A01

• Experiments are usually lab-based and look at short term effects of media and aggression. Bartholow and Anderson showed that students who played Mortal Kombat (violent) compared to a non-violent game were more likely to deliver noise blasts to punish an opponent (measure of aggression).
• Correlations involve measuring real-life variables which are not controlled to find out if there is a relationship between viewing violent media and aggressive behaviour. DeLisi used structured interviews and found a significant relationship between aggressive behaviour and how often and how much they enjoyed playing violent computer games.
• Longitudinal studies can use any method, but over an extended period of time. e.g. tracking individuals over time to look at possible impact of childhood experience. Robertson followed people for 26 years in New Zealand and found that time spent watching TV was a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour.
• A meta-analysis which compiled results from 136 studies found that violent media exposure was associated with increases in aggressive behaviours, thoughts and feelings.