The impact of exposure to violent music on undergraduate college males\u27 state anger, affective, physiological, and aggressive behavioral action responses

The current study addresses the potential negative impact of exposure to violent lyrical music on West Virginia University undergraduate college males\u27 state anger, affective, physiological and aggressive behavioral action responses. In addition, relationships between the following variables were also examined: (a) level of trait anger and aggressive behavioral action responses, (b) level of trait anger control and aggressive behavioral action responses, (c) level of trait anger expression and aggressive behavioral action responses, (d) overall anger expression index and aggressive behavioral action responses, (e) daily music listening and aggressive behavioral action responses, and (f) prior music exposure and aggressive behavioral action responses. Music preference influence on aggressive behavioral action responses was also explored. Parametric and nonparametric procedures were utilized to test the research questions. The results of the study revealed that college males exposed to violent lyrical music and subsequently provoked report more aggressive behavioral action responses compared to no music (control) participants. No significant difference in number of aggressive behavioral action responses were found between the violent lyrical and non-violent lyrical groups. Exposure to both violent lyrical and non-violent lyrical music did not impact participants level of state anger or positive and negative affective responses. A significant positive correlation between total number of aggressive behavioral action responses and trait anger was indicated for the violent lyrical participants. No significant between group differences in systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) responses were found among the violent lyrical, non-violent lyrical and no music participants. Yet, upon comparing baseline SBP and post-music SBP, within group differences were revealed among both violent lyrical and non-violent lyrical participants. Clinical implications and limitations are discussed as well as suggestions for future research

College Men\u27s Psychological and Physiological Responses Associated with Violent Video Game Play

Research suggests that playing violent video games increases the likelihood of aggression. However, less clear is how individual characteristics influence the mechanisms that lead to aggression. Using Anderson and Bushman’s (2002) General Aggression Model as a framework, the present study examined the independent and joint effects of individual differences and situational factors on affective and physiological reactivity to playing a violent video game. One hundred thirty-three participants completed self-report measures of trait aggression and violent video game exposure. They were randomly assigned to groups instructed to play a video game using either violent or nonviolent strategies while facial electromyography, heart rate, and electrodermal activity were measured. Positive and negative affect was assessed via self-report prior to and following video game play. It was hypothesized that trait aggression and level of past exposure to violent video games would be positively related to increases in physiological arousal and negative affect among participants in a violent, relative to a nonviolent, condition. Hierarchical regression analyses failed to detect a significant relationship between trait aggression and changes in heart rate, facial electromyography, or self-reported affect as a function of game condition. However, significant positive relationships were found between trait aggression and skin conductance, but only in the nonviolent condition. Analyses revealed that past exposure to violent video games was positively related to increased skin conductance among participants in the non-violent, but not the violent video game condition. Past exposure to violent video games was also positively related to increased heart rate, but this was among participants in the violent, but not the non-violent condition. Significant relationships between past exposure to violent video games and changes in facial electromyography and self-reported affect as a function of video game condition were not found. Findings are discussed in terms of how trait aggression and past exposure to violent video games influence arousal, and potentially, the likelihood of aggressive behavior

Effects of Violent Video Game Exposure on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive thought Accessibility, and Aggressive Affect among Adults with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Recent mass shootings have prompted the idea among some members of the public that exposure to violent video games can have a pronounced effect on individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Empirical evidence for or against this claim currently is absent. To address this issue, adults with and without ASD were assigned to play a violent or nonviolent version of a customized first-person shooter video game, after which responses on three aggression-related outcome variables (aggressive behavior, aggressive thought accessibility, and aggressive affect) were assessed. Results showed strong evidence that adults with ASD are not differentially affected by acute exposure to violent video games compared to typically developing adults. Moreover, model comparisons showed modest evidence against any effect of violent game content whatsoever. Findings from the current experiment suggest that societal concerns over whether violent game exposure has a unique effect on adults with autism are not supported by evidence

Interactive software and its effects on hostility

The researcher will be exploring the relationship between violence in video games and the emotional responses to them. The goal of the study is to confirm the previous body of research that a short term increase in aggression and hostility exists after a violent video game is played. The study will also expand on the current existing body of data by examining other variables such as gender, age, typical time spent in a week playing videogames, overall familiarity with video games, the game genre that is normally played, and what consoles and systems are typically used to be played on. This data will be collected to see if they too have any significant effect on emotional responses. As interactive media increasingly becomes integrated into our day-to-day activities, data on how they may affect aggression and hostility become progressively more crucial. This is especially true at present as video games come under fire from current state legislation

Prosocial aggression: Validation of a behavioral measure and model

Helpful and hurtful behavior are commonly viewed as antithetical, with little overlap and are commonly found to be negatively related (e.g., Anderson et al., 2010). Anecdotally, however, there are many instances of behaviors that can be generally considered as representative of both help and harm (CBS, 2015; Karimi, 2015). Such behaviors, which I refer to as Prosocial Aggression (PA), have received relatively little attention in the social psychological literature. Two factors are identified as potential sources of this inattention. First, there is no current theoretical framework integrates social psychological theories of prosocial and aggressive behavior. Second, practical limitations of studying PA make such work difficult. The work presented here was designed to address these two limitations by developing a coherent theoretical account of PA behavior and validating a novel measure of PA. To this end, two studies were conducted. Study 1 provided an initial test of the PA task by manipulating the presence of victimization followed by measuring aggression toward the victimizer. In addition to the manipulation, long-term predictions of the PA model were tested in a cross-sectional manner. Personality factors that are theoretically relevant to PA (i.e., empathic anger, anti-bullying attitudes) were tested as likely predictors of PA behavior. Finally, an experiment (Study 2) tested the short-term predictions of the PA model in which empathy toward the (soon-to-be) victim, and vulnerability of the victim were manipulated and PA was subsequently measured. Results indicated no effect of either manipulation on PA. In addition, neither empathic anger, nor anti-bullying attitudes predicted PA. Discussion focuses on potential theoretical and methodological factors that may have limited the PA task’s effectiveness with an emphasis placed on directing future investigations into PA

Personal History of Violence and Response to Violence: A Quantitative and Free-Response Study Focusing on College-Age Students

This study examined the relationship between people’s history with violence and how they responded to a graphically violent real-life video. A review of the literature revealed there had been extensive research done about the effects of media and violence on individuals, yet there is a lack of evidence about the effect that violent home footage can have on college-aged students. This relational study utilized a questionnaire that included both a Likert scale and a free-response portion with 25 undergraduate students rating their relationship with violence in the past and their response to a violent video. Greater prior exposure to violence was associated with more extreme responses to violent videos. Suggestions are made for further research involving a larger study utilizing different types of violence recorded in real-life situations