Correction to: A psychophysiological investigation of mourning: There are two sides to the story

Motivation and Emotion -     

Retracted: Effects of cartoon violence on aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors

This article reports on an experiment designed to test whether the cartoon manipulation leads to significant increases in aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors among Chinese children (n = 3,000). Results indicated that brief exposure to a violent cartoon triggered higher aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors than a nonviolent cartoon. Females displayed higher aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors than males in a nonviolent cartoon condition, while males displayed higher aggressive behaviors than females in a violent cartoon condition. Mediation analysis suggested that the effect on aggressive behaviors was mediated by aggressive thoughts. The findings imply that cartoon developers, parents, and teachers should develop cartoons that inhibit children's aggressive thoughts to avoid aggressive behaviors. Females are the key group for the prevention and intervention of aggression in a nonviolent cartoon context, while males are the key group for the prevention and intervention of aggression in a violent cartoon context.     

External thought—does sketching assist problem analysis?

An experimental study (n = 60 students) tests the advantages of being allowed to sketch a representation of a mechanical system (involving components such as weights, ropes and pulleys) when one is to be subsequently asked questions about this system. In comparison to a control group who were not allowed to sketch the system, the main advantages of sketching were found to be a reduction in the perceived difficulty of the problems and an increase in the likelihood of correctly inferring relations between the components. These advantages came at no extra cost in terms of additional time being needed to analyse the situation or solve the problems. However, sketching conferred no advantage in terms of the correct recall of system components. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.