Media Influences on Aggression

• What behavior may be linked to excessive TV viewing?

  Aggressive behaviour
• What did Robertson et al (2013) measure in their study?

  TV viewing hours of over 1000 New Zealanders
• What was a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour in early adulthood according to Robertson et al (2013)?

  Time spent watching TV in childhood
• What are two negative associations of excessive TV viewing?

  Reduced social interaction and poorer educational achievement
• How might the link between excessive viewing and aggression be characterized?

  It may be indirect
• What did children do after watching the film of the Bobo doll being beaten?

  They imitated the aggressive behaviour
• What experiment did Bandura et al (1963) replicate?

  The Bobo Doll experiment
• What did Paik & Comstock (1994) find in their meta-analysis regarding film violence?

  It had a significant positive correlation with antisocial behaviour
• What percentage of variance in children’s aggressive behaviour is accounted for by film violence according to Paik & Comstock (1994)?

  Between 1% and 10%
• How do computer games differ from traditional screen-based media in terms of player engagement?

  Players take a more active role
• What did Bartholow & Anderson (2002) find about students who played violent computer games?

  They selected higher volumes of white noise
• What correlation has been found between aggression and time spent playing violent games?

  Positive correlation
• What does social learning theory suggest about children's imitation of aggressive behaviours?

  • Children imitate behaviours they see rewarded
  • Imitation increases when identifying with characters
• What did Anderson et al (2010) find in their meta-analysis regarding violent computer games?

  They increased all measures of aggression
• How is aggression defined in research studies?

  It can be defined in multiple ways
• Why is the variation in definitions of aggression problematic?

  It makes findings hard to compare
• What is a common criticism of many research studies on aggression?

  They are methodologically weak
• What does the phrase 'Garbage In Garbage Out' imply about meta-analyses?

  Quality of studies affects validity of conclusions
• What is a limitation of correlational studies in aggression research?

  They cannot establish cause-and-effect
• What is a limitation of experimental studies in aggression research?

  They lack external validity
• What might some researchers be guilty of regarding their conclusions on aggression research?

  Drawing premature conclusions lacking validity
• What is a strength for Media Influences on Aggression?

  Explaining Research Findings

  • Anderson et al (2017) presented social learning theory as a ‘convincing theoretical framework’, and they note that it is widely accepted that exposure to violence is harmful
  • Children are more likely to imitate aggressive behaviours when they see them being rewarded, and even more so when children identify with on-screen characters
  • This is a key feature of science; having a unifying explanation to account for findings, enhancing the validity of this research
• What is a strength for Media Influences on Aggression?

  Meta-Analysis

  • Anderson et al (2010) conducted a meta-analysis of 136 studies defining aggression in different ways
  • The researchers found that exposure to violent computer games was associated with increases in all outcome measures of aggression for both men and women
  • Therefore, meta-analyses that include various definitions of aggression are a valid method for uncovering the effects of media on aggression
• What is a limitation for Media Influences on Aggression?

  Defining Aggression

  • Aggression is defined in multiple ways, as for example the dependent variable can be described as volume of white noise blasted in Bartholow & Anderson (2002), or as criminal convictions in Robertson et al (2013)
  • However, not all aggression is violence, and not all aggression or violence is necessarily criminal; the effects found in the studies depend on how aggression is defined
  • This variation in definitions means that the findings of the studies are hard to compare
• What is a limitation for Media Influences on Aggression?

  Unsupported Conclusions

  • Many research studies are methodologically weak, and even meta-analyses are not perfect on the basis of ‘Garbage In Garbage Out’
  • Many studies being correlational, so cause-and-effect conclusions are unjustified, as well as experimental studies lack external validity, so findings can not be generalised to the real world
  • Therefore some researchers may be guilty of drawing premature conclusions based on findings that lack validity