Cassie A. Eno

Effect of Playing Violent Video Games Cooperatively or Competitively on Subsequent Cooperative Behavior

Research on video games has yielded consistent findings that violent video games increase aggression and decrease prosocial behavior. However, these studies typically examined single-player games. Of interest is the effect of cooperative play in a violent video game on subsequent cooperative or competitive behavior. Participants played Halo II (a first-person shooter game) cooperatively or competitively and then completed a modified prisoners dilemma task to assess competitive and cooperative behavior. Compared with the competitive play conditions, players in the cooperative condition engaged in more tit-for-tat behaviors-a pattern of behavior that typically precedes cooperative behavior. The social context of game play influenced subsequent behavior more than the content of the game that was played.

Missed Programs (You Can't TiVo This One) Why Psychologists Should Study Media

Media psychology involves the scientific examination of the cognitive processes and behavior involved in the selection, use, interpretation, and effects of communication across a variety of media (e.g., via the Internet, television, telephone, film). Media are central to people’s lives, with projections indicating that an average person spent over 3,515 hours using media in 2012. New technologies are increasing the importance of media. Data from two content analyses demonstrate the underrepresentation of media psychology in mainstream psychological literature and in undergraduate and graduate psychology course offerings. We argue for the importance of a psychological approach to the study of media because of its presence in people’s lives and because psychologists use it in their research and their choices may affect the external validity of their findings. We provide a useful framework from which psychologists can approach the study of media, and we conclude with recommendations for further areas of scientific inquiry relevant to psychological science.

The Accessibility of Family and Peer Norms in Young Adolescent Risk Behavior

The accessibility of attitudes and norms (i.e., how quickly they are activated from memory) has been shown to predict young adult cigarette smoking, but prior work has not examined this effect in young adolescents or with other health risk behaviors. In this study, the accessibility of attitudes and norms was used to predict young adolescent (N = 325, age M = 14.97, SD = .73) self-reported behavior and behavior intention for cigarette smoking, alcohol use, marijuana smoking, and sexual behavior. The accessibility of attitudes and the accessibility of injunctive norms were significantly related to adolescents’ health risk behavior. When controlling for current behavior, the accessibility of attitudes and of family norms were significantly related to intent to engage in these behaviors in the future. In contrast, the accessibility of peer norms was only related to reports of current behavior, not future behavior intention. This finding replicates across four behaviors when controlling for age, gender, and race, and provides strong evidence that the accessibility of relevant attitudes and social norms are important factors in young adolescent risk behavior. Implications for communication interventions to reduce teen health risk behavior are discussed.

The Content of Cigarette Counter-Advertising: Are Perceived Functions of Smoking Addressed?

Media campaigns can be an effective tool in reducing adolescent smoking. To better understand the types of ads that have been used in campaigns in the United States, a content analysis was conducted of ads available at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Media Campaign Resource Center (MCRC; Waves 1 through 7). A total of 487 ads were coded. Ads were coded for target audience, primary theme present in the ad, and sensation value—production techniques that have been demonstrated to attract attention and increase arousal. Primary themes extended earlier studies by focusing on the perceived functions of smoking (weight lose, stress management, controlling negative affect) as well as the traditional themes of industry attack, the health consequences of smoking, secondhand smoke, quitting, and the social image of smokers. A majority of ads were rated as having moderate sensation value, and ads targeted at teens and children were, on the average, higher in sensation value than those targeting general audiences. Changes across time suggest that campaigns are focusing more on adolescent smoking and relying more on attacking the tobacco industry. Research indicates that the functions of stress relief, mood regulation, and weight loss are strong reasons for initiating and continuing to smoke cigarettes; however, none of the 487 ads addressed these functional themes. Implications for developing campaigns that more closely relate to the functions of smoking are discussed.

Southern Discomfort: The Effects of Stereotype Threat on the Intellectual Performance of US Southerners

Compared to other negatively stereotyped groups, a paucity of research has examined stereotypes of US southerners. Building from past research and theory on the phenomenon of stereotype threat, the current research examined the possibility that activating negative stereotypes of people from the southern US can undermine their performance on intellectual tasks. In four studies, southern US college students took a test consisting of difficult mathematical and verbal questions. When negative stereotypes about their group were activated, performance was lower compared to conditions in which stereotypes were not made salient. In addition, performance decrements associated with stereotype activation were found to be linked with individual differences in group identification. Results showed that higher levels of identification as a southerner predicted lower levels of test performance.

The Prevalence and Prevention of Crosstalk: A Multi-Institutional Study

ABSTRACT It is a common problem in psychology subject pools for past study participants to inform future participants of key experimental details (also known as crosstalk). Previous research (Edlund, Sagarin, Skowronski, Johnson, & Kutter, 2009) demonstrated that a combined classroom and laboratory treatment could significantly reduce crosstalk. The present investigation tested a laboratory-only treatment for the prevention of crosstalk at five universities, along with institutional-level moderators of crosstalk. Results indicated the presence of crosstalk at all universities and that the laboratory-based treatment was effective in reducing crosstalk. Importantly, crosstalk rates were higher (but successfully neutralized) in research pools with higher research credit requirements. Therefore, this research provides valuable guidance regarding crosstalk prevalence and its minimization by researchers.

The complex interplay between semantics and grammar in impression formation.

We sought to bridge findings showing that (a) describing a persons behavior with the perfective verb aspect (did), compared to the imperfective aspect (was doing), increases processing of semantic knowledge unrelated to the targets action such as stereotypes and (b) an increased recognition of stereotypical thoughts often promotes a judgment correction for the stereotypes. We hypothesized an interplay between grammar (verb conjugation) and semantic information (gender) in impression-formation. Participants read a resume, attributed to a male or female, for a traditionally masculine job. When the resume was written in the imperfective, people rated a male (vs. female) more positively. When the resume was in the perfective, this pattern reversed. Only these latter effects of gender were influenced by cognitive load. Further, people more quickly indicated the applicants gender in the perfective condition, suggesting an enhanced focus on gender during processing.