Week 5 Lecture: Media Effects

Question 0

The effects of violent media

Answer 0

• increases in aggressive behavior
• more fearful;age effects
• emotional desensitization to violence
• hostile attributional bias
• increase in normative beliefs approving aggression
• aggressive problem solving scripts for behavior
• increased appetite for aggressive media (least well established)

Question 1

Media use statistics

Answer 1

• exposure to media greater than time spent in school and increasing and converging with the emergence of new technology

Question 2

Violent media and the brain

Answer 2

• amygdala: initiates fight or flight, sense danger
• posterior cingulate: associated with trauma memories
• premotor cortex: planning for aggression
• right hemisphere: negative emotions

Question 3

Brain mapping: violent media involves

Answer 3

• reduced involvement of the PFC
• activation of limbic system, starting with amygdala
• selective activation of right hemisphere: negative emotions
• images of violence stored in posterior cingulate: akin to storage of PTSD
• planning for aggression in pre-motor cortex

Question 4

Brain mapping conclusions

Answer 4

• when confronted with threat, violence viewers more likely to respond with aggression
• aggression guided by “scripts” stored in posterior cingulate
• heavy violence viewers are more likely to react with provocation with “thoughtless” aggression

Question 5

Physical acquisition - imitation

Answer 5

• mirror neurons
• identify with and copy aggressive characters ESP. If attractive and rewarded
• paired with multiple cues
• more aggression related concepts and scripts for behavior in neural network

Question 6

Psychological remediation - Waite 92 prison study

Answer 6

• max security prison
• removed MTV
• significant reduction in aggression

Question 7

Media and the whole person

Answer 7

• violent media use may be clinically important, especially regarding aggressive behavior and addictions
• most theories revolve around cognitive networks
• especially relevant for children
• activates emotion centres and bypass behavioral inhibition mechanisms such as those in frontal lobe
• changes to neural networks via learning: associative, instrumental, imitative
• patterns of brain activation may be indicative of internal psychological processes
• visual dominance in perception
• learn about relationships and conflict resolution from media as well as other sources
• a social phenomenon; for children may be important factor in developing social cognitions
• moderation, self-awareness, good decision making are as important for media as for other aspects of personal development