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Blog #1

Research on Aggression and Violence

            I have chosen two different journal articles for this blog.  The first one dealt with media violence and violent behavior of Nigerian youths and the other is cognitions related to violence and violent behavior.  Both studies use various methods of experimentation.  I will discuss the research methods, ethical issues, how this research advances the field of social psychology, and who might be interested in this research.

            The first study is called Media Violence and Violent Behavior of Nigerian Youths: Intervention Strategies by Eziaku K Ukoha.  The research methods used in this article were archival studies, longitudinal studies, and meta-analysis.  The longitudinal studies have provided converging evidence linking frequent exposure to violent media in childhood with aggressive behavior later in life (Ukoha, 2013 Special Edition).  The author uses archival studies to prove his points.  One of the studies the author chose was by Anderson and Bushman (2001) who used modern meta-analytic techniques to combine the results of empirical studies of violent video games, effects, on five types of outcome variables: aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive effect, helping behavior, and physiological arousal (Ukoha, 2013 Special Edition).  The results were that they found video games had significant effects on each of these variables (Ukoha, 2013 Special Edition).

I could not locate any ethical issues in this journal, because archival studies were used.  The author used proper citations.  Because he used archival studies, he did not perform any experiments.  This research advances the field of social psychology in a way to understand Nigerian culture and how their children are exposed to violence daily.  Many areas of study would be interested in this information, along with the government officials, parents, teachers, and care takers to children.  The results can be applied to parenting of children or stricter laws prohibiting children the use of violent video games.  The results can also be used to teach other countries that media violence plays a role in aggressive behavior in children and continues into adulthood.

            The second journal article is called Cognitions Supportive of Violence and Violent Behavior, by Nicola Bowes and Mary McMurran.  The research method used in this journal article again was archival studies, the authors used past research and articles then correlated the studies.  A narrative synthesis method was used, in which the studies are summarized in narrative text and tables (Bowes & McMurran, November–December 2013).  This allows the reader to consider outcomes in the light of differences in study designs and potential sources of bias for each of the studies being reviewed (Bowes & McMurran, November–December 2013).  The research used within this article used questionnaires and checklists.  The research was conducted mostly in prisons using prisoners who were convicted of violent crimes.  The five studies used five violence-related cognition measures, namely, the EXPAGG, a Life Map, the My Life checklist, the Provictim Scale, and the MVQ (Bowes & McMurran, November–December 2013).  The EXPAGG measures instrumental and expressive aggression; the Life Map measures nine schemas, of which need to protect was pertinent to non-sexual violence; the My Life checklist measures schemas of passive victim, vengeful entitlement, and need for control; the Provictim Scale measures attitudes towards victims; and the MVQ measures machismo and acceptance of violence (Bowes & McMurran, November–December 2013).

            The ethical issues in this journal article are within the research that was used.  The journal article never stated if any of the convicts that participated consented before they were given the questionnaires.  Another ethical question is whether the convicts were truthful on the questionnaires.  Research such as this advances the field of social psychology, by correlating studies that have already been done and then discussing the findings and what they relate to.  Social psychologists, prison officials, and other various disciplines in psychology would be most interested in these studies.  The results of this study can be applied by researchers to better identify opportunities of violence reduction.  The results of this study showed that violent thinking and violent behavior are under-researched in real world settings (Bowes & McMurran, November–December 2013).  Also assessing violent thinking is important when considering treatment (Bowes & McMurran, November–December 2013).

            In conclusion, new research seems to be limited and most of the journal articles regarding aggression and violent behavior are done through archival studies.  The Nigerian study did show that children in Nigeria are susceptible to violence through media.  The journal also offered interventions.  The study of cognitions supportive of violence and violent behavior proved that there needs to be more real world research into this topic.

Reference

Bowes, N., & McMurran, M. ( November–December 2013). Cognitions supportive of violence and violent behavior. Elsevier , Volume 18, Issue 6, Pages 660–665.

Ukoha, E. K. (2013 Special Edition). MEDIA VIOLENCE AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR OF NIGERIAN YOUTHS: INTERVENTION STRATEGIES. . IFE PsychologIA. , Vol. 21 Issue 3-S, p230-237. 8p. .

Blog#2

Happy Valentine’s Day

            With Valentine’s Day right around the corner I wanted to have my blog focus on relationships this week. One of the articles I read was about what gender is most likely to start an intimate relationship. This study used the relational survey method. The results of this study were that males were found to be the ones that were able to start romantic intimacy easier (McCarry, 2010).It was also found that males were higher in self-perception, romantic verbalization, emotion and cognitive intimacy (McCarry, 2010 ).  The other article I read was about becoming a proper man. This article focused on males thoughts on women. It was found that one out of three emerging adult males believe that some women deserve to get hit in certain situations (Enyilmaz, 2011). This study also focused on gender roles and how we as a society need to  break down the wall of gender stereotypes.

            Some of the issues that need to be considered during these types of research is how the information is being obtained. Many people are not going to want to admit that they have been involved in violent situations. Another issue that is going to need to be considered it the gender bias that we as a society believe in. For example, with Valentine’s Day coming up, who are we expecting to be showered with jewelry and flowers this Friday? I bet you did not think the boyfriend. Instead, if you were a male you may be thinking “Oh crap, that’s this Friday!” and as a female you may be thinking “I wonder what I will be getting?” however right there is a gender stereotype. We are expecting the male to be the one with the gifts and the women to be papered that day. Therefore, as a human service student I would have to take a step back and think about how the previously mentioned articles could advance the field of social psychology.

            One way is that people need to look at everyone as equals. Maybe Hallmark Holidays need to be looked at as a time where both people mutually do something that will benefit each other. Instead of having all the newspaper and social media presenting men with all these ideas, maybe we need to commercials and ads to focus on things couples can do together. That way we can focus on the couples and not just the females who need to be taken care of and pampered, during these holidays.

            I personally know that when I was little my older sister would say that if her boyfriend at the time did not get her something nice she would break up with him. Also during those times she would always brag about what her boyfriend at the time had gotten her. The funny thing is that even now she will ask what my fiancé got me for holidays. However, in my relationship that I have had over the past eight years, we may get each other cards and presents, but when it comes to big presents we always do something that benefits us both. For example for Christmas we put in new flooring and redid our master math for last year’s Valentine’s Day. It makes things about us as a couple and not just one of us. Another thing we do is I get flowers every Saturday. Since my fiancé works six days a week and we share a bank account, when I go do my shopping I grab the flowers I want for that week. We work together to maintain our individual happiness, because when we are happy as individuals it makes it easier to be happy as a couple.

            Therefore I think that one of the people that would be most interested in these research results would be marriage counselors. They would be able to address the stereotypes that couples have in regards to relationships as well as state the different statistics that are present that the people may not even know about themselves that they may subconsciously have. I also think school counselors and health teachers could benefit from this as well. This would be a great time to educate young adults on how they should act and also give information on where to seek help from if you are in a bad relationship.

            In general almost anyone can benefit from these results, as most of us have been, will be or are currently in a relationship. By knowing these results we can expand our knowledge and help to prevent stereotypes such as women deserving to get hit or men having to pamper women, from happening around us.

References

Enyilmaz, A. (2011) Investigation of Starting Romantic Intimacy in Emerging Adulthood in Terms of Self-Esteem, Gender and Gender Roles. Educational Science :Theory and Practice, 11 (2), 595-600. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=867c7f16-d693-402f-b9da-b6735e1d49a3%40sessionmgr4005&vid=1&hid=4102

McCarry, M. (2010) Becoming a Proper Man. Routledge Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=27dfc4e6-bab9-444f-9f85-937bad9b6ef7%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4102

Question 3

3.Women have faced a long journey in terms of being integrate into the military.  In other countries, women are already mandated to serve alongside men, even in battle.  In the USA, women face aggression that has been documented and brought to the attention of the public.  In terms of social psychology, it is a worthwhile avenue to look at aggression in military culture.  Click on the link and then click on the video on the webpage.  What influences the status quo?  Is it men trying to fit in to military culture, women as outsiders…are there other explanations?

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/421/index.htm

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