Psychology and the New Media - Week 1 summary [UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM]

Media refers to any method of communication, other than one to one interactions, which is facilitated by some type of technology. There is a distinction between the content of the message and the means by which it is communicated although it is both important. According to McLuhan, the medium is an extension of the body. The medium has as much influence as the message itself. It influences how intensively someone processes a message.

A cold medium is a medium which requires a lot of imagination to simulate one-to-one interaction. A hot medium is a medium which is very rich in information and does not require that a lot is added. Media literacy refers to sorting out reliable, useful information from junk, marketing and lies. Media blindness refers to being unable to locate the source of the information we acquire and confuse our actual experiences with mediated experiences.

The media effects approach in research focuses on the effects media imposes on the individual. However, there is not a fully developed theoretical rationale and low ecological validity. The excitation transfer theory states that media raises adrenaline in people without people recognizing the source of heightened excitement. This leads people to overreact in certain situations.

The hypodermic needle theory states that the media injects itself into the brain to influence an individual. This theory is based on the effects propaganda can have on a society which mainly uses one form of mass media. However, people become increasingly media literate.

The uses and gratification theory (U&G) states that the individual is a media user rather than a passive observer. The media user is an active agent which seeks out certain media for gratification and rejects other media. Media dependency can be the result of seeking out gratification using media although group demands are often given priority in media use.

The cultivation theory states that media gradually cultivate certain views and values in their audiences over time (i.e. cumulative effect of media). The active audience theory states that media users read media in different ways and not always in the way intended or expected by media producers.

The social presence theory states that interpersonal attitudes are mainly communicated non-verbally (e.g. phone is not good for communication of social information but it is good for task-related information).

Mainstreaming refers to the gradual convergence of world views among different cultures. Resonance refers to media messages resonating with an individual which strengthens the effect on their personal beliefs. Active externalism states that the boundary between the brain and the environment is arbitrary and the brain and environment are dynamic cognitive systems.

Laptop use during lectures can be detrimental due to limited capacity (1), the fact that multi-tasking is involved (2) and differences in encoding between writing and laptop use (3). Taking notes with a pen is more effective as long as it is not taken down verbatim.

The web has multimedia (2), hypertext (2), interactivity (3), anonymity (4) and synchronicity (5). The web 2.0 refers to the web where the network is the platform and the user generates the content. In this web, there is profit on data rather than software. The web 4.0 refers to the internet of things and this is an extensive integration of online and offline.

The general aggression model (GAM) is a general framework with which the influence of the content of a medium on the viewer can be mapped. According to this model, the medium can lead to hostile expectations (1), dehumanisation (2) and desensitisation of violence (3) through the routes of affect and arousal and accessibility. There is a lot of violence in the media which would give a false image of reality of how prevalent violence is. The input of the general aggression model can be violent or pro-social. The characteristics of the viewer are also relevant to the effects of media violence.

The catalyst model states that individuals genetically predisposed to aggression and violence will be more likely to consume violent media and will be more easily provoked by violence when experiencing environmental stress. Competitiveness, rather than aggression could explain several methodological flaws of the measurements for aggression.

Media violence refers to the overt expression of physical force against others or self or the compelling of action against one’s will on pain of being hurt or killed. However, there is no consensus on the effects of media on violence, partially due to methodological issues. Media violence consumed at a young age predicts aggression at an old age and the media violence consumed at an old age. However, aggression in young age does not predict media violence consumed at an old age. The relationship between exposure to media violence and real-life aggression cannot be explained by aggressive individuals seeking out violent programmes. The consequences (1), realism and context (2) and characteristics of the viewer (3) may strengthen or weaken the impact of media violence.

The short-term consequences of media violence could be a change in existing knowledge structures through priming. The long-term consequences of media violence could be chronic accessibility to aggressive scripts. The link between exposure to violent videogames and aggressive behaviour is mediated by aggressive expectations of interaction partners.

There is desensitisation to media violence after repeated exposure to violent stimuli. There is a lot of controversy regarding the effects of media violence. There are potentially a lot of methodological flaws. However, the consensus appears to be that the media content influences violence in the manner predicted by the general aggression model.

There is controversy about the effects of media on violence because of the lack of evidence for a causal relationship (1), the lack of generalizability (2), the limited effect sizes (3), the idea of catharsis (4) and the question of whether people should check for third variables (5). The hostile expectation bias refers to the fact that the link between exposure to violent games and aggressive behaviour is mediated by aggressive expectations of interaction partners.

Men are more aggressive toward women after listening to misogynistic music. However, listening to pro-social music leads to less accessible aggressive cognitions (1), less positive attitudes about violence (2) and less aggressive behaviour (3). There is an increased intention to make risky decisions (1), increased accessibility of positive risk-related constructs (2) and increased risky behaviour (3) as a result of risk-glorifying media.

There are several factors that influence the effect of the medium on a construct (e.g. violence):

1. The effects of media violence are greater when there are no or positive consequences.
2. The effects of media violence are smaller when there are negative consequences.
3. The effects of media violence are greater with a higher score on the trait aggressiveness.
4. The effects of media on cognition are stronger when there is active participation (i.e. interactivity) (e.g. gaming)
5. The effects of media on cognition are stronger when the technology is immersive and realistic.
6. The effects of media on cognition are influenced by contextual factors (e.g. playing alone or with friends).
7. People with high neuroticism (1), low agreeableness (2) and low conscientiousness (3) gives higher vulnerability to the impact of video games.
8. Children are more sensitive to media messages.
9. The effects of media on cognition are greater when there is a greater identification with the model.

According to the social learning theory, characters in the media are models and viewers imitate behaviour that is rewarded. The formation of scripts is based on television images. The short-term effects occur when the viewer mimics the behaviour displayed on screen. The long-term effects occur when habitual, aggressive behaviour results from regular observation and imitation.

The scripts theory states that people hold a wide range of cognitive scripts which guide behaviour and existing scripts are stored in memory but can continue to develop as the person observes new behaviour and expands their range of experience. Television can create new scripts and reinforce existing scripts.

There are more positive affect and less hostility after playing a pro-social videogame. The opposite pattern holds for an aggressive videogame. There is an increased degree of arousal immediately after exposure to videogames and there is desensitisation to videogames over time.

There are several common fallacies:

1. Confirmation bias
   This is the selective and convenient use of information that aligns with one’s belief.
2. Availability heuristic
   This is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of easily accessible information.
3. Ad hominem attacks
   This is using personal attacks in order to disregard the person’s argument without adequately evaluating it.
4. Straw man
   This is purposefully distorting an argument in order to make them easier to refute.
5. False dilemma
   This is suggesting that there are only two, mutually exclusive sides in a debate.
6. Golden mean fallacy
   This is suggesting that the truth may be a compromise between two conflicting sides.
7. Assimilation bias
   This is the tendency to interpret inconclusive research as providing support for one’s position.