Media violence use as a risk factor for aggressive behaviour in adolescence

Whether exposure to violence in the virtual reality of the media has an impact on users’ aggressive behaviour has been a controversial issue in academic as well as public debate. This article summarises a programme of research conducted with adolescents in Germany that presents cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence for the association between violent media use and aggression. It provides experimental evidence in support of mediating variables, such as hostile attributional style, increased normative acceptance of aggression, and emotional desensitisation, which might explain the pathways from media violence use to aggression. In addition it presents the development and experimental evaluation of a theory-based intervention designed to reduce media violence use and decrease its link with aggressive behaviour. The findings are discussed in the context of a large international body of research that points to the causal role of violent media use as a risk factor for aggressive behaviour.     

Representation of object orientation in children: Evidence from mirror-image confusions

Although many cognitive functions require information about the orientations of objects, little is known about representation or processing of object orientation. Mirror-image confusion provides a potential clue. This phenomenon is typically characterized as a tendency to confuse images related by left–right reflection (reflection across an extrinsic vertical axis). However, in most previous studies the stimuli were inadequate for identifying a specific mirror-image (or other) relationship as the cause of the observed confusions. Using stimuli constructed to resolve this problem, Gregory and McCloskey (2010) found that adults’ errors were primarily reflections across an object axis, and not left–right reflections. The present study demonstrates that young children's orientation errors include both object–axis reflections and left–right reflections. We argue that children and adults represent object orientation in the same coordinate-system format (McCloskey, 2009), with orientation errors resulting from difficulty encoding or retaining one (adults) or two (children) specific components of the posited representations.     

Separation—Individuation,Self-Concept,and Object Relations in Fraternal Twins,Identical Twins,and Singletons

Identical twins, fraternal twins, and singletons (n = 30 in each group) were compared on objective measures of separation–individuation, object relations, and self-esteem. No significant differences were found. The data did not support the popular notion that twins face special problems with respect to personality development or the idea that twins have more difficulty than others in establishing and maintaining close relationships. Twins and nontwins did not differ significantly with respect to marital status, number of years married, whether married before, number of previous marriages, number of years divorced, or living arrangements if single. The majority of twins had been raised in a way that encouraged at least some individual differences.     

An Examination of Functional Difficulties From Internet Use: Media Habit and Displacement Theory Explanations

Seminal studies concerning the Internet brought legitimacy to public concerns about its dissocializing effects. Although the negative social and professional outcomes of the Internet are still attributed to the time users spend online, scholars have more recently turned their attention to media habits in explaining these effects. This investigation tests the displacement and media habit perspectives on the consequences of Internet use. Study 1 uses cross‐sectional data to test the displacement and Internet habit positions. The data support media habit theory explanations but find little support for displacement theory. Study 2 replicates the results of Study 1 with longitudinal data from incoming college freshmen. Study 3 holds time constant and examines the causal direction between functional difficulties and habit strength     

Slacking Off or Winding Down? An Experience Sampling Study on the Drivers and Consequences of Media Use for Recovery Versus Procrastination

Today's constant availability of media content provides users with various recreational resources. It may also challenge self‐control, however, once media exposure conflicts with other goals and obligations. How media users deal with these self‐regulatory chances and risks in their daily lives is largely unknown. Our study addressed the predictors and consequences of recreational and procrastinatory media use using experience sampling methodology (N = 215; 1,094 media use episodes). Results suggest that trait (self‐control, performance goal orientation) as well as state variables (exhaustion) are significant predictors of media use for recovery versus procrastination. Whereas recreational media use showed a positive effect on entertainment, which in turn enhanced subjective well‐being, negative self‐evaluation elicited by procrastinatory media use negatively affected well‐being.     

The impact of September 11 on dreaming

This study focuses on a set of dreams related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and their aftermath, using content analysis and cognitive psychology to explore the interweaving of external public catastrophe and internal psychological processes. The study tests several recent claims in contemporary dream research, including the central image theory of Hartmann [Hartmann, E., & Basile, R. (2003). Dream imagery becomes more intense after 9/11/01. Dreaming, 13(2), 61-66; Hartmann, E., & Brezler, T. (2008). A systematic change in dreams after 9/11/01. Sleep, 31(2), 213-218], the media exposure factor postulated by Propper [Propper, R. E., Stickgold, R., Keeley, R., & Christman, S. D. (2007). Is television traumatic? Dreams, stress, and media exposure in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Psychological Science, 18(4), 334-340], the continuity hypothesis of Domhoff [Domhoff, W. G. (1996). Finding meaning in dreams: A quantitative approach. New York: Plenum], the cognitive and metacognitive approach of Kahan [Kahan, T. L. (2001). Consciousness in dreaming: A metacognitive approach. In K. Bulkeley (Ed.), Dreams: A reader on the religious, cultural, and psychological dimensions of dreaming (pp. 333-360). New York: Palgrave], and the threat simulation theory of Revonsuo [Revonsuo, A. (2000). The reinterpretation of dreams: An evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23(6), 877-901]. Our findings suggest the terrorist attacks had a tangible impact on the content of many people's dreams, but did not fundamentally alter the cognitive processing features of their dreaming. The 9/11 attacks affected what they dreamed about, but not the way they dreamed.     

Sexual Subjectivity: A Semiotic Analysis of Girlhood, Sex, and Sexuality in the Film Juno

Historical approaches to girlhood provide a basis for understanding changing cultural ideologies of sex, sexuality, and youth. While situating sexual desire, biological possibilities, and social responses to girls’ engagement in sexual intercourse at the center of its plot, the film Juno depicts the transgressive sexual agency of a young girl without substantially disrupting longstanding discourses of femininity. Through an analysis of the semiotics of girlhood within the film, I argue that the girl figure in this representation signifies an amalgam of two traditionally dichotomized conceptions of “femininity.” Juno serves as a particularly intriguing example of the ways in which adolescent female sexuality is conceptualized within popular western culture during the early part of the 21st century.

The effects of viewing physical and relational aggression in the media: Evidence for a cross-over effect

Research has shown that viewing violence in the media can have a profound impact on aggressive thoughts and behaviors. However, the impact of viewing relational aggression in the media has rarely been examined. This paper presents the results of an experimental study that examines the impact of viewing relational and physical aggression in the media on subsequent aggression. In this study, adult females were shown video clips containing no-aggression, relational aggression, or physical aggression. Their aggressive behavior was measured through the use of a competitive reaction time task (physical aggression) and evaluations of a confederate of the experiment (relational aggression). As a whole, participants viewing either relational or physical aggression behaved similarly. Specifically, participants who viewed either type of aggression were subsequently more physically and relationally aggressive than those who viewed the non-aggressive clip. The results show evidence for a generalization effect of viewing media aggression, in that viewing one form of aggression can influence the manifestation of other forms. This is the first study to show that viewing relational aggression in the media can increase subsequent physical aggression. Implications for parents, media producers, and policy makers are discussed.     

Susceptibility for thin ideal media and eating styles

This study examined the relations between susceptibility for thin ideal media and restrained, emotional and external eating, directly and indirectly through body dissatisfaction. Thin ideal media susceptibility, body dissatisfaction and eating styles were measured in a sample of 163 female students. Structural equation modelling was used for analyses, controlling for BMI. Higher susceptibility for thin ideal media was directly related to higher scores on all eating styles, and indirectly related to higher restrained and emotional eating through elevated levels of body dissatisfaction. So, thin ideal media susceptibility was not only related to restraint through body dissatisfaction, but also directly. Emotional eaters might be more vulnerable for negative affect, whereas external eaters might be more sensitive to external cues in general.     

Portrayal of body weight on children's television sitcoms: a content analysis

Television programs portray characters with idealized body types that for most viewers are unattainable. These body types have become a common source of comparison for many young viewers who evaluate their own self-worth and bodies based on the models they see on television. This study examines body weight, both in terms of frequency and portrayals, focusing on how preadolescent and adolescent characters’ bodies are presented on the sitcoms from three children's television networks. The results indicate that while children's situation comedies have relatively few overweight characters, this small percentage closely parallels national figures. Male and female characters do not differ in their distribution across weight categories. However, when character ethnicity is factored, significant shifts occur. Surprisingly, no differences were observed in the portrayal of physical and mental attributes among weight categories except in social popularity where overweight characters were not as embedded in social networks. Compared to other relevant studies, this research provides some evidence that the treatment and portrayal of overweight characters in children-targeted sitcoms is more positive, equitable, and less stereotypical than in other programming venues and that children are experiencing body type diversity in these fictional portrayals. Nonetheless, above average weight characters still suffer some social marginality and ethnic misrepresentation.