Media Influences : Desensitisation, Disinhibition, Priming

• Desensitisation


  = Reduced sensitivity to stimulus. When a child repeatedly views media violence they become used to it's effects, as normally they would experience physical arousal.

  Psychologically : begin to perceive violence as normal and promoted the idea that using aggression to resolve conflict is acceptable.
• Disinhibition 


  = lack of restraint. Exposure to media violence legitimises the use of violence in real life because it loosens the restraints. When violence is justified, the viewers guilt is reduced.
• Cognitive Priming


  = repeated exposure to media violence provides us with a 'script' of how violent situations will play out.

  This script is stored in our memory, automatically, and is triggered when we encounter cues we think to be aggressive.
• Research : Desensitisation


  Weisz and Earls:

  • Showed participants 'Straw Dogs' a violent rape film, then showed then a re-enactment of a rape trial
  • Found that those males who watched the film expressed less sympathy towards the victim and found the defendant not-guilty.
  • There was no such effect on female participants
• Research : Disinhibition


  Goranson :

  • Showed participants a film of a boxing match with two endings
  • One ending saw no consequences, but the second ending saw the loser take a hit and die
  • Participants who didn't see the death were more likely to behave aggressively than those who did.
• Research : Cognitive Priming

  Fischer and Greitemeyer :

  • Male participants listened to song lyrics that were aggressive towards females
  • Compared to neutral lyrics, the men recalled more negative qualities about women and behaved aggressively to a female confederate
  • Replicated with women and male lyrics with similar results
• Eval : Strength


  Carnagey et al had participants play either a violent or non-violent game for 20 minutes, then watch a 10 minute clip of real-life violence with their heart rate recorded. Found that those who played the violent game had a lower heart rate when watching the real violence.
• Eval : Weakness


  This explanation doesn't explain why there has been a decrease in aggressive behaviour since the 80s, but video game graphics have advanced and become more popular. Suggests that this is an incomplete explanation and lacking external validity.
• Eval : Weakness


  Kestenbaum found in self-reports of young males that played video games, tended to do so when feeling 'wound up' to help them relax. It could mean that releasing aggression on video games reduces aggression in the real-world by providing catharsis. Suggests concepts like disinhibition doesn't transfer to real world behaviours.