Aggression: Media + Computer.

• Cultivation theory


  A theory of mass media which posits the idea that consumers of mass media will 'cultivate' what they consume into a perception of reality
• The more exposure someone has to media images/message e.g. in the form of computer games


  The more likely that their perceptions of reality will be distorted
• Distorted perceptions of reality from regular computer gaming

  • Believing the world is a violent/hostile place
  • Over-estimating likelihood of being involved in aggressive/violent interaction
  • Developing stereotyped views of women, minorities, law enforcement
• Mean world syndrome


  A cognitive bias to perceive the world as being more dangerous than it actually is
• Cultivation theory applies equally to computer games, particularly MMORPG (massively multiple online role-playing games)
• It is only by engaging in face-to-face/real-life contact with others that the tendency to a warped perception of reality can be reversed or modified
• Desensitisation


  • The process by which what was once a source of alarm/fear/aversion has transformed into something unremarkable or harmless
  • A physiological process where the sympathetic nervous system is triggered by violence/aggression, leading to a damped down response over time
• If someone plays a lot of violent computer games

  They will become inured to the effects of this violence and experience decreasing emotional responses to it
• Someone who is desensitised to violence is less likely to view it as bad/harmful/toxic and may feel little or no sympathy for victims
• Links have been made between the desensitising nature of some violent computer games


  And instances of real-life violence e.g. mass school shootings

  
• Disinhibition


  • Occurs when someone lets go of the usual restraints and caution that hold them back from behaving the way they may want to
  • May involve breaking of social norms in a spirit of 'why not?' and 'what's stopping me?'
  • Can be learned from role models in mass media
• Consumption of mass media

  May have a disinhibiting effect on an individual, particularly if that consumption includes a lot of violent and aggressive content
• When someone is exposed to a lot of media-led aggression they begin to view the world using a modified set of social norms where aggression is acceptable</b>
• Cognitive priming


  The ways in which environmental cues work to trigger aggression
• Script schemas


  Outline our expectations per situation and provide cues as to how to act/behave
• People who consume a lot of violent media

  Are likely to develop rigid schemas and are easily primed to anticipate or respond to aggressive stimuli
• There is no concrete, 100%-watertight proof that media consumption causes - or even triggers - aggressive behaviour
• All of these features of media influence on aggression are difficult to operationalise and measure