PSYC 325

midterm

what is media?

what is media?

• plural of medium, middle, intermediary

• the intermediary to transmit information

• means for communicating a message

• mass media: beyond one-on-one communication

• facilitated by technology

social media

• internet platforms/sites that allow users to create, share, and exchange their own content

• recipients and creators

social networking sites

allow users to meet and connect with others in a networked communication platform

content analysis

• involves analyzing the content of media

• ex. How much sexual content is there in TV targeted towards adolescents?

• define & identify “TV targeted towards adolescents”

• gather a sample of such media

• define “sexual content”

• analyze!

issues with content analysis

• can be difficult to define aspects of content

• doesn’t tell us about the effects of the content/media

correlational designs

• examining the relationship between two variables

• 2 variables are measured

• correlation ≠ causation

• direction of effect?

• third variables?

• Is watching more sexual content associated with engaging in more sexual behaviour?

experimental designs

• can examine cause and effect

• participants are randomly assigned to different groups

• independent variable is manipulated

• participants receive different conditions

• everything is identical except for the IV

• dependent variable is measured

issues with experimental designs

• how to measure self-report

• doesn't take individual differences into consideration

• possible ethical issues

• generalizing

longitudinal designs

• same participants are tested repeatedly over time

• most commonly used with correlational designs

• establishes the time-order of two variables – helps to give further support to a potential causal effect

• but can also be used in experimental designs, to explore effects over time!

natural experiments

• where naturally-occurring circumstances “randomly” create differences between individuals

• “Notel” studies: geography limits access to TV in one town, but not others

Notel study

• Notel: Town with initially no TV, then got one channel

• Unitel: Town with 1 TV channel

• Multitel: Town with multiple TV channels

• increase in aggression & gender stereotypes

• decrease in reading, creative thinking

• kids without tv had broad gender roles; kids with tv had distinct gender roles

• change in gender attitudes and fertility

meta-analysis

• relies on studies that have already been conducted

• examines the statistical effects of previous studies

• synthesizes the overall pattern of results

• can be more informative than a single study

media use

• children’s engagement with certain types of digital devices varies widely by age

• parents of an older child are more likely to say child uses social media sites

• impact of covid

• more in low SES POC boys

media preferences: infants (0-3)

• bright colors, striking perceptual features

• educational content

• cartoons

media preferences: childhood (3-12)

• more complex content

• comedy

• gender-stereotyped content

media preferences: adolescence (12-18)

• speed & variety

• social media

• reality & realistic content

video deficit

• until 2.5-3 years, infants are less likely to learn from a screen than from a live interaction

• struggle over screen to imitate shaking duck which produces noise

why video deficit?

because they struggle with symbolic/dual representation or because of 2D/3D processing issues or it lacks social connection

symbolic representation

• test whether kids able to learn from scale model by hiding object

• fail until age 3

• same outcome from screen learning

• watch through window more than tv

• not about tv itself

• watch tv looking window = success

visual perception of 2D vs 3D

• face-to-face = 3D representation

• TV: 2D lacks depth/texture/context cues

• brain responds differently

lack of social connection

• eye contact, responsiveness, contingency

• socially meaningful characters & cues (familiar)

• e.g. mother hides toy vs stranger

infants and toddlers learn better from screen media when:

- it is socially contingent (video chat) \n - an adult is watching them and engaging with them \n - socially meaningful characters and cues are used (better when familiar with character)

perceptual vs conceptual processing

• younger children focus on perceptually salient features (how things look/sound)

• ex. Piagets centration, kids thought tall glass had more water, Frozen, grannies

• vs meaning (conceptual)

understanding the message

• young children often fixate on action, not on underlying motives or overarching messages

• inference appears to develop later (6-8+)

reality vs fantasy

• children struggle to understand relationship between media & reality (until age 4)

• gradually come to grasp distinctions of media vs reality

identity

• search for identity an important hallmark of adolescence

• use of social media → photographs, statements, personal descriptions

• 50% of 9-18 year olds have pretended to be someone else on internet

imaginary audience

belief that others are paying attention to you

personal fable

belief that you & your experiences are unique

focus on peers

adolescents are heavily focused on peers & have a desire to conform to the norms of out peer groups

risk-taking

• brain development in adolescence

• prefrontal cortex, dopamine → increased risky behaviour

• increased interest in risky media & use

• increase in interest in sexual content

• use media to develop & understand sexuality

hypodermic needle theory

• direct relationships between media consumption and behaviour

• everyone impacted the same way

• intentionally designed to influence belief

• war propaganda

cultivation theory

• media gradually cultivates certain views in audience over time

• different impacts based on amount of use

• different impact based on resonance → similarity between media & individual’s circumstances

• mainstreaming → idea that heavy users views will tend to homogenize (make same)

mainstreaming

• lower religiosity = negative correlation: media consumption & LGBTQ+ acceptance

• higher religiosity = positive correlation: media consumption & LGBTQ+ acceptance

social learning theory

• learning our own behaviour from observing the behaviour of others

• also impacted by mental states → motivations, emotions, self-efficacy

• bandura bobo doll study

uses & gratifications theory

• individuals are driven to media for various reasons and the motivations for consumption may impact media influences

• companionship, escape, habit, learning, passing time, relaxation, arousal/sensation-seeking

• coming to media from different places impacts

the medium is the message

• what has been communicated is less important than the medium through which the message was communicated

• medium itself has an impact

• nature of the medium will be more impactful than the content

• McLuhan: presence of cellphones impacts more than specific content on cellphone

reduction hypothesis

• consuming high amounts of screen media leads to poor cognition & academic achievement

• studies correlated media use with academic performance, test scores & poorer educational achievement

• time displacement LIMITED

• mental effort NO

• attention & impulsivity MAYBE

time displacement

• media takes away from intellectually beneficial activities

• but also media use generally displaces other media use

• exception may be svreen media displacing reading in young children, thus impacting read acquisition

mental effort

media use is passive and causes passive thinking to become the norm

• not a lot of evidence, many kids watching are engaged and ask questions

attention & impulsivity

media use shortens attention spans & increases impulsive behaviour

• data on this topic is a mess, with no idea of which way it goes

goldilocks theory

• some studies have also suggested a curvilinear pattern between media use and academic achievement

• up to a moderate amount of use, media positively correlated

• heavy use, negative correlation

content matters

• educational media: incorporates educational objectives, typically distinct from media used formally within schools to teach

• violent content bad for girls’ academic achievement at 15 from 5 years old

• informative content good for boys’ academic achievement at 15 from 5 years old

sesame street

• purpose to foster intellectual & cultural developments in preschoolers

• academic & social skills

• focus on children from low income & marginalized backgrounds

• use of research on child development

sesame street studies

• linked with academic skills

• school preparedness, cognitive skills, vocab

• effects may persist long after viewing (high school grades in math, science, english)

• population-level effects in natural experiment (differences in students in high coverage vs low coverage areas)

Mares & Pan Sesame Street

• examining effects worldwide (130+ countries)

• benefits seen across socioeconomic diversity?

meta analysis

• study 1: 4 year olds Egypt

• study 2: 3-5 year olds Vancouver

• study 3: 2-4 year olds India

• DATA COLLECTED BY SESAME STREET

• 18 internal reports + 3 additonal studies

• examined cognitive outcomes, learning about world, social reasoning & attitudes

educational media

• super why, blues clues, dora the explorer, between the lions, dragon tales, barney & friends, cyberchase

• mostly correlational research but some experimental studies

• success shown in teaching children vocab, spelling, literacy & prosocial skills

• but maybe not more complex (e.g. grammar)

moderate discrepancy

• children attend to & learn from media that differs moderately from what they know & understand

• repetition

• participatory cues

Why might infants under ~17 months-2 years not have the same positive effects of educational media

• video deficit

• fewer benefits in older children? → less interest, less good educational tv?

capacity model

• educational media has narrative & educational content but we have limited cognitive capacity (like working memory), the bigger the distance between the narrative and educational content the harder it is for kids to learn

• example: narrative: need a new leader, use game of chairs to find; educational: counting

limited cognitive resources / working memory

• attending to the narrative and educational content will compete for these resources

• impacted by the distance between narrative and educational content → how well they are connected

• with further distance, we may struggle to learn

characteristics of viewer

• memory capacity

• verbal ability

• prior knowledge

• interest

characteristics of program

• clarity

• complexity

• speed/organization

Alade and Nathanson (2016) is about…

• How features of the view impact how well they learn from educational TV

• examined prior knowledge with educational content or characters/program, interest in educational content or characters/program, verbal ability, and short-term memory)

Alade and Nathanson (2016) is found...

• 3-6 year olds, cat in hat sleepover + nocturnal animals, tested comprehension

• verbal ability, short-term memory, and prior knowledge were related to comprehension, -

• interest was not related

• comprehension of narrative content mediated comprehension of educational content

• viewer characteristics (verbal ability, short term memory, and prior knowledge) → narrative comprehension → educational comprehension

learning from media: gaming

• educational games: goals, rewards, interactivity, narrative content

• learning from entertainment games: problem solving, persistence, creativity, specific games may improve specific aspects of visual attention, cognitive processing

• benefits of play

• more time in strategy video games → better problem solving → academic grades

learning from media: social media

• participation in online communities

• connected learning → communication, collaboration, negotiation, sharing resources

• other learning?

violence

• act/threat of physical force against self/others

• any act/threat intended to cause physical harm

• act that intentionally lead yo physical/psychological harm

• consuming media violence → aggression

aggression

• more broad than violence, harm to social status

• physical/verbal → direct

• relational → indirect

factors that impact likelihood of acting aggressively

• aggressive emotions

• aggressive traits

• physiological factors (heart rate, blood pressure)

• aggressive thoughts

catharsis

• violent impulses can be “purged” by consuming violent media (outlet)

• little supportive evidence

social cognition theory (observational learning)

• bandura bobo doll study

• children imitate violence towards bobo

• observational learning: reinforcements & punishment

• influenced by personal factors/cognitions: interest, motivation, self-efficacy, ID

scripts

• personal scripts of what is expected to happen during interactions

• shaped through direct experience and observational learning

• used to guide behaviour

priming

violent stimuli activate aggressive thoughts → prime other related thoughts

excitation transfer

• consuming violent media leads to physiological arousal (heart rate, bp, muscle tension)

• arousal may be interpreted as anger

• then more likely to act aggressively

desensitization

• repeated exposure to media violence would lead to lessened emotional reaction

• normalize violence

What are some issues with the past definition of "violence" in media

• doesn’t account for intent

• too broad

general aggression model

• short term: affect, cognition, arousal

• violent media impacts arousal & affect, primes aggressive thoughts

• long term: person, cognition, impulsive action

• violent media creates more aggressive scripts, reinforced to lead to aggressive personality, lead to desensitization of violence

input variables (general aggression model)

• determine likelihood to act aggressively

• impact routes to aggressive behaviour by influencing internal state

• given situation then appraised

• feedback loop

other factors leading to aggression

• abuse experience

• parenting

• genes

• owning weapon

• gender

• aggressive personality

correlational research: tv violence

• most studies show a positive correlation between violent tv consumption and aggressive cognitions/behaviour

• willingness to use violence

• perceived effectiveness of violence

• more consistent with boys

correlational research: video game violence

• positive correlation

• lower empathy

• positive attitudes towards violence

longitudinal designs for tv violence

violent TV in grade 3/4 was significant in predicting aggressive behaviour in early 20s

• but aggressive behaviour in grade 3/4 has no significant relationship with violent TV in early 20s

downward spiral

since most longitudinal studies suggest that consumption of media violence can predict aggressive behaviour in the future,

this increased aggression could lead to to more selection of violent media (they compound each other causing repetition)

experimental research on tv violence

show those who watch TV violence are more likely to demonstrate aggressive cognitions/ behaviours , similar findings with video game violence

• gets rid of 3rd variable problem

• evaluate researcher, assign

• rate more poorly & give less = high aggression

• playing louder noise when wrong = high aggression

• not all studies show similar findings (ex. recess toy taken study)

meta analysis findings for aggressive behaviour explained by violent media consumption

• small to moderate effects

• 2-10% of aggressive behaviour explained by violent media consumption

the consumer

• gender: larger effects of media violence for boys (BUT ONLY BOYS SAMPLED)

• culture: access to weapons, japan vs usa

• personality & mental state: highly aggressive individuals more likely to seek out violent media, and may be more impacted (primed), more likely to behave aggressively after exposure to media violence when feeling angry or frustrated

• age: mixed evidence

ID with violent characters

• children & men more likely to imitate violence

• video game players more likely to show aggression after playing with personalized avatars

wishful ID

• wanting to be like

• konijin et al., wish i were a warrior; effects of violent video games on aggression in adolescent boys

• if no wishful ID, no impact of violent media btu if wishful identification then there was an impact

media: contextual features

• perpetrators are appealing (“glamourized violence”) SUPERHEROES

• violence is rewarded or unpunished

• violence has no consequences to the victim

• violence is justified

• violence is realistic

social context

• video games played collaboratively

• violence, but also prosociality

Fortnite social context paradox (shoshani & krauskopf)

• effects of violent-cooperative multi-player video games on children’s basic psychological needs and prosocial behavior

• violent co-op group most likely after playing the game to agree to donate time in the future for another study and give charity (meets needs of connectedness, when you feel good you do good)

• vs solo vs 2 player, 9-12 year olds

psychological needs satisfaction

• violent collaborative play linked more to feelings of competence, relatedness, enjoyment, positive

• violent co-op → psyc needs → prosocial behaviour

• because higher stakes invested?

• medium itself? more effective playing vs watching violent video games

• but meta analysis = larger effect size from tv violence vs video games

violence in media

• hate speech

• livestream violence

• violence on news

sexual media

• sexual behaviour

• suggestions of sexual behaviour

• sexual talk

• magazines, reality tv, tv, video games

• sexual talk more common than behaviour

• varies across genre (more in drama/sitcoms than reality & child cartoons)

• tv > movies > music

risk & responsibility

• youth-oriented media often does not include messages about the risks and responsibility of sexual behaviour

• most common consequences portrayed are emotional, relational– very little physical consequences

• some evidence of more negative consequences for female characters vs male characters, more consequences for straight vs LGBTQ+ characters

heterosexual script

• gendered sexual behaviour

• men pursue sex; sex as a defining aspect of masculinity

• women are pursued; women as sex objects

sexual socialization

• process of sexual knowledge/values/attitudes & behaviours develop

• influenced more than biology, (parents/peers/culture/media)

sexualization

• person’s value comes from their sexual appeal/behaviour

• person is held to a standard that equates attractiveness with being sexy

• person is made into a “thing” for the sexual use of others; sexual objectification

• sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon someone

third person effect

teens think that media impacts sexual development for others, but not themselves!

social cognition thoery

• media consumers will observe and model sexual behaviour

• learn which behaviours are appropriate; rewarded vs punished

• more likely to model like-me individuals, individuals with positive traits

cultivation theory

• long-term, repeated consumption of media depictions of sexual themes will shape attitudes and beliefs

• influenced by amount of consumption

sexual scripts theory

• sexuality and sexual behaviour determined by “scripts” used to organize and understand sexual encounters

• stereotyped patterns of expectations

media practice model

• assumes media use is active

• media user plays a role in what effect media has

• sense of self, ID, & lived experience contributes

• for adolescents especially, ID development is an active process → current sense of ID will impact role of media, and media will impact ID

sexual media research

• ethical issues

• most correlational & survey based

• most with adolescents or young adults, not children

sexual cognitions

• consuming greater amounts of sexual media associated with…

• more permissiveness towards sex;

• positive attitudes towards sex outside of committed relationships

• belief that more friends are engaging in sexual behaviour

• expectations of fewer negative consequences associated with sex

• beliefs of women as sex objects

• positive impact: educational

• greater likelihood of engaging in sexual behavour

• more sexual partners

• starting sexual behaviours earlier

Friends episode

• sexual media as education

• Collins et al. (2003): 12-17 year-old regular viewers of Friends surveyed after the episode aired

• • 10% said they learned about condoms

• • 10% talked w adult about condom effectiveness

• viewers were more likely than non-viewers to rate condoms as 95-100% effective

sexy media matter: brown et al.

• Exposure to Sexual Content in Music, Movies, Television, and Magazines Predicts Black and White Adolescents’ Sexual Behavior

• longitudinal research better examines whether sexual media consumption predicts sexual behaviour

• 7 & 8 graders black & white

• sexual media diet

• sexual behaviour & first intercourse

• having heavy sexual media diets predicts greater likelihood of engaging in sexual behaviour, at earlier ages

• more prominent in white than black

sexual behaviour research factors

• Race • sexual media consumption has less (or no) impact on sexual behaviour for Black vs White youth

• Gender • mixed findings?

• Age • more of an impact on sexual behaviours in early adolescence vs late adolescence/young adulthood

risky sexual behaviour (less consistent finding)

• unprotected sex

• teen pregnancy

• sexually transmitted infections