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PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION: MEDIA
PSYCHOLOGY
Learning Objectives
Issues to Consider
The media takes so many forms (television, magazines, newspapers, video games, the internet,
cinema, music), and we spend such a significant part of our day engaged with it in one form or
another, that it’s important to consider the impact the media has on the individual and society.
We will consider the influence of the media on anti-social and pro-social behaviour. We will then
look at the influence of television in attitude change. Finally, we will consider the phenomenon
of “celebrity” and the huge amount of time and attention that is paid to celebrities by the
media.
On completion of this topic you should be familiar with the following.
Use this list of learning objectives as a revision checklist. Cross-reference the objectives with the
Specification.
Media influences on social behaviour
Critically consider explanations of media influences on pro- and anti-social behaviour.
Discuss the effects of video games and computers on young people.
Persuasion, attitude, and change
Critically consider persuasion and attitude change, including Hovland–Yale and Elaboration
Likelihood models.
Discuss the influence of attitudes on decision making, including roles of cognitive
consistency/dissonance, and self-perception.
Outline and evaluate explanations for the effectiveness of television in persuasion.
The psychology of “celebrity”
Critically consider the attraction of “celebrity” using social psychological and evolutionary
explanations.
Outline and evaluate research into intense fandom, for example, celebrity worship, stalking.
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Media Influences on
Social Behaviour
For details, see Eysenck’s A2 Level Psychology (pages 551–567).
Explanations of Media Influences on Pro- and Anti-Social Behaviour
Fill in the blanks.
Media refers to any medium of c________________n. This includes bo____s, newspapers,
ma___________es, music, the internet, CDs, DVDs, videotapes, fi___s, and
te______________n. In this section, we are considering its influence on pro-social and antisocial behaviour and looking at explanations for why the media influences people in either
or both of these directions.
Social Learning Theory (SLT)
Fill in the blanks.
Social learning involves learning by ob_______________n and i_______________n of role
models.
What characteristics would make a role model more likely to be imitated?
•
•
•
•
•
•
RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR SLT
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ Bandura’s bobo doll studies (1961, 1965). What happened in Bandura’s bobo doll
studies to demonstrate social learning? (See A2 Level Psychology page 552 and pages
149–150 of chapter 5.)
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Disinhibition
Fill in the blanks.
Most of the time, anti-social behaviour and violent behaviour are in______________d.
However, if large amounts of violence or other anti-social behaviour is shown in the media
then it may be viewed as ac_________________le. That is, disinhibition occurs.
With respect to pro-social behaviour, inhibition is less likely to be present initially as we tend
to encourage this behaviour, but sometimes it occurs perhaps due to
em____________________nt of providing help. If, therefore, the media portrays people
being altruistic in circumstances in which people are normally reluctant to act this way then
dis_________________n may occur.
Desensitisation
Fill in the blanks.
Desensitisation involves reducing our se________________ty to violent acts. It therefore
refers to anti-social behaviour, not pro-social behaviour. This reduced sensitivity occurs if
people repeatedly view violent acts and can be empirically shown by reduced
ph_____________________al arousal in those who have previously viewed violence as
compared to those who have not seen it.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR DESENSITISATION
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ Thomas et al. (1977). How does this study demonstrate desensitisation?
Cognitive priming
Fill in the blanks.
This explanation states that cues associated with agg________________n and other antisocial behaviour, as presented in the media, may trigger anti-social thoughts and feelings,
especially of violence. The sight of g_____s, a stabbing, or a f______t—all may prime
someone to act aggressively.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR COGNITIVE PRIMING
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ Josephson (1987). How does this study demonstrate cognitive priming?
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Stereotypes and counter-stereotypes
Fill in the blanks.
The media can influence behaviour through the use of ste________________s. As presented
in the media, these can lead to the expectation that certain groups will behave in certain
ways.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR STEREOTYPES AND
COUNTER-STEREOTYPES
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ Mulac, Bradac, and Mann (1985). What gender stereotypes did they find?
Stimulation hypothesis
Fill in the blanks.
This hypothesis proposes that the media has enormous potential for ed_____________n in
many ways, including providing suitable role models for children to imitate. The most
effective way of promoting pro-so_______l behaviour is placing role mo________s in
everyday situations and providing pro-social ways of dealing with them.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR THE STIMULATION HYPOTHESIS
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ Johnston and Ettema (1986). How does this study demonstrate the stimulation
hypothesis?
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RESEARCH FINDINGS ON MEDIA EFFECTS ON PRO- AND
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Decide whether the following studies relate to the effects of the media on pro-social or
anti-social behaviour. Then cut and paste into the correct box on the following pages.
• Baran, Chase, and Courtright (1979) found that older children, aged 8–10, were more
helpful after watching pro-social episodes of The Waltons than those who had not
watched the programmes.
• Gerbner (1994) pointed out that there is a huge amount of violence shown in the media.
The average 16-year-old has seen 13,000 violent murders on TV.
• Wiegman, Kuttschreuter, and Baarda (1992) carried out a longitudinal study on the effect
of viewing pro-social behaviour on TV and found no effects on subsequent pro-social
behaviour.
• Friedrich and Stein (1973) found that American preschool children who watched episodes
of a pro-social TV programme called Mr. Rogers’ Neighbourhood were more helpful and
co-operative than children who had not seen the programmes.
• The National Television Violence Study (1997) reported that on American TV people were
not seen to suffer physical injury and the majority did not show pain during fights. In
children’s programmes, 66% showed violence as amusing, and only 5% as having longterm adverse effects.
• Leyens et al. (1975) demonstrated in a field experiment in an institution for juvenile
delinquents that those exposed to a week of violent films were more aggressive
afterwards than those exposed to exciting non-violent films. These effects were stronger
in the short term than in the long term.
• Sprafkin, Liebert, and Poulos (1975) studied the effect of watching certain episodes of
Lassie, comparing children who had seen episodes in which Lassie helps others with those
who had seen Lassie programmes without that content and those who watched a neutral
programme. The first group of children gave more time to helping distressed puppies
than either of the other groups.
• Rosenkoetter (1999) argued that pro-social television will only influence children if they
understand the moral message behind it.
• Eron (1982) and Huesmann, Lagerspetz, and Eron (1984), working in collaboration
on very long-term research into the effects of media violence on behaviour, have
consistently found a positive correlation between the amount of violent TV watched
and aggression. They found that 30-year-olds exposed to violent TV showed more
anti-social behaviour in general, some of it criminal, with a general lack of consideration
for others.
• Wood, Wong, and Chachere (1991), in a meta-analysis of 28 laboratory and field studies,
found that exposure to media violence led to more aggressive behaviour towards others,
including friends.
• Johnson and Young (2002) conducted a 17-year longitudinal study of 700 American
children and found a consistent relationship between viewed violence and aggression. For
example, children who, at age 14, had watched more than 3 hours of TV daily were, as
older teenagers, five times more likely to commit aggressive acts than those who had not.
This supports both the desensitisation and the disinhibition hypotheses.
• Rauterberg (2004) reviewed many studies of the effects of pro-social behaviour and came
to the following conclusions:
• Children exposed to pro-social TV programmes have more positive social interactions,
more self-control, and show more altruistic behaviour.
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• The effects on pro-social behaviour are stronger when the programme is followed by
discussion.
• The effects on pro-social behaviour are stronger on very young children (3–10) than on
adolescents.
• Hearold (1986) reviewed over 100 studies and commented that, although most studies
showed an effect on pro-social behaviour, most of them only looked at short-term effects
so we have little knowledge of long-term effects.
• O’Connor (1980), however, did find some long-term effects of rather different behaviour.
Children who normally avoided playing with other children did play with others after
watching a programme modelling this behaviour and the effects were long term.
• Coyne, Archer, and Eslea (2004) pointed out there has been little research done on
indirect aggression (e.g. spreading rumours). They found that in 11- to 14-year-olds, the
children copied the type of aggression they witnessed, as predicted by SLT.
• Charlton (1998), in a natural experiment, looked at the effect of the introduction of TV
onto the island of St. Helena and found no increase in any anti-social behaviour in young
children. The main factors thought to prevent television violence from influencing the
children were having a stable home, school, and community situation.
RESEARCH FINDINGS ON MEDIA EFFECTS ON
PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
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EVALUATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS ON MEDIA EFFECTS ON
PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Summarise the evaluation points below and fill in the blanks.
Ψ Findings are consistent. Which findings are consistent?
Ψ There is no evidence of lo_____g-term benefits.
Ψ They have an effect on y___________g children.
Ψ There is little evidence of any effect on older children
(ad_______________________ts).
Ψ The research has limitations. What are these?
FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF: Using theory and knowledge of the media effects on
pro-social behaviour, design a TV programme for teenagers to encourage pro-social
behaviour.
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RESEARCH FINDINGS ON MEDIA EFFECTS ON
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
EVALUATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS ON MEDIA EFFECTS ON
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Fill in the blanks and summarise the evaluation points below.
It is worth pointing out that many other forms of anti-social behaviour, such as
prej___________e, are seen in the media. It is also worth noting that there are many forms
of the media. Several newspapers regularly carry stories that can be seen to inflame
prejudiced attitudes. In addition, the limited portrayal of et______c minorities and interethnic interaction means that children develop stereotypical views of society. The effect of
the media on anti-social behaviours other than aggression has not been well researched.
Ψ Findings are consistent. Which findings are consistent?
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Ψ Findings have helped identify factors that are important in determining strength
of effects of media violence. What are these factors?
Ψ Failure to distinguish between different types of aggression. What are these
different types?
Ψ Much research is correlational, so ca_______e and e________t cannot be established.
Ψ Laboratory studies lack ec___________al validity and show only sh______t-term
effects.
Ψ Longitudinal studies do show long-term effects. What conclusion can be drawn
from longitudinal studies?
Ψ Most research based on US and Britain. How does this limit findings?
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Ψ There are large individual differences in the effects. Why are individual differences a
weakness?
Ψ Ethical concerns with research. Which issues are raised?
Effects of Video Games and Computers on Young People
Effects of violent video games
Fill in the blanks.
Anderson and Dill (2000) put forward a general ag______________on model to explain the
conditions under which playing video games may lead to aggressive behaviour. It covers
both short-term and long-term effects.
When aggressive people play a violent video game this arouses feelings of anger and bodily
ar___________l. This leads to aggressive thoughts, possibly involving revenge. The individual
then goes through an appraisal process in which he or she interprets the situation and the
con_______________es of behaving aggressively. The individual then decides whether to
behave aggressively or non-aggressively.
Notice that it is usually aggressive individuals who respond with agg_____________n. These
people have cognitions (thoughts) that encourage violent reactions and believe that the best
way of solving problems is through using aggression.
This model suggests that every time an aggressive person plays a violent video game it
reinforces the following:
• Watchfulness for en_____________s
• Aggressive a____________n against others
• Expectations that others will behave aggressively (h__________e ex_______________n
b______s)
• Positive at_______________s towards the use of violence
• Beliefs that violent solutions are eff_______________e and ap______________e
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Effects of other types of video games
Fill in the blanks.
Video games tend to reinforce unfortunate ste_______________s about gender and
race. However, Jansz and Martis (2007) found female characters appearing as often as
males in leading roles in 12 recent videos. Nevertheless, there was an emphasis on the
se_________________y of the females characters (e.g. a focus on breasts) and all the
characters were white.
Gentile and Anderson (2003) point out the positive effects of some video games in
encouraging learning and ed___________________n.
They can also help in young children’s so____________________n processes. Children who
do not play them may become socially isolated.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTS OF VIDEO GAMES AND
COMPUTERS ON YOUNG PEOPLE
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ Anderson and Bushman’s (2001) meta-analysis of the effects of violent video
games. What conclusions did they make?
Ψ Unsworth, Devilly, and Ward’s (2007) research on aggressive personalities. What
conclusion did they draw about this?
Ψ The hostile expectation bias. What is this, according to Bushman and Anderson
(2002)?
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Ψ The effect of reward and punishment. What conclusion did Carnagey and Anderson
(2005) draw about the effect of reinforcement?
Ψ Ferguson’s (2007) meta-analysis of violent video games. What did this research
find?
Ψ Realism. What impact does realism have?
Ψ Barlett, Harris, and Baldassaro’s (2007) research. What does this research show?
Ψ Addiction. Is this linked to aggression?
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EVALUATION OF THE FINDINGS ON THE EFFECTS OF VIDEO GAMES
AND COMPUTERS ON YOUNG PEOPLE
Summarise the evaluation points below.
Ψ Research findings have revealed significant information. Summarise five key
findings:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Ψ There are several limitations with the research. What are four key limitations?
1.
2.
3.
4.
FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF: Conduct internet research into famous cases of violence that
have been linked to the media, such as the Jamie Bulger case, and draw your own
conclusions on the role of the media.
CONCLUSIONS—SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Answer the following questions in your conclusions:
• Why is there such controversy over the effects of the media on anti-social behaviour?
• Why is the research on pro-social behaviour limited?
• Why is cause and effect an issue?
Using this in the exam
Describe and evaluate research into the effects of the media either pro-social or anti-social
behaviour.
(25 marks)
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Persuasion, Attitude, and Change
For details, see Eysenck’s A2 Level Psychology (pages 567–587).
Fill in the blanks.
An attitude is a po___________e or n_______________e reaction to a person, object, or
idea. It involves feelings (“I love that dress”; “He gives me the creeps”; “Chemistry is
boring”).
Persuasion can be defined as the process by which attitude ch__________e is brought
about.
The media has an important influence on attitude change, not only in the most obvious way
of ad______________g but in the images and messages it conveys. We are talking about a
whole range of attitudes from political ideologies to what to buy for dinner.
Hovland–Yale Model of Attitude Change
Fill in the blanks.
This model states that there are three major factors in attitude change:
1. The co_________________or—who or what gives the message.
2. The communication—what the m_______________e contains.
3. The re_______________nt—the person(s) at whom the message is aimed.
Comple’te the characteristics and research findings in the table:
Characteristics
The communicator
Findings
E_____________
C_____________
T______________
The communication
O____-sided or t____sided?
E________________
or non-e_________________?
The recipient
N_______ for
c____________ (NC)
S_______
S________-e____________
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The processes of attitude change
Fill in the blanks.
Hovland, Janis, and Kelley (1953) argue that people go through a series of four successive
stages in att______________e c____________e, all of which affect the degree of this change:
1. At_______________: the amount of a_________________ they pay to a message
influences the extent of influence.
2. The extent to which the co_____________________n is understood.
3. The amount of ac__________________e of the me________________e.
4. The amount of retention (m______________ry) of the message.
EVALUATION OF THE HOVLAND–YALE MODEL OF ATTITUDE CHANGE
Summarise the evaluation points below.
Ψ It has provided a useful framework for further research. Which aspects have
inspired further research?
Ψ Many specific predictions of the model have been supported. Give an example.
Ψ It has shown the importance of cognitive factors. How does it show these are
important?
Ψ It does not clearly indicate how the factors influence each other. How does this
limit the model?
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Ψ One prediction disproved. How is the prediction about self-esteem challenged?
Ψ Processing through attention, comprehension, acceptance, retention successively
is too simplistic. What are the weaknesses of a stage model?
Ψ It does not take sufficient account of internal factors. Which key factor is ignored?
The Elaboration Likelihood Model
Fill in the blanks.
It is convenient to express this model in four assumptions.
1. There are two routes to pe______________n: recipients of messages can be persuaded in
two different ways involving two distinct processing routes:
• Central route: this involves being persuaded by the me___________e itself. This is
used if the motivation and ability of the recipient are high (i.e. they are
kno_______________le and are interested in the issue).
• Peripheral route: this involves being persuaded by factors other than the message such
as by an att_____________e or celebrity communicator. This is likely to be used if there
is limited time to th_______k about the message.
2. There is a variety of reasons why certain factors are influential. When we looked at the
Hovland–Yale model, we considered various factors that may influence the
re_______________t. The Elaboration Likelihood model suggests reasons why these
factors are influential and offers a variety of reasons why they might be. For example,
Bohner (2001) points that there are a large number of reasons why an attractive model
adv_________________g shampoo may be persuasive. Give three suggestions:
1.
2.
3.
3. Individual differences in need for co__________n influence a___________e change.
Individuals high in need for cognition are motivated to make an effort when processing
information and prefer the central processing route. Those low in need for cognition are
more likely to use the c_____________l route.
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4. Central processing leads to more enduring (long-lasting) at____________e change and
more strongly held attitudes than peripheral pr____________g. This is because if we
spend a lot of t_____e considering the message itself and the arguments for and against,
the attitude is likely to be strengthened by such cognitive activity.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON THE ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ Central route versus peripheral route. How have Petty, Cacioppo, and Goldman
(1981) provided evidence for the two separate processing routes?
Ψ The effect of distraction. What did Petty, Wells, and Brock (1976) find about the effect
of distraction on processing?
Ψ Attractiveness. How does the effect of this vary depending on the strength of the
argument?
Ψ Need for cognition. What did Cacioppo et al. (1996) find about the need for this?
EVALUATION OF THE ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL
Summarise the evaluation points below and fill in the blanks.
Ψ It focuses on internal processes of attitude change. Why is this a strength?
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Ψ The notion that two routes are involved is more re_____________ic than only one
being suggested.
Ψ It emphasises the importance of contextual information. What is contextual
information?
Ψ It takes account of individual differences. Which individual difference is important?
Ψ It takes account of the notion that the im_______________e of any given factor
varies from situation to situation. Which model didn’t consider this?
Ψ Over simplification. Why is the model too simplistic?
Ψ Not clear how the ce____________l and pe_________________al processing interact.
Ψ It is difficult to predict behaviour from the model. Why are predictions difficult?
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Cognitive Consistency/Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance theory—Festinger (1957)
Fill in the blanks.
This theory explains attitude change. It states that if people hold two co_____________ns
(pieces of information) that are discrepant (at odds with each other), such as “I smoke”;
“smoking seriously damages health”, then they experience a feeling of cognitive
dis________________e—an uncomfortable emotional state, which they are motivated to
re_______e. In order to do this, they can either ch_________ge one or both of the
cognitions or introduce a new one, and this may lead to attitude change. For example, in
the example above, a new cognition to reduce dissonance could be “I could go under a bus
tomorrow, so I may as well carry on smoking”.
Festinger (1957) argued that people often change attitudes to reduce the dissonance
between be_____________r and at_____________e. In other words, the behaviour
determines the attitude, not the attitude determines the behaviour.
Explain how the following two studies support the argument that behaviour determines the
attitude:
Ψ Gibbon, Eggleston, and Benthin’s (1997) research with smokers.
Ψ Faller, Schilling, and Lang’s (1995) research with smokers with lung cancer.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
Fill in the blanks and summarise the research evidence below.
A lot of the following studies are based on two methods:
• Induced compliance: Persuading people to behave in a way that is inc_______________t
with their attitudes.
• Effort justification: Making people put a great deal of e________t into some trivial activity
so they have to ju____________y this.
Ψ Festinger and Carlsmith (1959). How did they study effort justification?
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Ψ Aronson and Mills (1959). How did they study induced compliance?
Ψ Burris, Harmon-Jones, and Tarpley (1997). How did they study induced compliance?
EVALUATION OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY AND RESEARCH
Summarise the evaluation points below.
Ψ It has been applied successfully to numerous situations. What evidence is there for
cognitive dissonance in real-life behaviour?
Ψ There is much research support. How strongly is the theory supported?
Ψ It has shown that behaviour sometimes causes attitudes. Why only sometimes?
Ψ There is research evidence against. Which study has been hard to replicate?
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Ψ It may only apply to individualistic cultures. Why may the theory be culturally
relative?
Ψ It ignores individual differences. What are these individual differences?
Ψ People are more tolerant of cognitive dissonance than the theory assumes. What
does this mean? Give examples where we know our behaviour does not match our
attitude.
Ψ It is less successful than self-perception theory at explaining some findings.
Which findings?
Self-perception Theory (SPT)—Bem (1972)
Fill in the blanks.
SPT argues that, on some occasions, we work out our at___________s from our own
be____________ur—we perceive our own behaviour and draw conclusions from it. This only
occurs if the attitude is weak or ambiguous (e.g. I’ve eaten a lot of oranges, I must like
them). This differs from cognitive dissonance theory in two ways:
• It does not assume that a ne_____________e state needs to exist for attitudes to change.
• It argues that we infer our attitudes from behaviour rather than we k_____w them
already.
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RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR SELF-PERCEPTION THEORY
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ Salancik and Conway’s (1975) religious observance research. What did this study
find?
Ψ The foot-in-the-door technique. How does this support the role of self-perception?
Ψ Guadagno et al.’s (2001) contradictory research. How does this research contradict
the theory?
EVALUATION OF SELF-PERCEPTION THEORY
Fill in the blanks and summarise the evaluation points below.
Ψ There is evidence that attitudes can change without dis______________e being
felt.
Ψ There is evidence that attitudes are sometimes inferred from be_____________r,
especially when those attitudes are w______k.
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Ψ It can explain the f______t-in-the-d________r technique.
Ψ We often do not use our behaviour to infer our attitudes. When are we less likely
to use our behaviour?
Ψ It does not take sufficient account of individual differences. What are these
individual differences?
Explanations for the Effectiveness of Television in Persuasion
RESEARCH INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TV IN CHANGING ATTITUDES
Summarise the research evidence below and fill in the blanks.
Ψ TV adverts are remembered the best. Why?
Ψ Trustworthiness of the source. How does this influence whether TV, radio, or written
material is most effective?
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Ψ Difficulty of the message. Which media is best when the message is difficult to
understand and why?
Ψ The effect of TV on strong opinions. What did Slater, Rouner, and Long (2006) find?
All these studies demonstrate that there is no simple an_____________r to the question “Is
TV the most effective way of changing attitudes?”, because the so_________e, the
me__________ge itself, and various other factors have to be taken into consideration.
Cultivation Theory—Gerbner et al. (1986)
Fill in the blanks.
This theory assumes that:
• TV provides a systematically dis_____________d view of reality (e.g. it shows a lot more
violent crime than actually occurs, a lot more bad news).
• Long-term TV viewing causes viewers’ attitudes to become similarly distorted (e.g. they
believe that more violent crime exists than really does and that they are in more danger of
suffering the effects of crime than they really are). This distortion of views is the
cu_________________n ef____t.
This means that the effect of TV is very ge___________al—it shapes a great many general
attitudes and beliefs (e.g. that the world is a dangerous place full of criminals).
RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR CULTIVATION THEORY
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ The amount of violence on TV. How do Gerbner et al. (1986) use this as evidence of a
distortion effect?
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Ψ Heavy TV viewers. What did Shrum (1999) find out about these?
Ψ Shrum’s (1999) natural experiment. What was found in this study?
Ψ Awareness of TV as the source of the information. How does this influence the
cultivation effect?
EVALUATION OF CULTIVATION THEORY
Summarise the evaluation points below and fill in the blank.
Ψ There is supporting evidence. How strongly is cultivation theory supported?
Ψ It has shown the long-term ef_________ts of TV viewing.
Ψ Most of the research is correlational so does not show cause and effect. Why not?
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Ψ The theory is descriptive not explanatory. What does this mean?
Ψ The attitudes formed in this way may not be deep-seated. Why not?
Agenda setting and priming
Fill in the blanks.
This theory states that by systematically highlighting certain issues whilst ignoring others, TV
puts forward an ag__________a and primes people to hold certain attitudes. This then
influences the standards by which governments and policies are judged. This applies mainly
to news bro__________________ts.
In sum, this theory states that that TV influences w_____t we think (agenda setting) and
also helps to determine the factors influencing w____ we come to hold attitudes.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR AGENDA SETTING AND PRIMING
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ The 1968 US presidential campaign. What did McCombs and Shaw (1972) find out
about the TV coverage? But why does this research not demonstrate cause and effect?
Ψ TV news broadcasts. How did Iyengar and Kinder (1987) demonstrate cause and effect?
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Ψ The priming effect. How did Krosnick and Kinder (1990) find evidence of this?
EVALUATION OF RESEARCH INTO AGENDA SETTING AND PRIMING
Summarise the evaluation points below.
Ψ There is evidence that TV does set the agenda and prime viewers. How strong is
the evidence for this?
Ψ The important terms are imprecise. What does the theory not clearly differentiate?
Ψ It is descriptive rather than explanatory. What does the theory not explain?
Ψ It does not explain why some attitudes are liable to greater change than others.
How does this limit the theory?
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FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF: Choose a topical issue and explain how attitudes to this issue
could be improved using what you have learnt about attitude change and persuasion.
CONCLUSIONS—SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Answer the following questions in your conclusions:
• What works and what doesn’t in terms of attitude change, according to the theories and
research?
• Which types of attitude change do cognitive dissonance and self-perception theory best
account for?
• What message would you give to TV broadcasters based on what we know about the
effect of TV on attitudes?
Using this in the exam
(a) Describe one model of attitude change.
(9 marks)
(b) Evaluate theories that seek to explain the influence of attitudes on decision
making, including the roles of cognitive consistency/dissonance and/or
self-perception.
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(16 marks)
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The Psychology of “Celebrity”
For details, see Eysenck’s A2 Level Psychology (pages 587–603).
Fill in the blanks.
A celebrity is a person of distinction or f_____e. Celebrity attraction has always existed but
two factors have brought it to particular attention more recently:
1. There has been a huge increase in the n___________r of celebrities, mainly due to the
media.
2. There has been a large increase in the number of “or__________y” people who are now
considered to be celebrities. This is largely due to “re_________y” TV so is also related to
the media.
What three dimensions of celebrity worship are identified by Maltby et al (2006)?
1.
2.
3.
Explanations for the Attraction of “Celebrity”
Social psychological explanations
Fill in the blanks.
These explanations attempt to account for the attraction of ce__________ty as a means of
deriving pleasure from a “pr__________d” relationships that is less de____________g than a
real one. Such relationships are known as parasocial relationships—one-sided relationships
in which one person makes a large emotional in__________________nt whilst the other
makes none and is probably unaware of the fan’s existence.
Theorists point to ways in which these resemble “real” relationships:
1. Thomson (2006) suggested that parasocial relationships fulfil some of the main needs
fulfilled by real relationships: that of the need for relatedness, competence (a sense of
mastery and achievement), and independence.
2. Eyal and Cohen (2006) found that there was emotional intensity expressed at the end of
such a relationship (they looked at viewers’ responses to the last episode of Friends).
FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF: What do you think are the similarities and differences
between real and parasocial relationships?
Similarities
Differences
One of the attractions of celebrities is that only the most att____________e of the person’s
traits are shown, unlike in “real” relationships.
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RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS
Summarise the research evidence and evaluation points below.
Ψ Personality types. Which types are most likely to have a parasocial relationship?
Ψ Age. Which age groups are most likely to have a parasocial relationship?
Ψ Real-life social networks. How are these linked to parasocial relationships?
Ψ Attachment types. How are these linked to parasocial relationships?
EVALUATION OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS
Summarise the evaluation points below.
Ψ Supporting evidence of similarity to real relationships. In what key way are they
similar?
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Ψ Supporting evidence of personality traits. Which personality traits are supported by
evidence?
Ψ Oversimplification. Why are the personality explanations too simplistic?
Ψ Individuals may not have consistent attachment style across all relationships.
How does this limit the attachment type explanation?
Evolutionary explanations
Fill in the blanks.
The evolutionary approach to explaining celebrity attraction proposes that the people
worshipped represent the type of person with whom they would want a se___________l
re__________________p in real life. For both sexes this is a person who can best help them
to pass on their g______s. For evolutionary reasons, men and women value different
characteristics in potential mates. Women desire men of high re__________s in secure jobs,
who are willing to co_________t, in other words, someone who can support them during
pr_______________y and child rearing. Men desire healthy, att_____________e women of
child-bearing age.
In the world of parasocial relationships, unlike the real world, both sexes are free to select
partners who pe______________y match their desires.
In addition, in evolutionary terms it is important to know the difference between familiar
people and strangers since the latter might pose a threat. By being seen regularly on screen,
celebrities become fa________________ar and hence can become attractive potential
“partners”.
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RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATIONS
Summarise the research evidence below.
Ψ High social status. What evidence is there for a gender difference in preference for this
in the admired celebrity?
Ψ Gender difference in variability of judgements of attractiveness. How does this
support evolutionary explanations?
Ψ Lonely hearts ads (Waynforth & Dunbar, 1995). How do these support evolutionary
explanations?
Ψ “Healthiness of women”. What did Anderson et al. (1992) discover about this?
Ψ Celebrities as friends (Ackerman, Kenrick, & Schaller, 2007). Which aspect of the
evolutionary theory does this support?
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RESEARCH EVIDENCE AGAINST EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATIONS
Summarise the research evidence below.
• McCutcheon (2002). How does this study challenge evolutionary explanations?
EVALUATION OF EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATIONS
Summarise the evaluation points below.
Ψ Evidence supports the theory. How well are evolutionary explanations supported?
Ψ Evidence against. Which study provides evidence against?
Ψ There are other explanations for the findings. What are these other explanations?
Ψ The basic premise is dubious. Why is the evolutionary basis that all behaviour evolved
to perpetuate the genes questionable?
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Ψ It cannot predict who is chosen as a celebrity. Why not?
Ψ It cannot account for why the majority are not attracted to celebrities. Why
should celebrity worship be universal if evolutionary explanations are valid?
Research into Intense Fandom
Fill in the blanks.
Many people admire celebrities and this is usually a harmless (even beneficial) pastime but
sometimes this goes further and results in an unhealthy obs______________n with them.
This can take various forms: we will look at celebrity worship and at stalking.
Celebrity worship
Fill in the blanks.
Rosenblatt, Walsh, and Jackson (1976) showed that when a celebrity dies, people who
worship him or her experience ber___________________nt similar to that experienced when
a close family member dies.
Erotomania is a mental disorder in which the individual has de______________ns that
someone of a higher status (usually a celebrity) has fallen in love with him or her and has
made romantic advances. Kennedy et al. (2002) listed various characteristics of sufferers
(these refer to the majority; they are not shown by all).
What do you think these characteristics might be?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Cheng et al. (2007) pointed out the danger of celebrity worship. Following the suicide by
hanging of a famous Taiwanese actor, rates of attempted su____________e rose by 55% in
the following 3 weeks, with many of these reporting that they wanted to follow in his
fo______________ps.
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FINDINGS OF RESEARCH INTO CELEBRITY WORSHIP
Several individual characteristics have been linked to celebrity worship.
Ψ Personality traits. Which personality traits are associated with which dimensions of
celebrity worship? Fill in the table below.
Dimension of celebrity worship
Personality characteristics
Entertainment
Intense–personal
Borderline–pathological
Ψ Cognitive functioning. How have levels of education and intelligence been linked to
celebrity worship?
Explanations of celebrity worship
Fill in the blanks.
Absorption–addiction model
McCutcheon et al. (2002) put forward this model, which applies to individuals with a weak
sense of id_____________y and consists of two stages.
Find out what the two stages are.
Stage 1:
Stage 2:
EVALUATION OF THE RESEARCH INTO CELEBRITY WORSHIP
Summarise the evaluation points below.
Ψ There is supporting evidence. What evidence do Houran, Navik, and Zerrusen (2005)
provide?
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Ψ Research has important findings. What significant findings has the research identified?
1.
2.
3.
Ψ Research has limitations:
• Correlational criticisms. What are these criticisms?
• Different processes for different types of celebrity worship. What might the
different processes be?
• Descriptive rather than explanatory. What does the absorption–addiction model fail
to explain?
Stalking
Fill in the blanks.
A stalker can be defined as someone who obsessively fo__________s another person, often
with a sinister purpose. Repeated unwanted behaviour that frightens the victim constitutes
stalking, regardless of the previous re_________________ip between the stalker and the
victim. Most stalking does not involve celebrities.
Cupach and Spitzberg (2004) identified eight different categories of stalking, including
surveillance, har_________________nt, intimidation, ag________________n, and mediated
contacts. Mediated contacts are attempts at communication with the victim via
te___________________es such as email and the internet, sometimes known as
c________r-stalking.
Spitzberg and Cupach (2007) reviewed 175 studies of stalking and found that:
• _______% of individuals have experienced stalking; females were more likely than males
to be stalked.
• Stalking lasts an average of _____ months.
• In ______% of cases, stalker and victim knew each other beforehand.
• In ______% of cases this was a romantic relationship.
A very important aspect of these findings is they clearly show that stalkers are not totally
in__________e or ps_____________________ths.
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Motives for stalking: Why?
Spitzberg and Cupach (2007) list four possible motives for stalking and give the percentages
of each in their sample (these do not cover all motives, hence the total is not 100%).
What do you think these motives might be? Compare your ideas with Spitzberg and
Cupach’s findings.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fill in the blanks.
This led to these important conclusions:
• Most stalkers are not me_____________ly ill.
• Stalkers vary enormously in m_____________s, so not all are alike.
• The precise pattern of m_________s also varies widely from stalker to stalker.
• They are not all motivated by re____________e or l____________e.
Personality factors: who?
Ψ Kamphuis, Emmelkamp, and de Vries (2004). Which factors are identified as
characteristics of stalkers?
Ψ Loss of attachments. What evidence do Kienlen et al. (1997) provide for this?
Ψ Attachment type. What did Lewis et al. (2001) find?
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Ψ Preoccupied attachment. What is this and how has it been linked to stalking?
Ψ Spitzberg and Cupach (2007) and preoccupied attachment. What did this review
find?
Processes leading to stalking: goal pursuit theory
Spitzberg and Cupach (2007) advanced goal pursuit theory, which identifies three main
stages of stalking.
What does each stage involve?
1. Goal linking:
2. Rumination and emotional flooding:
3. Enhanced motivation:
Fill in the blanks.
Dutton-Greene (2004) and Cupach et al. (2006) provide evidence in support of the theory.
Both studies showed links between inability to c_____e with the end of a relationship and
excessive ru_________________n and emotional fl__________________g.
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Violence in stalking
Fill in the blanks.
Generally, the stronger the previous relationship between the victim and stalker, the greater
the likelihood of vi________________e. This is consistent with goal pursuit theory. There is
no evidence that stalkers with a serious m____________l disorder are more likely to use
physical violence than other stalkers, indeed stalkers diagnosed with psychosis are less likely
to be violent towards their victim. Aggression is more closely linked to the
re_________________p of stalker and victim rather than to pe_________________ity.
FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF: Design an interview that could be used to assess fandom
within the normal population. Students draw out contrasts between this and intense
fandom.
CONCLUSIONS—SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Answer the following questions in your conclusions:
• How do social psychological explanations account for our interest in celebrities?
• How do evolutionary explanations account for our interest in celebrities?
• How does research and the absorption–addiction model account for intense fandom?
• What conclusions can be drawn about violence and stalking?
Using this in the exam
Discuss what psychological research has shown about intense fandom and/or
celebrity worship.
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(25 marks)
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Example Essay Plan
Discuss research into the effect of video games on young people. (25 marks)
The marking is broken down into three sets of criteria, AO1, AO2, and AO3, but this is not how
you should write your essay. The essay should include all these criteria in a holistic way—e.g. as
you write about each piece of research consider contradictory evidence and be able to comment
on the validity of the research.
AO1 (9 marks)
A general but accurate description of the research into the effect of video games on young
people is needed. There are 9 marks so at least three or four studies are probably the best way
to access the marks. Alternatively, one or two could be done in more depth but you would need
a lot of detail to access all of the marks.
AO2 (12 marks)
Commentary and evaluation of the research is needed. Consider the strengths and weaknesses
of the evidence.
AO3 (4 marks)
Evaluation of the research could include methodological and ethical criticisms. Reductionism and
determinism could also be considered.
Remember the mark allocation (9 AO1 and 16 AO2/AO3) and write accordingly.
So the essay could be structured in the following way.
Introduce the essay with a brief statement
This could be to the effect that most research and theory has concentrated on the effects of
violent video games, so you will mainly cover this. A good starting point is Anderson and Dill’s
(2000) General Aggression Model, which should be described in this paragraph.
Discuss personality characteristics
Go on to mention what the model says happens when aggressive people play a violent video
game—it reinforces watchfulness for enemies, etc.
Use research evidence as support
For example, the findings of Anderson and Bushman (2001), which support the model. Now
mention other effects of video games (reinforcing certain stereotypes, etc.) This should be fairly
brief as there is a lot more to get through.
Use research as AO2
Make sure you present it as supporting/contradicting an argument or theory. Particularly useful
is Bushman and Anderson (2002), because you can introduce the hostile expectation bias, and
Ferguson (2007), because it is a meta-analysis and also covers recent research. Cover the other
2007 studies as well since they all have interesting and relevant findings and can be mentioned
very briefly.
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Evaluate the research
Emphasise the positive aspect, that the research has significant findings, and mention some of
them. Now cover the limitations of the research—artificiality, short-term effects, correlational
criticisms, ethics, and so on. Note some of these points will be credited as AO3.
Conclude by saying why the research is important
It is important because many youngsters (and some older people) spend a good deal of time
playing video games and many of them are very violent and contain negative stereotypes.
However, the answers are not simple. One factor that always needs to be taken into
consideration is the large degree of individual differences there are in the effects these games
have on people.
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