Event Title
Faculty Sponsor
Jennifer Ruh Linder
Location
Jereld R. Nicholson Library
Date
5-11-2012 3:00 PM
End Date
5-11-2012 4:30 PM
Subject Area
Psychology (general)
Description
Correlational and experimental research indicates that relationally aggressive media exposure is associated with increased aggression (e.g., Coyne, Archer, & Eslea, 2004; Coyne et al., 2008; 2011). The General Aggression Model (GAM) (Anderson & Bushman, 2002) suggests that cognitions about aggression mediate the relationship between aggressive media exposure and subsequent behavior, but little research has examined this possibility in regards to relationally aggressive media. The goals of this study were (1) to examine the short-term effects of viewing relationally aggressive media on hostile response generation in women, and (2) to examine whether pre-existing relational aggression moderates these effects. 158 college women were randomly assigned to view either a relationally aggressive or neutral movie clip. After viewing, participants read 5 vignettes that described interpersonal conflicts, and then were asked to generate a behavioral response to each scenario. There was a significant interaction of type of movie clip viewed and pre-existing relational aggression. Specifically, watching the relationally aggressive movie clip caused participants who were high on relational aggression to generate significantly more hostile responses than those low on relational aggression. These findings provide evidence that relationally aggressive media exposure affects cognitive processes underlying aggressive behavior, but that these short-term effects are moderated by individual differences in aggression. Implications for future research are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Emily R. and Coyne, Sarah, "The Short-Term Effects of Viewing Relationally Aggressive Media on Hostile Cognitions in College Women" (2012). Science and Social Sciences. Event. Submission 25.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/studsymp_sci/2012/all/25
The Short-Term Effects of Viewing Relationally Aggressive Media on Hostile Cognitions in College Women
Jereld R. Nicholson Library
Correlational and experimental research indicates that relationally aggressive media exposure is associated with increased aggression (e.g., Coyne, Archer, & Eslea, 2004; Coyne et al., 2008; 2011). The General Aggression Model (GAM) (Anderson & Bushman, 2002) suggests that cognitions about aggression mediate the relationship between aggressive media exposure and subsequent behavior, but little research has examined this possibility in regards to relationally aggressive media. The goals of this study were (1) to examine the short-term effects of viewing relationally aggressive media on hostile response generation in women, and (2) to examine whether pre-existing relational aggression moderates these effects. 158 college women were randomly assigned to view either a relationally aggressive or neutral movie clip. After viewing, participants read 5 vignettes that described interpersonal conflicts, and then were asked to generate a behavioral response to each scenario. There was a significant interaction of type of movie clip viewed and pre-existing relational aggression. Specifically, watching the relationally aggressive movie clip caused participants who were high on relational aggression to generate significantly more hostile responses than those low on relational aggression. These findings provide evidence that relationally aggressive media exposure affects cognitive processes underlying aggressive behavior, but that these short-term effects are moderated by individual differences in aggression. Implications for future research are discussed.
Comments
Presenters: Emily Anderson and Jennifer Linder
1st place award