Media Influences-TV and Games

• The impact of violent media on aggressive behaviour has been subject to intense research over the last 50 years
• Typically, research has looked into the effects of TV and film, but more recently, there has been a focus on the dangers of violent video games
• This debate most likely causes so much controversy due to the number of real-life cases of aggression that have been attributed to media violence
• In 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed 12 students and a teacher in the Columbine high school massacre. They injured further students with explosive devices planted prior to the event. It’s rumoured that they had made a ‘doom’ level mimicking the schools layout and used this to practice the massacre in the game. Some of the blame was attributed to video games, and some of the blame attributed to music by artists like Marilyn Manson
• In 2011, Anders Breivik detonated a car bomb in Norway, injuring hundreds. He then travelled to a summer camp for teenagers, where he shot a further 77 people. Breivik admitted in court that he used call of duty: modern warfare to practice and train for the attacks
• Bjorkqvist (1985) exposed Finnish 5-6 year olds to either violent or non-violent films. Those that watched the violent film were subsequently rated as more physically aggressive
• Bushman and Huesman (2006) conducted a meta-analysis of 431 studies. They found that exposure to media violence had long-term effects on aggressive behaviour in children
• Charlton et al (2002) found no impact of viewing violent media. They conducted a natural experiment into the impact of the introduction of TV to the island of St Helena. They assessed aggression 2 years prior to the introduction of TV to assess a baseline of aggressive behaviour. Then, 3 years after TV was introduce, they found no overall increase in aggression
• Video games are the fastest growing entertainment industry, and in recent years, depictions of violence in games have become more immersive and realistic
• Porter and Starcevic (2007) argue that it’s the interactive nature of video games that has the potential to have greater influence on behaviour than TV. In video games, the player takes a more active role in committing aggressive acts while the viewer is more passive when watching a film of TV show
• During violent gameplay, aggression is rewarded (positive reinforcement) and portrayed as appropriate and effective behaviour. This may affect the moral judgement of players, who may no longer see it as inappropriate or wrong to use violence. This is an issue, as it may reinforce the use of violent behaviour in everyday life
• Greitemeyer and Mugge (2014) conducted a meta-analysis of 98 studies The studies analysed were testing the effects of violent games, where the aim is to harm another player. They found that violent games were linked to an increase in aggressive outcomes, and a decrease in pro-social outcomes
• Van Schie and Wiegman (1997) found no link between playing violent games and increased aggressive behaviour. They surveyed 346 children and found no relationship between the time a child spent playing violent video games and their levels of aggression. But, there’s a reduction in pro-social behaviour
• Bartholow and Anderson (2002) had their participants play 10 minutes of either mortal combat or PGA golf. Following the gameplay the participants were asked to blast white noise at a non-existent opponen. The mortal combat condition played 5.96B of white noise and the PGA gold condition played 4.60. This would suggest that the violent game increased aggression
• Research has also shown that playing video games can have a positive effect on behaviour
• Kestenbaum and Weinstein (1985) found that in a sample of adolescent males, that the use of computer games helped them to release aggression and made them feel calmer
• Studies don’t show consistent effects of how exposure to different types of media affect levels of aggression over time. This means that it isn't clear exactly how violent media impacts behaviour and whether that impact is long-term
• Ferguson et al (2009) claimed that research has failed to control for other variables that also influence aggressive behaviour. They conducted a meta-analysis that found that the effects of violent media disappear when other influences like aggressive tendencies, family violence and mental health are also considered
• An issue with research carried out into the effects of the media on aggression is that of validity
• Most research has been carried out in laboratory settings and has measured aggression levels with a questionnaire or with subsequent behaviour towards confederates. In public aggression is likely to be sanctioned but in an experiment it’s unlikely to be sanctioned
• Studies may lack ecological validity and finding may not generalise to a ‘real world’ setting, affecting the usefulness of the results for explaining the impact media has on aggression
• Experimental aggression isn’t directed at another person, yet in real life it is
• Sample often include only American male students, yet other people watch TV too
• People do more than consume media, other variables may be at play