolving conflict and negative attitudes to aggression weaken
  • less empathy felt for victims and their injuries minimised

  WEISZ and EARLS

  A: lab study to highlight effects of desensitisation

  P: showed p's film which contained a graphic rape scene p's then watched an re-enactment of a trial

  F: male p's showed greater acceptance of sexual aggressions and less sympathy to victims

  C: males had been desensitised so less empathy shown towards victim
• AO3: real life application desensitisaton

  desensitisaton can be effective in some jobs for example, in soldiers.

  BUSHMAN and ANDERSON

  suggest violent media can reduce helping behaviour towards those in distress
• AO3: research support desensitisation

  KRAHE:

  showed p's violent and non violent films whilst measuring physiological arousal using skin conductance

  F: p's who were habitual viewers showed lower levels of arousal as they watched clips and gave louder burts of white noise to confederate without being provoked.

  C: shows desenitisation to effect of violence linked to willingness to engage in aggressive behaviour
• disinhibition:

  • our normal restraints are loosened after exposure to media violence
  • aggression made to appear normative and sociall sanctioned in media
  • not unusual to show violence being rewarded and consequences are ignored
  • creates new social norms in viewers
• AO3: research support disinhibition

  Berkowitz and Alioto

  P: carried out lab experiment where participants saw film depicting aggression

  F: as revenge participamts gave more electric shocks of longer duration to confederate

  C: aggression more likely to occur if aggression viewed is seen as acceptable response
• AO3: limitation disinhibtion

  negative consequences make disinhibition less likely

  GORANSON et al

  P: showed p's film of boxing match which had 2 alternative endings. in one ending no consequences

  in second ending loser takes a beating and dies

  F: p's who didnt see the beating more likely to behave aggressively after viewing fight.
• cognitive priming

  • HUESMANN- repeated viewing of aggressive media provides us with script about how violent situations may play out
  • this script stored in our memory so we can be primed to be aggressive
  • mostly automatic it can drive our behaviour without us being aware
  • script triggered when we encounter cues in a situation we perceive as aggressive
• AO3: research support cognitive priming

  Fischer and Greitemeyer

  F: male participants exposed to aggressive song lyrics about women more likely to give higher levels of hot chilli sauce to female confederates than those who heard neutral lyrics. lyrics resulted in males recalling more negative attributes of women and reported higher levels of aggression towards women.

  C: supports cognitive priming in males
• AO3: confounding variables - cognitive priming

  research into effects of video games found playing video games primes violent behaviour. violent games more complex and complexity is a confounding variable. it causes the priming effects not violence. supportive findings may be due to confounding variables