There are lot of people with strong opinions about this on both sides of the fence, but what does the science say about whether exposure to violence in movies, music, and games can cause an increase in aggressive behavior? What psychological processes can help explain why it might?
What is relational aggression? How is it different from other forms of aggression typically studied?
Why is even a small effect size in the relationship between media and violence worth considering?
LOCATE: A study by Anderson et al (2003) entitled "The influence of media violence on youth."
READ: Begin with the introduction section (bottom of pg. 81–84) and pay particular attention to the authors’ reasons for why they conducted their review and the specific research questions they aim to address. Pause when you get to the section on OVERVIEW OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH.
STUDENTS - The full paper is in the file section of our Canvas course page
PUBLIC - It appears you can download the full paper here.
What does it mean to say that exposure to violent media is neither necessary nor sufficient to explain evil actions? Do you agree?
What are some examples of study designs from the meta-analysis you read that relate to the various study designs that we learned about early in the course? Give examples of:
Controlled designs
Cross-sectional designs
Longitudinal designs
How did each of the following studies explore a causal link between exposure and aggression? Be prepared to summarize the methodology and results of some example research, such as...
Bjorkqvist's (1985) and Josephson's (1987) studies showing the effect of exposure and a specific cue (prime) on aggressive behavior (note the limitation of context in these studies) and explain how this relates to accessibility.
Donnerstein and Berkowitz's (1981) study on the effect of sexually aggressive films.
Malamuth and Check's (1981) evidence that the effect is long-term.
As the most popular form of violent media, television and movies were the focus of much of the early research.
READ: Continuing in Anderson et al's paper, read the Overview of Empirical Research on Media Violence and Aggression for a discussion of experiments, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies and meta-analyses on the effects of watching violent programs (pgs. 84-88). Pause when you get to the subsection on Studies on the Introduction of TV. You do not have to memorize every finding they discuss, but be sure to note the studies listed in the learning outcomes and be prepared to summarize those.
How did researchers support a causal link between content in songs and music videos and aggression? Be prepared to describe the methodology and results of:
J.D. Johnson et al 's (1995) study on sexually subordinate characters in music videos
Anderson et al's (2003) approach to studying aggressive music and behavior
READ: Continuing in Anderson et al's paper, read the sections on experiments and cross-sectional studies of music and music videos (pgs. 89-90). Pause when you get to the section on Studies of Video Games.
What were some of the approaches that researchers have used to detect causal links between playing violent games and antisocial thoughts, feelings, and behavior? What were some of the key findings?
What is the nature of the longitudinal correlations between exposure and aggressiveness? Although the study does not establish a causal link, in what way does the pattern of correlations support findings from experimental studies that do?
What did Anderson & Bushman's (2001) meta-analysis of experimental evidence find about the claim that some studies have not found strong causal effects between games and aggression?
READ: Continuing in Anderson et al.'s paper, read the section on various studies of video games and aggression (pgs. 90-93) and pause when you get to the section on Internet Participation.
OPTIONAL: When a company developed a video game that allowed people to simulate mass murder in a school, there was so much outrage that the game was pulled. Based on what you're learning, do you agree that this kind of game should be banned?
How can you explain why exposure to violent media would cause increases in aggressive affect, behavior, and cognition? For each, be clear about whether the theoretical mediator explains short-term effects, long-term effects, or both.
Observational learning and imitation
What determines if short-term imitation turns into long-term learning?
Describe the role of scripts.
Does it have to be a conscious process?
Priming and automatization
How does this relate to what you already know about primes, schema, and accessibility?
How do short-term priming effects lead to long-term changes in cognition?
Arousal and excitation transfer
What does it mean to say that arousal strengthens the "dominant response" in someone?
Why might a misattribution of the arousal caused by violent media lead to even greater aggression?
Affective desensitization
Why is habituation generally a helpful psychological process?
How might you relate desensitization to what you learned about the opponent process theory?
OPTIONAL: If you are not already familiar with the psychological concept of "misattribution of arousal" and how it can influence our thoughts and feelings, it might be helpful to read this short article about falling in love on a scary bridge: Fear Goggles
READ: Continuing in Anderson et al's paper, read the section on the Theoretical Explanations (pgs. 94-96) and pause when you get to Research on Moderator Effects.
Of the four mediators, which do you think may be the most powerful in terms of influencing actual thoughts, feelings, and behavior? Why?
What have researchers found to moderate the effect that exposure has on aggressive behavior? Be clear about whether each of these influences the relationship, and if so, how.
Viewer variables
Age and gender
Dispositional aggressiveness
How might "reciprocal determinism" be involved?
Characteristics of perpetrators (e.g., status, attractiveness)
Intelligence
Realism
Identification with perpetrators
Media variables
Status and attractiveness of the perpetrator
Justification
Positive and negative consequences
Social factors
Culture
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Parents
READ: Continuing in Anderson et al's paper, read about the Research on Moderator Effects (pgs. 96-100). Stop when you get to Research on Media Use and Content.
It is easy to dismiss all of this, because so many people say "hey, I watch action movies and play violent games, and I've never killed anyone!" Sure, but the key point is that exposure is neither necessary nor sufficient for evil... but that does not mean that it is not playing a significant role in the broader way people think about and treat each other. And, for some, it may be having a very powerful effect that leads to real harm. The answer does not have to be banning depictions of violence entirely, but at the very least we have to have evidence-based conversations about how to moderate the risk they present.
After participating in our class meeting or an interactive online presentation you will be able to answer the following questions:
How did Bandura demonstrate that aggressive behavior could be learned by young children through observation?
In what way did he find that the extent to which the child identified with the adult moderated the link between observation and behavior?
What effect did fictionalizing the violent scene have on behavior?
More coming soon. Have suggestions? Email evil@umd.edu