Media influences on aggression

• Media influences 


  Media influences are changes in behaviour that are attributed to exposure to media such as TV and video games . psychologists are interested in how and why media violence influences aggression and these three explanations have been offered : desensitisation , disinhibition and cognitive priming .
• research into the effects of TV

  excessive TV viewing has been linked to aggression is linked to aggression . Robertson et al found that hours spent watching TV in childhood associated with adult convictions for aggression and violent crime , additionally he found watching TV was also associated with reduced social interaction and poorer educational achievement .

  therefore link to aggression may be indirect due to reduced social interaction .
• other research 


  bandura et al replicated their earlier bobo doll study but this time children wayched a film of an adult model beating the doll . children again imitated the models behaviour closely demonstrating that social learning can operate through media Aswell as face to face .
• computer games research 


  computer games may also have a powerful effect

  evidence that computer games have a more powerful effect than traditional screen based media because

  • game player is active and game playing is directly rewarding .
• research 


  for ethical reasons participants were not exposed to violence there for studies used TCRTT giving blasts of white noise at chosen volumes to opponents

  Craig and Anderson et al demonstrated that playing a violent computer game (mortal kombat) for just ten minutes gave higher noises of white noises than students who played non violent golfing game .
• research into computer games

  several measures of aggression were positively correlated with time spent playing violent games , in junvenile offenders (delisi)

  the link is so well established that aggression should be a considered a public health issues and computer gams violence a risk factor and should be treated as an epidemic health concern .
• limitation 


  one limitation is that aggression is defined in various ways . For example aggression has been operationalised as violent behaviour (desli) volume of white noise ( Anderson) criminal convictions ( robertson) but although all violence is aggression not all aggression or violence is necessarily criminal - effects depend on definitions . this variation in definitions means that the the findings of the studies are hard to Compare .
• however 


  meta analysis help overcome this for example Anderson et al included 136 studies using different definitions and found increases in aggression linked to violent computer games .

  therefore meta analysis that include various definitions of aggression are a valid method for uncovering the effects of media on aggression .
• another limitation is ..

  many studies are methodologically weak eg control of confounding variables and meta analyses sometimes include poor - quality studies . more studies included are correlational meaning it shows no cause and effect and experimental studies lack external validity ( they are unrealistic measures of aggression so cannot be generalised.) therefore some researchers may be guilty of drawing premature conclusions based on findings that lacks validity .
• Strength 


  Anderson et al note we accept that exposure to aggression at home is harmful so logically media are important sources of social learning . Children are more likely to imitate aggressive behaviours when they see them rewarded ( vicarious reinforcement ) especially when children identify with on screen characters . This is a strength As this is a key feature of science - having a unifying explanation to account for findings