General Aggression Model Of Human Aggression

Bushman conducted three studies to test his hypothesis that “high trait aggressive individuals are more affected by violent social media than that of low trait aggression.” (Bushman. Web. 1995). These three studies were conducted empirically with 420 psychology students. Study one gave the students a film description, and then they chose of which to view. These films have not been shown in theaters or televised. They were given scores on the “Physical Aggression subscale,” which results from a questionnaire testing verbal and physical aggression, anger and hostility.  (Bushman. Web. 1995). The participants with high trait aggression were more likely to watch violence than the opposed. Study two, “participants reported their mood before and

After viewing Origins of Human Aggression (The Nature of Things), I learned a lot about origins of human aggression. In the first part of the video, it focused on 2 year old children and how aggression is derived. The video states a study shows that signs of aggression start within the first couple months of a newborn’s life (Maher, Origins of Human Aggression (The Nature of Things). This study within the video I believe is accurate. I was told by my parents that as I grew I began to be more aggressive. The older I got, I began to do things such as: throw objects, hit people, and throw a tantrum if I could not get my way. One time I cried for an hour just so my mother would buy me a pair of shoes. Throwing that tantrum got me my way, but

The general aggression model (GAM) is the most contemporary theory of aggression as of 2015. The GAM, as discussed by Anderson and Bushman (2002), focuses on addressing and discovering the biological, environmental, psychological, and social factors that influence aggression. This aggression model “accounts for both short- and long-term effects of an extensive range of variables of aggression (Warburton & Anderson, 2015, p.375)” due to its biosocial-cognitive approach. Benjamin (2016) describes the opportunity for appraisal presented within this theory. GAM articulates the influences on a person’s immediate appraisal of the situation. “This immediate appraisal occurs automatically, and includes an interpretation of the situation and an

Social Psychological Theories of Aggression Social learning theorists propose that behaviour, such as aggression is learnt through observation, imitation and behaviour shaping. This behaviour is learnt automatically through observation of male and female role models, for example parents, peers and media characters. Whether or not this behaviour is imitated depends on the type of reinforcement that the role model receives. Vicarious reinforcement involves the outcome of a role models behaviour, for example if a child observes a parent acting aggressively and receiving positive rewards for they are more like to be imitate this behaviour in the future, than they would be if the role model

In the discussion portion of the article the authors discuss the lowered reaction to the violent images in the video following the 20 minutes of violent video game stimulation. They also discuss the fact that results were quite dramatic across the different individuals and attitudes toward violence. They also give insight into their results and the implication of the GAM concerning the prevalence of lowered arousal levels to violence acts following the violent stimuli via video games. Using the GAM they discuss implications such as people’s lowered likeliness to respond a victim in a violent situation if they are not in an aroused state in the midst of the violent act.

Using violent or nonviolent content that are statistically controlled for their nonviolent aspects, the participants used an “emotion-related physiological indicator” to serve as a dependent variable, and lastly used real violence to study the participant’s emotions. The participants in the study were 257 college students, 124 men and 133 women, who received extra credit for their participation. The participants after completing their preferences for the video games and their traits of aggressiveness, for 20 minutes thereafter, played either a violent or non-violent video game. They then watched a ten minute film which contained real-life violent content whilst their heart rates and their galvanic skin responses were monitored. The participants then rated the video games on different levels. The results indicated that exposure to violent video games can cause people to be desensitized to real violence. At the same time, those who played the violent video games had lower HR and GSR when they watched the ten minute film of real violence. After detailing the research, Carnagey et al. (2007) argued how being desensitized to

Aggression is a natural part of human behavior, and can even be adaptive in certain situations. However, when aggression manifests itself in violent behaviors, it becomes problematic. Patterns of aggression change throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, and these changes usually differ between males and females (Loeber, 1997). Physical aggression is typically greatest early in life and decreases during adolescence, whereas more serious violence tends to increase with age, particularly during adolescence (Loeber, 1997). Despite the changes that occur in aggressive tendencies throughout childhood and adolescence, aggression is seen as a very stable trait, almost as stable as

The cognitive-neoassociation theory of aggression, otherwise known as the negative affect theory, was proposed by the American social psychologist Leonard Berkowitz. The theory suggests that certain experiences, or affects, can contribute toward the onset of aggressive feelings or behaviour. These affects can range from weather conditions (e.g. high temperatures) to unpleasant external stimuli (e.g. odours and sounds). Concurrently, the theory advocates that merely observing different types of aggressive behaviour can prompt aggression within the viewer. Given these points, an intriguing question comes to mind: might the implications of this theory be that repetitive exposure to catalysts of aggression increases a person’s inclination to be confrontational?

Aggression was significantly and positively correlated with exposure, as found in prior research. This may indicate that exposure to violent videogames is a risk factor for aggressive behavior. However, it is also possible, given the correlational nature of this and other studies, that highly aggressive individuals actively seek out more aggressive games, or that the relationship between exposure and aggression is due to some as yet unidentified third variable. It is also of note that exposure correlated most strongly with physical aggression, and showed a nonsignificant correlation for verbal aggression. This result (based on sample of men) can perhaps best be understood with reference to prior research, in which Moller and Krahe (2009) found that males were more physically aggressive than females, whereas females were more relationally aggressive than males. Further, while exposure was significantly correlated with anger, it was not correlated with hostility. The authors of the AQ defined anger as physiological arousal and preparing oneself to act in an aggressive way, whereas hostility was defined as ill will towards another individual that is not expressed violently. This suggests that playing violent games is more strongly associated with preparing to perform violent acts than with simply having ill

There are indicators that links playing violent video games to increasing aggression in young people. Teenagers who are expose to violent games are more supposable to increase the likelihood of experiencing aggressive thoughts, in which turns into the likelihood of engaging in physical aggression against another person. Furthermore, violent video games produce an emotional desensitization to aggression and violence to the youth (Anderson). Based on the observation teenagers are exposed to when they are playing violent video games, they will reenact almost immediately in real life if the situational contact is sufficiently similar to the ones in the games. Therefore, consumption of violent video games produces negative behaviors that are controlled by negative

This question judges the social effects of a repetitive sequence of medial entertainment in relation to the increase in an individual’s aggressive behavior. The violence of today’s video games are far more visually gruesome then they were ten years ago. An example is the modern popular game Goldeneye 007, whose bad guys no longer disappear in a cloud of smoke when killed. Instead they perform an elaborate maneuver when killed. For example, those shot in the neck fall to their knees and then their face while clutching at their throats. These graphic games can increase an individual’s aggressiveness by portraying the act of a murder, as in Goldeneye 007. By answering this question, we can become more aware and be able to identify possible

These results correlate highly with the social learning theory on aggressive behavior. Those exposed to substantial violence and aggression were likely to imitate it later on in life. However, while an observational study can elicit enlightening results, they do not provide much on practical, empirical evidence. What the researchers did was observe behavior exhibited by the individuals they studied; they did not control the amount of violence the individuals were being exposed nor were they preventing others from being exposed to such programming. Thus, this study can not be deemed as an “experiment”. While they tried eliminating the lurking variables that may plague the results of their findings, it would be impossible to eliminate every possible influence other than the television exposure through an observational study.

The Bobo doll study found that children were more likely to imitate violent behaviour they witnessed in a film if they perceived the behaviour would generate positive outcomes (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963). Later findings across three decades of cognitive research on the effects of learning and priming concluded thoughts are connected by similar association, with media stimuli cognitively relating to memories and responses to trigger violent schemata retrieval in real- world situations (Berkowitz, 1984; Bushman & Geen, 1990; L Rowell Huesmann & Eron, 2013). Findings in two general aggression model (GAM) studies that complement cognitive frameworks, both monitored increases in physical arousal as potential determinants for short- term violent behavior. Again, positive correlations were found following exposure to media violence.(Bushman & Anderson, 2001; Thomas, Horton, Lippincott, & Drabman, 1977).

According to E.F Dubow and L.S Miller, authors of Television Violence and Aggressive Behavior: Social Science Perspectives on Television, “Ignoring consequences of violence (including the pain of victims, the victims’ families, and the families of perpetrators) or depicting the consequences unreasonably sets in motion a destructive encoding process.” There could be found a direct correlation between aggressive behavior and violence witnessed on television. The more violence watched, the more desensitized a viewer would become. Dubow and Miller further state “viewers become [fearful] and begin to identify with the aggressors and the aggressors’ solutions to various problems.” It is this identification that causes violent behaviors to become encoded in the person’s mind when exposed to repeated violent acts. The person may then come to see the world as a bleak and sinister place. Along with this

As evidence has shown, children view many violent scenes while watching television, movies, or playing video games, but the question still remains: What psychological effect does violence in the media have on children? Research over the past 10 years has consistently shown that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and real-life aggression (Strasburger 129). Violence in the media can lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch the various programs. Of course, not all children who watch television, or movies, or play video games develop aggressive behavior. However, there is a strong correlation between media violence and aggressive behavior. A study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, examined how children's television viewing practices are related to aggressive behaviors. The results revealed that children who reported watching greater amounts of television per day had higher levels of violent behavior than children who reported lesser amounts of television viewing (Singer 1041). Witnessing violence is an important determining factor in violent behavior. The media serves as a means for children to witness violence. According to Bandura's Social Learning Theory, children imitate behavior that they see on television, especially if the person performing the behavior is attractive or if the