explanations of media influence

• desensitisation - biological

  repeated exposure to media violence removes anxiety that normally inhibits aggressive behaviour, aggression more likely - witness violent actions = physiological arousal, sympathetic nervous system (increased heart rate) - people repeatedly view aggression experience gradually less arousal (anxiety) over time so more likely to respond to conflict with aggressive behaviour
• DESENSITISATION EVALUATION - Krahe

  participants who reported regularly viewing violent media showed lower levels of arousal when shown violent film clips than non regular viewers - lower arousal correlated with unprovoked aggression in noise blast task - regular exposure to media aggression desensitises the viewer
• DESENSITISATION EVALUATION - criticised for not measuring real life aggression

  delivering noise blasts is very different from real aggression and doesn't involve the fear of retaliation - also can't say desensitisation causes aggression (correlated) just linked
• DESENSITISATION EVALUATION - positive and negative real life consequences

  positive - army troops can become desensitised to horrors of combat and be a more effective soldier - could use violent media like computer games to desensitise soldiers as part of conflict training - negative - Bushman - exposure to violent media and resulting desensitisation can reduce helping behaviour - become comfortably numb to pain and suffering of others so are less helpful - awareness of desensitisation important in a range of situations
• disinhibition - social

  violent media undermines and loosens social constraints that that normally inhibits aggressive behaviour making aggression more likely - learn violence socially unacceptable, powerful social and psychological inhibitions against using aggression - exposure to violent media can change these standards of what is considered acceptable behaviour creating new social norms for viewer
• DISINHIBITION EVALUATION - Berkowitz


  participants that watched film depicting aggression like die hard (vengeance) gave more (fake) electric shocks of longer duration to confederate - media violence may disinhibit aggressive behaviour when presented as vengeance may be seen as justification for violence and more socially acceptable
• DISINHIBITION EVALUATION - may depend on other factors

  Heath - children growing up in households with strong norms against violence unlikely to experience sufficient disinhibition to show aggressive behaviour - disinhibition effect stronger in families where children experience physical punishment from parents and identify with violent heroes - practical applications encouraging parents to prevent children from feeling effects of disinhibition
• cognitive priming - cognitive

  exposure to violent media activates thoughts or ideas about violence which activate other aggressive thoughts through associations made in memory making aggression more likely - violent media like computer games can temporarily increase activation or readiness making them more accessible for a short time - process mostly automatic so can direct behaviour without us being aware of it - primed response triggered when we encounter cues in situation that we perceive as aggressive
• COGNITIVE PRIMING EVALUATION - Bushman


  found when undergraduates watched 15 minute segment of violent film they had faster reaction times to aggressive words than those who hadn't watched the violent film - exposure to violent media increases accessibility of violent thoughts and ideas - Anderson and Dill found participants who played violent computer games had more cognitively accessible aggressive thoughts than those who played non violent computer games - single incident of violent game play enough to prime aggressive thoughts
• MEDIA INFLUENCE OVERALL EVALUATION - ignores role of genetics

  possible aggressive behaviour may be genetic - Brunner discovered defective MAOA gene in Dutch family with hostly of male violence - testosterone shown to play important role in determining aggressive behaviour - media influence explanations may be limited in number of aggressive behaviours they can successfully explain on their own and other approaches may be needed to explain all cases of aggression