media influences

• Methodologies of the effects of computer games on aggression

  • Experimental studies
  • Correlational studies
  • Meta-analysis
• In a lab-based study by Bartholow and Anderson (2002), student played either a violent computer games (Mortal Komb
• Methodologies of the effects of computer games on aggression

  • Experimental studies
  • Correlational studies
  • Meta-analysis
• Experimental studies


  Usually lab-based and look at short-term effects
• Correlational studies


  Can investigate real-life variables and may be short-term or may be longitudinal studies which (look at links between real-life variables over extended periods of time)
• Meta-analysis


  Brings together these three types to give an overall judgement of the size of the effect of violent media on aggressive behaviour
• Experimental study (Bartholow and Anderson, 2002)

  • Students played either a violent computer game (Mortal Kombat) or a nonviolent game (PGA Tournament Golf) for ten minutes, then carried out the Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Task (TCRTT) - a standard laboratory measure of aggression in which the students delivered blasts of white noise at chosen volumes to finish a (non-existent) opponent
• Correlational study (DeLisi et al., 2013)

  • Studied 227 juvenile offenders, all with histories of serious aggressive behaviours, and found that their aggressive behaviour was significantly correlated with how often they played violent video games and how much they enjoyed them
• Longitudinal study (Robertson et al., 2013)


  • Studied 1037 people born in New Zealand in 1972 and 1973, and measured their TV viewing hours at regular intervals up to the age of 26 years, finding that time spent watching TV was a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour in adulthood
• Robertson et al. (2013) findings

  Time spent watching TV was a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour in adulthood, measured in terms of convictions and aggressive and violent crimes.

  •Those who watched the most TV were also more likely to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and to have aggressive personality traits.

  •It appears that the most important media-related factor in influencing aggressive behaviour may be the amount of TV watched rather than whether it has violent content or not.
• Meta-analysis (Anderson et al., 2010)

  • Exposure to violent video games was associated with increased aggressive behaviour, thoughts and feelings, for both men and women and in both collectivist and individualistic cultures, and higher quality studies produced even more significant results
• Effects of computer games on aggression

  • Playing Mortal Kombat leads to an increase in aggression (Bartholomew and Anderson, 2002); playing associated with increased emotion and decreased control, (Matthews, 2006); desensitisation effect (Carnagey, 2007)
• Catharsis


  Playing games may provide a useful outlet for aggression so that aggression reduces in real life
• Social Learning Theory and Reinforcement

  Observation, imitation, modelling; positive reinforcement, e.g. moving through levels in a game; attractive models in computer games make imitation more likely
• Experimental studies allow us to establish a causal link between media aggression and aggressive behaviour
• Measures of aggression in a lab situation are artificial and unrealistic
• Aggression measured in lab situations do not involve fear of retaliation
• Non-equivalence problem


  It is difficult to be certain that the two games (violent and non-violent) used in experimental studies are equivalent (apart from simply the presence or absence of violence)
• Correlational studies allow psychologists to investigate realistic forms of aggression
• Correlational studies are unable to establish cause-and-effect conclusions
• Longitudinal studies view people as active consumers rather than are passive recipients, which is a more realistic way to view how people interact with media
• Longitudinal studies are vulnerable to confounding variables as many other sources of aggression interact with media influences over a period of time
• Meta-analysis is less time consuming and cheaper to use as the data has already been collected
• Meta-analysis may not be valid as the data may not be specific to the research aim, and may be unreliable as the researcher may not know how the data was collected
• Publication bias


  Tendency in scientific research towards publishing only findings that are statistically significant