Krahe et al (2011)- Participants who were habitual viewers of violent media showed lower levels of arousal. Lower arousal was correlated with aggression in a ‘noise blast’ task.
Contradictory evidence -
Tear and Nielsen (2014)- found ppts paid a similar amount of money to charity regardless of the type of game they played.
Supporting evidence for disinhibition +
Berkowitz and Alioto (1973)- Found ppts who saw a film depicting aggression as a way of getting revenge gave more (fake) electric shocks of a longer duration to a confederate.
Other explanations -
Genetic explanation e.g MAOA gene
Supporting evidence for cognitive priming +
Fischer and Greitemeyer (2006)- Ppts recalled more negative qualities about women and behaved more aggressively towards a female confederate than ppts who had listened to neutral lyrics.
Issues and debates
Determinism
Practical applications +
Knowledge of the potential negative effects of computer games on individuals has led to the development of age restrictions on games.
Limitations
How aggression is defined
Ecological validity and demand characteristics of lab studies
Long term influences of media are unclear
Correlational research
Limit conclusion that can be drawn from the effects of media.
