Priming aggressive thoughts: The effect of the anticipation of a violent movie upon the aggressive behaviour of the spectators

In order to examine the effects of filmed violence expectancy, male subjects were induced to think that they would watch an aggressive or neutral movie. The behavioural measures of aggression of the potential viewers were collected via an interaction aggressometer that allowed subjects to manipulate the level of aversiveness of electric shocks supposedly delivered to others. Main results indicated that the mere anticipation of viewing an aggressive movie was already effective in producing the usual instigation effect of filmed violence. Evidence was also provided indicating that degree of physical provocation influenced subjects' aggressive responses. The results are discussed in terms of Berkowitz' (1984) cognitive-neoassociation analysis; anticipating a violent movie may prime aggressive behaviour.     

The effect of auditory versus visual violent media exposure on aggressive behaviour: The role of song lyrics, video clips and musical tone

Five decades of research have shown clear links between exposure to violent visual media and subsequent aggression, however there has been little research that directly compares the effects of exposure to violent visual versus auditory media, or which has experimentally tested the effect of violent song lyrics with musical ‘tone’ held constant. In the current study 194 participants heard music either with or without lyrics, and with or without a violent music video, and were then given the chance to aggress using the hot sauce paradigm. Musical tone was held constant across groups, and a fifth (control) group had no media exposure at all. Experimental groups, on average, were significantly more aggressive than controls. The strongest effect was elicited by exposure to violent lyrics, regardless of whether violent imagery accompanied the music, and regardless of various person-based characteristics. Implications for theories of media violence and models of aggression are discussed.     

The effect of information content upon the perception and after-effects of a rotating field

From an investigation of movement after-effects induced by a rotating field, it seems that the information content of the inspection field is an important determinant of the subsequent movement after-effects (M.A.E.). This finding, considered in conjunction with phenomena evoked during perception of high information content and highly redundant fields, is discussed in connection with Anstis and Gregory's (1965) work on the role of retinal stimulation in the production of M.A.E.s.     

The effects of humor-induced arousal upon aggressive behavior

The present experiment attempted to reconcile previous results in the area of humor and aggression. It was hypothesized that humor serves two functions, arousal and attentional shift, with regard to its influence on the relation of prior anger arousal and aggression. As a test of this assumption, subjects in the present experiment were subjected to three forms of humor (high arousing, low arousing, nonhumor) after being angered or treated in a neutral manner by a confederate. In an analysis on subsequent aggression toward the confederate, it was found that female subjects reduced their aggression after exposure to low arousing humor while maintaining aggression at a high level for high arousing stimuli. Male subjects were not influenced by humor exposure. Possible reasons for this sex difference are examined in light of the arousal and attentional shift properties of humorous stimuli.     

The effect of organizational identification on employee affective and performance responses

Organizational identification (OI), defined as the importance of the organization in the person's self-concept, was argued to influence employee affective responses (job satisfaction and alienation) and performance responses (task involvement, investment of effort, and performance effectiveness). More specifically, it was hypothesized that there is 1. a positive relationship abetween OI and satisfaction with five job dimensions-work, supervision, pay, promotion and co-workers; 2. a negative relationship between OI and alienation; and 3. a positive relationship between OI and three task-related variables-task involvement, investment of effort, and performance effectiveness. A survey study was conducted on 215 service deliverers to the elderly in a large midwest city. The results were mostly consistent with the hypotheses.The data for this study was collected under the auspices of theBenjamin Rose Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.     

The perceived impact of the mass media: Reconsidering the third person effect

Communication scholars describe a pervasive ‘third person effect’ wherein people see mass media as more likely to affect other people than themselves. Two experiments are reported demonstrating that this effect is not a universal response to the issue of social influence, but occurs in specific social comparative contexts. In Experiment I respondents judged the impact on self and other of three types of media content-negative content, positive content, and public service campaigns. Comparison others varied on two dimensions, vagueness and closeness. A third person effect was found for both negative and positive content, but was more pronounced for negative content. The effect was also more pronounced in comparisons with vague and distant others. In contrast, respondents saw themselves as relatively vulnerable to influence from public service campaigns. Moreover, the direction of perceived self-other differences varied with respondents' perceptions of the desirability of the intended influence. In Experiment 2 respondents judged the impact on self and other of media violence and drink-driving campaigns. Results confirmed a perception of relative invulnerability to negative content and indicated that comparisons with vague others, and particularly with vague-distant others like ‘the average person’, facilitate such perceptions. Perceived self-other differences on the issue of drink-driving were less evident and varied with the perceived desirability of the intended influence. Results are discussed in terms of the ego-defensive and self-enhancing functions of social comparisons.     

The effects of method of measurement upon children''s performance on visual perceptual tasks

Sixty-four first-grade children of average or above intelligence who did not evidence visual perceptual dysfunction were administered a series of visual perceptual tasks. The tasks evaluated the skills of visual figure-ground perception and form discrimination and involved four methods of measurement of these abilities: tachistoscopic, untimed, naming, and recognition. Results indicated considerable method of measurement influence upon task performance. Implications of the results for both researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

The effect of priming materialism on women's responses to thin-ideal media

Consumer culture is characterized by two prominent ideals: the 'body perfect' and the material 'good life'. Although the impact of these ideals has been investigated in separate research literatures, no previous research has examined whether materialism is linked to women's responses to thin-ideal media. Data from several studies confirm that the internalization of materialistic and body-ideal values is positively linked in women. After developing a prime for materialism (N= 50), we present an experimental examination (N= 155) of the effects of priming materialism on women's responses to thin-ideal media, using multiple outcome measures of state body dissatisfaction. Priming materialism affects women's body dissatisfaction after exposure to thin media models, but differently depending on the dimension of body image measured. The two main novel findings are that (1) priming materialism heightens the centrality of appearance to women's self-concept and (2) priming materialism influences the activation of body-related self-discrepancies (BRSDs), particularly for highly materialistic women. Exposure to materialistic media has a clear influence on women's body image, with trait materialism a further vulnerability factor for negative exposure effects in response to idealized, thin media models.     

The influence of popular media characters on children's object choices

Children often prefer objects and food packaging bearing images of popular media characters. However, it is unclear what factors may influence this. This study investigated whether depictions of popular media characters on high-quality (brand new) and low-quality (dirty, broken) objects influenced 3- to 4-year-old children's (N = 84) object preferences, as well as which objects children selected to help them complete a functional task (e.g., using a bucket to transport several small items). We also investigated whether children's preferences were related to inhibitory control. We found children's preferences were influenced by images of popular characters, but not their choice of objects for functional use. Instead, children relied on object quality when selecting an object to complete a task. Inhibitory control was not related to children's object choices. These results suggest children may weigh object features differently when making decisions for different purposes.     

The turban effect: The influence of Muslim headgear and induced affect on aggressive responses in the shooter bias paradigm

Does Islamic appearance increase aggressive tendencies, and what role does affect play in such responses? In a computer game, participants made rapid decisions to shoot at armed people, some of whom wore Islamic head dress. We predicted and found a significant bias for participants to shoot more at Muslim targets. We also predicted and found that positive mood selectively increased aggressive tendencies towards Muslims, consistent with affect-cognition theories that predict a more top-down, stereotypical processing style in positive mood. In contrast, induced anger increased the propensity to shoot at all targets. The relevance of these results for our understanding of real-life negative reactions towards Muslims is discussed, and the influence of affective states on rapid aggressive responses is considered.     

The effect of content and physical properties of affective pictures on emotional responses

The aim of this research was to study the influence of both the emotional content and the physical characteristics of affective stimuli on the psychophysiological, behavioral and cognitive indexes of the emotional response. We selected 54 pictures from the IAPS, depicting unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant contents, and used two picture sizes as experimental conditions (120 x 90 cm and 52 x 42 cm). Sixty-one subjects were randomly assigned to each experimental condition. We recorded the startle blink reflex, skin conductance response, heart rate, free viewing time, and picture valence and arousal ratings. In line with previous research (e.g., Bradley, Codispoti, Cuthbert, and Lang, 2001), our data showed an effect of the affective content on all the measurements recorded. Importantly, effects of the size of the affective pictures on emotional responses were not found, indicating that the emotional content is more important than the formal properties of the stimuli in evoking the emotional response.     

The role of desires in sequential impulsive choices

The present research provides evidence for a sequential mitigation effect, which is the phenomenon that participation in a prior impulsive choice task significantly reduces the decision maker’s likelihood of choosing impulsively in a subsequent task. The results of five experiments: (a) provide evidence for the Sequential Mitigation Effect using different study materials and contexts (Experiments 1–3), (b) show that prior impulsive (as opposed to non-impulsive) choice is required for the effect to occur (Experiment 4), and (c) find that the decision maker’s chronic sensitivity to positive and negative outcomes moderates the effect (Experiment 5). The results support the notion that desire for impulsive options functions as a limited motivational resource, and being consumed in the first task, is experienced to a lesser extent in the second task. The sequential mitigation effect may be characterized as a motivational contextual influence on decision making, complementing existing research showing that cognitive context effects influence sequential choices.     

The role of the mass media in promoting a thin standard of bodily attractiveness for women

Eating disorders appear to be more common among women than among men and more common now than they were in the past. Recent speculation has focused upon the role played by an unrealistically thin standard of bodily attractiveness for women in the promotion of these disorders. To demonstrate that this standard does play such a role, and to implicate the mass media in the promotion of this standard, it is first necessary to demonstrate that the current standard of attractiveness for women portrayed in the media is slimmer than that for men, that the portrayed standard is slimmer now than it has been in the past, and that these findings apply to many of the major media. The four studies presented here demonstrate that the current standard of attractiveness portrayed on television and in magazines is slimmer for women than for men and that the recent standard for women portrayed in magazines and in movies is slimmer than it was in the past.     

The effect of comparative context upon stereotype content: children's judgments of ingroup behavior

This study addresses self-categorization theory's contention that stereotype content varies as a function of the comparative context within which a given group is considered. A sample of 5-, 7- and 10-year-old children (n = 192) made judgments about gender ingroup behavior in one of two comparative contexts: either adults of the same sex as self or children of the opposite sex. Specifically, judgments were either of the perceived stereotypicality or central tendency of 12 types of behavior. Both types of judgment were found to differ as a function of comparative context in ways predicted by self-categorization theory. However, contrary to prediction, there was no effect of age on the extent of stereotype variability.     

Group processes in food choices: The role of ethnic identity and perceived ethnic norms upon intentions to purchase ethnical food products

A study tested an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model, inclusive of measures of ethnical identification and perceived ethnic group norms, in the ethnical food purchasing domain. One hundred and thirty‐five Jamaicans, living in the Brixton neighbourhood, London, were administered a self‐reported questionnaire measuring the classical TPB components (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, behavioural intentions) plus three additional components: identification with the Jamaican group, perceived norms of the Jamaican group and past behaviour. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions showed that past behaviour, ethnical identification and perceived group norms explain an additional proportion of variance in intentions, independently of attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control. A two‐way interaction, between ethnical identification and perceived group norms, was detected. A stronger relation between group norms and intentions emerged among high ethnical identifiers. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.