Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life

Psychology and the internet: a social ecological analysis

This paper proposes a research strategy based on a social ecological analysis of the Internet and its psychological impact as an option to generate original research to answer the follow ing question: What is the psycho-environmental meaning of the Internet? This paper has two objectives: first, to analyze Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) linked to the use of the Internet from a social ecological approach, and second, to propose some relationships among variables from a social ecological perspective, which can help to clarify the variability and magnitude of the psychosocial effect associated with the Internet. This article is divided into three sections. The first briefly describes the origins and development of the Internet. It identifies some technological features and specifies some of the cutting-edge breakthroughs that have facilitated its expansion. The second section proposes a conceptual scheme from the social ecological perspective, which analyzes the subject-environmental binomial associated with the Internet. It identifies the basic assumption, the conceptual richness, and possibilities for research on the Internet, using a social ecological approach. Finally, the last section describes the scope and limitations of this perspective, and discusses its heuristic utility for the development and consolidation of a new area in psychological research: "digital psychology or cyber psychology."

Human aggression

Research on human aggression has progressed to a point at which a unifying framework is needed. Major domain-limited theories of aggression include cognitive neoassociation, social learning, social interaction, script, and excitation transfer theories. Using the general aggression model (GAM), this review posits cognition, affect, and arousal to mediate the effects of situational and personological variables on aggression. The review also organizes recent theories of the development and persistence of aggressive personality. Personality is conceptualized as a set of stable knowledge structures that individuals use to interpret events in their social world and to guide their behavior. In addition to organizing what is already known about human aggression, this review, using the GAM framework, also serves the heuristic function of suggesting what research is needed to fill in theoretical gaps and can be used to create and test interventions for reducing aggression.

American Academy of Pediatrics. Media violence. Committee on Public Education

The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes exposure to violence in media, including television, movies, music, and video games, as a significant risk to the health of children and adolescents. Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed. Pediatricians should assess their patients' level of media exposure and intervene on media-related health risks. Pediatricians and other child health care providers can advocate for a safer media environment for children by encouraging media literacy, more thoughtful and proactive use of media by children and their parents, more responsible portrayal of violence by media producers, and more useful and effective media ratings.

Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: a meta-analytic review of the scientific literature

Research on exposure to television and movie violence suggests that playing violent video games will increase aggressive behavior. A metaanalytic review of the video-game research literature reveals that violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children and young adults. Experimental and nonexperimental studies with males and females in laboratory and field settings support this conclusion. Analyses also reveal that exposure to violent video games increases physiological arousal and aggression-related thoughts and feelings. Playing violent video games also decreases prosocial behavior.

RATING COMIC BOOK VIOLENCE: CONTRIBUTIONS OF GENDER AND TRAIT HOSTILITY

This study assessed the influence of gender and trait hostility on perceptions of extremely-violent and mildly-violent comic books. Participants rated comic books on a variety of factors, including levels of violence and humor. Gender, but not trait hostility, was significantly related to the comic book ratings. The methodological and psychological implications of these findings are discussed.

Computer-Spiel: Interaktive Unterhaltungsangebote als Synthese aus Medium und Spielzeug

Zusammenfassung. Computer- und Videospiele gehören mittlerweile zu den bedeutendsten Unterhaltungsmedien. Die medienpsychologische Forschung hat sich bislang vornehmlich mit den Wirkungen ausgiebigen Spielens beschäftigt. Dagegen wurde der Prozess des Spielens kaum thematisiert. Im Mittelpunkt dieses Beitrags stehen Überlegungen zur Faszinationskraft der Tätigkeit ‘Computerspielen‘. Der Prozess des Spielens wird aus medien- und spielpsychologischer Perspektive beleuchtet. Die zentrale Annahme, dass die besondere unterhaltende Wirkung von Computerspielen in der Kombination von Merkmalen klassischer Unterhaltungsmedien und elektronischer Spielzeuge besteht, wurde in einem Feldexperiment mit 349 Teilnehmern überprüft. Demnach besteht die Faszinationskraft von Computer- und Videospielen darin, dass sie ihren Nutzern gleichzeitig Handlungsmöglichkeiten anbieten und eine Handlungsnotwendigkeit suggerieren.

Is it time to pull the plug on the hostile versus instrumental aggression dichotomy?

Psychologists have often categorized human aggression as hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is "hot," impulsive behavior that is motivated by a desire to hurt someone; instrumental aggression is "cold," premeditated behavior used as a means to some other end. This dichotomy was useful to the early development of aggression theories and continues to capture important features of nonhuman aggression, but it has outlived its usefulness as a descriptor of fundamentally different kinds of human aggression. It is confounded with the automatic-controlled information-processing dichotomy, and it fails to consider aggressive acts with multiple motives. Knowledge structure models of aggression easily handle these problems. Taking extreme measures to preserve the hostile-instrumental dichotomy will delay further advances in understanding and controlling human aggression. Therefore, this seems a proper time to "pull the plug" and allow the hostile-instrumental aggression dichotomy a dignified death.

The challenge of the evolving media environment

As media become more powerful and prominent, questions about their positive and negative effects on children and youth will increase. Although the body of quality research about media and youth is growing, there are some significant gaps. Three important areas for future research are identified: physiological research, differential effects research, and media education outcomes research.