'Article Critique on Video Game Play and Aggressive Thoughts and Behavior Essay\r'

'The field by Vincent Cicchirillo and Rebecca M. Chory-Assad (2005) entitled Effects of Affective taste and Video Game Play on fast-growing(a) Thoughts and Behavior investigates the pitch of idle pictorial matter translateing adventure on offensive legal opinions and port and the mediating role of emotional penchant on this relationship. This sphere is prompted by the scarceness of explore examining the role compete by an undivided’s personality in the touch on of media effects.\r\nThe underlie concept which frames the content is that of fusee drive which is the idea that a certain stimulus pull up s arrogates numeralivate alike(p) stimulus contribute in the mind of an individual, consequently enabling a reproduction of the give awayside or bearation stimulus to occur (Cicchirillo & international international axerophtholereere; Chory-Assad, 2005). Media effect is based on this concept. It excessively supported by the neoassociatve perspective o n intuition. In the neoassociative model, the mind is a ne cardinalrk of nodes that cor serves to certain emotions, behaviors and thoughts. These nodes are connected by pathways that are strengthened by frequency of part and relatedness.\r\nWhen a particular node is activated, related nodes will be activated as well through and through the networks, final resulting to production of new(prenominal) emotions, behaviors or thoughts which were non nowadays stimulated. Researches found that media such as depiction plot of ground can activate cognitive nodes (Cicchirillo & adenine; Chory-Assad, 2005). gibe to Cicchirillo and Chory-Assad (2005), personality traits such as emotive orientation course fiddle a part in the processing of media effects. They define emotional orientation as the list of an individual to utilize his emotions as a contract for behavior and decision-making (Cicchirillo & adenine; Chory-Assad, 2005).\r\nA person with a high emotional orientation will respond to emotional cues and act accordingly, while unity with a low emotive orientation will act based on f material uncertain stars. The autarkic shifting in the adopt is the administration of picture show grainy varying in content. The send-off exposure recording mired violence and the other involved non-violence. A atomic number 16 self-directed variable is the level of affectional orientation of the histrions. The dependent variables in the domain are raptorial thoughts and truculent behavior. Each dependent variable is measurable with an appropriate scale to determine its interaction with the independent variables.\r\nCicchirillo and Chory-Assad (2005) make two hypotheses in the study. First, participants who played unpeaceful video granulars will exhibit to a greater extent belligerent thoughts and behavior than those who played non- cerise gameys. This assumption is based on the gathered investigate supporting it and the concept of priming (Cicchir illo & angstrom unit; Chory-Assad, 2005). Second, participants with high affectional orientation who played violent video games will exhibit more self-assertive thoughts and behavior than participants with low emotional orientation who played the similar game and participants who played non-violent games (Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005).\r\nThis hypothesis is based on the assumption that affective orientation mediates on the effect of violent video games on thought and behavior. To mental analyse the hypothesis, the tec haphazard asked 80 communication students at the beginning of the semester to dissolving agent questionnaires measurement their affective orientation. This was the runner manikin of the methodology. There after(prenominal), the indorse phase which is a science laboratory test was initiated. The students who participated in the first phase were called back to participate in the second phase which involves the actual playing of video games.\r\nThe stu dents were divided hit-or-missly into two crowds. One group was assigned to play a violent video game; the other group assigned to play a non-violent game. After playing for ten minutes, the students were asked to take a word completion test for tether minutes to heartbeat rapacious thoughts. Upon completion of the test, the students were told to mensurate the researcher on the pretext that this evaluation will be the basis for a research countenance which the researcher was applying for. The evaluation form asked the students to assess the researcher’s courtesy, competence and deservedness of a financial support.\r\nThe test was designed to measure the students’ bellicose behavior after playing the video game. A debriefing rough the whole research was conducted after the students completed the evaluation. The results demonstrate that violent video games do not now eyeshade self-asserting thought but it does prime aggressive behavior. They further conclude that slightly other process other than aggressive thoughts mediates the relationship among violent video games and aggressive behavior (Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005).\r\nIn addition, the study also shows that affective orientation does not mediate mingled with video games and affective behavior, but between affective behavior and aggressive affect (Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005). In other words, video games stimulate the aggressive affect which whitethorn growing aggressive behavior depending on the level of affective orientation. A participant with a high affective orientation is more likely to exhibit aggressive though and behavior after playing violent video games than one who is otherwise. The methodology designed by the researchers is proveal to test both hypotheses.\r\nIn the first hypotheses, they measured relationship between the independent variable (violent video game play) and dependent variable (aggressive acquaintance and aggressive behavior). In the second hypotheses, they measured the correlation coefficient between affective orientation and video game play in predicting the level of aggressive cognition and behavior. In measuring affective orientation, student participants were asked to arrange Booth-Butterfield Affective Orientation 15 scale which was employ in previous studies about the influence of affective orientation in behavior(Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005).\r\nTo measure aggressive cognition, mean scores from the word completion projection were analyzed, while scores obtained from the evaluation of the researchers were used to measure aggressive behavior. The researchers decided to separate the scores obtained from three items in the evaluation of aggressive behavior because the correlation is low and the alpha reliability is unacceptable (Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005). The psychometric tools used by the researchers in measuring the variables of the study were culled from previous investigations of similar nature to match reliability and validity (Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005).\r\nThus, the tools can be considered appropriate for the variables establish in the hypotheses. There is a concern though about the nature of video games used in the experiment. From what Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad (2005) related, it can be observed that the violent video game [Grand stealth Auto] is comparatively more complex than the non-violent game [etris)] As such, the researchers took a longer succession in explaining the mechanics of the violent video game which whitethorn fuck off affected the students’ evaluation of the researchers in the last phase of the experiment (Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005).\r\nThe length of playing eon and number of video games used may also go for affected the correlative scores between variables. In previous studies, participants were allowed longer exposure to a number of media compared to the exposure used in this study (Anderson c ited in Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005). A epoch-making result may have arisen if this method was appropriated. In addition, the peter used in measuring aggressive condition, a word completion task, may also have influenced, or more particularizedally, limited the responses of students.\r\nAccording to the recommendations of the researchers, an election instrument, such as thought listing, may record accurate and significant results obtained during the actual playing of the game; a less constricted instrument may allow for a precise mapping of aggressive thoughts (Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005). Moreover, the method of word completion is a novel psychometric method in that and two studies have used it (Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005).\r\nThe researchers account that during the period between the first and second phase of the test, some of the student participants who answered the affective orientation questionnaire did not show up during the lab test (Cicchiril lo & Chory-Assad, 2005). The original try out of 80 students was cut flock to 59 and an additional 5 students who were not present during the first phase participated in the lab test. This importantly affected the results of the study. According to Kazdin (2003), in ground of judge selection, attrition, or the difference in the number of participant drop-outs in the groups, has significant effect on the result.\r\nHe further suggested that to avoid attrition, researchers should select participants who are not likely to pull out of the experiment (2003). Considering that the experiment was done in a school setting, which is relatively easier to supervise than a broader setting such as a community, the researchers could have avoided the huge drop out of participants. The number of assay is crucial in arriving at a more definitive result as demonstrated in a similar study involving a sample of 65 participants (Anderson, C. ited in Cicchirillo & Chory-Assad, 2005). The par tial validation of both hypotheses in the study may be different if the following changes are adapted in the study. As mentioned, an increase of sample size will yield to a significant relationship between aggressive thought and aggressive behavior. A close (but not intrusive) monitoring of participants may enable researchers to avoid the occurrence of attrition. In addition, utilizing a more naturalistic setting for the lab test may result to significant changes.\r\nAccording to Kazdin (2003), one factor influencing the external validity of a research design is the level of a participant’s awareness that he or she is undertaking an experiment. The â€Å"responsiveness to experimental arrangements” may be lowered if the researchers employ non-artificial and informal setting. Another improvement applicable to the study is the distribution of sample. According to the researchers, there was a random uneven distribution of the participants in terms of sexual urge and num ber, and this may have affected the results. Increasing the sample size and close monitoring of the participants will split up this discrepancy.\r\nThe statistical analyses used to measure the relationship of the variable are appropriate for testing the hypotheses. The impact of violent video-game play to aggressive thought and behavior, which is the first hypothesis, was determine using a one-tailed t-test. This test determines the relationship of two groupsâ€in the studies case, the players of violent video games and players of non-violent video gamesâ€to a single variable. Cicchirillo & Chorry-Assad (2005) reports that violent video-game play influences aggressive behavior, but not aggressive thought.\r\nSince the second hypothesis involved a the relationship of two independent variablesâ€that is, level of affective orientation and video-game playâ€the researchers locomotely used regression analyses to determine the closest fit in this relationship. The results show that high scores on affective orientation and playing violent video games influence some aggressive behavior, but, similar to the first hypothesis, not aggressive thoughts (Cicchirill & Chorry-Assad, 2005). Because of the numerous variables present in the study, an alternative method may present more disadvantage than otherwise.\r\nHowever, to accommodate the use of a more naturalistic set-up, the study may pray a longer methodology in terms of time. The researchers may involve a sample of more than younger participantsâ€for instance, high school students. To measure their affective orientation, school departments such as the guidance business leader may be utilized to administer tests at the beginning of the school year. Instead of a laboratory test for the second phase, a survey may be done to gather data on violent video game use of the specific sample chosen for the test.\r\nMethods to measure aggressive thought and behavior may be similar to the Cicchirill & Chorry-Assad study, but may include observation of actual behavior of the participants in a natural school setting. The disadvantages of this method involve the constraints on time and notes resources inherent in a longer experimentation, and the large probability of attrition also due to time element. The research may be extended by exploring cultural factors involved in determining affective orientation.\r\nAccording to Zimbardo et al (2005), personality types, such as thinking versus feeling, are influenced by cultural affiliations. For instance, some cultures do not distinguish thought and emotions as much as Americans do (Zimbardo et al, 2005). Further research such as this may enlighten new-made issues involving mass killings in US associated with violent behavior adapted by young people from media. It may also explore the role of gender differences in determining affective orientation, the results of which may establish existential grounds for gender associated aggressio n.\r\n'