ao3 media influence

• Barbara Krahé - showed participant's violent (and nonviolent) film clips while measuring

  physiological arousal using skin conductance. ppts who were habitual viewers of violent media showed lower levels of anxious arousal as they watched the violent film clips. Lower arousal was also correlated with unprovoked (proactive) agg in a 'noise blast' task.

  exposure to violent media may over time→ lower levels of physiological arousal in response to agg, supporting the role desensitisation. desensitisation leads to a greater willingness to be aggressive.

  increased validity
• Leonard Berkowitz and Joseph Alioto -ppts who saw a film depicting aggression as vengeance gave more (fake) electric shocks of longer duration to a confederate than a version depicting aggression as non-vengence.

  media violence may disinhibit aggressive behaviour when it is presented as justified because justified violence is more likely to be seen as socially acceptable. Therefore, removal of inhibitors caused by exposure to aggressive media can increased aggressive behaviour.

  This adds validity to the influence of disinhibition on aggression.
• Fischer and Greitemeyer exposed male participants to songs either featuring aggressive and derogatory lyrics about women or neutral lyrics towards women. Ppts who listened to the aggressive lyrics recalled more negative qualities about women and behaved more aggressively towards a female confederate when given a chance.

  exposure to violent media may lead to the formation of aggressive cognitive scripts → aggressive behaviour in these males when exposed to a female. This demonstrates that media can affect our schemas and give us a 'readiness' for violence.

  increased validity
• The likelihood of disinhibition taking place

  children growing up in households with strong norms against violence are unlikely to experience sufficient disinhibition for them to exhibit aggressive beh,

  disinhibition is stronger in families where the children experience physical punishment from their parents.

  the relationship between media violence and disinhibition is not straightforward as exposure to strict parents who are against agg can have a mediating effect → form strong norms against violence

  more difficult to become disinhibited by exposure to violent media.

  incomplete