Jennings Bryant

Playing video games : motives, responses, and consequences

When communication researchers consider computer games (and video games) as a new form of media entertainment, they typically highlight those games’ interactivity because it is the main feature that distinguishes them from most other kinds of entertainment (Grodal, 2000; Vorderer, 2000). Not only do game players actively process information provided by the medium (as do viewers, readers, and users of other noninteractive media), but they also contribute substantially to the quality and progress of the media product itself. Their decisions and actions determine how a game looks, how it develops, and how it ends. Consequently, most theoretical work on the enjoyment of playing computer games has focused on the issue of interactivity and player action during game play (Klimmt, 2003, 2005). In order to handle modern entertainment software successfully, users must stay alert for most of the playing time and be able to respond quickly and appropriately to incoming new information. Some, if not many, of these responses may be automatized (Bargh, 1997) for efficient execution and conservation of cognitive processing resources. But, in general, the use of computer games should be modeled as a complex and multifaceted kind of action. Therefore, research on the psychology of action (e.g., Gollwitzer & Bargh, 1996; Heckhausen, 1977) offers theories and empirical findings that may help explain why people play and what they do during playing. Adopting the perspective of the psychology of action means searching for motifs (and motivations) of playing.

Effects of Massive Exposure to Pornography

The findings of research on the effects of massive exposure to sexually explicit films are discussed in this chapter. First, a two-component model of erotica effects on motivated aggressive behavior is presented and applied to available research data. Second, the model is expanded to incorporate changes in the response to erotica that result from repeated exposure. In particular, excitatory habituation and changes in the hedonic reaction are traced. Third, the methodology employed in the massive-exposure work is summarized, and the research findings are reported. Effects on habituation and valence are detailed. The modification of aggressive behavior that is mediated by these effects is explored and related to the two-component model. Finally, numerous nontransitory effects of massive exposure to pornography on the perception of sexuality and on sex-related dispositions are reported. Among them are those concerning uncommon sexual practices, sexual callousness toward women, and the punitive treatment of rape.

Teachers’ humor in the college classroom

The use of humor by teachers in the college classroom was examined through a systematic content analysis of sample presentations from university classes. In addition to an assessment of the frequency with which humor was employed, characteristics of the type of humor used by college teachers were examined. It was determined that a substantial proportion of college teachers employ humor in presenting educational material. Moreover, several patterns of humor usage were discovered.

Researching Blue's Clues: Viewing Behavior and Impact

Blues Clues is a preschool television series designed to promote mastery of thinking and problem-solving skills. This paper summarizes a series of studies concerning the impact of the program on television viewing behaviors and on cognitive development. Three studies of viewing behavior indicate that as preschool children were in the process of learning from the program they were relatively quiet and highly attentive. As they mastered the content they became increasingly vocal and interactive. Their tendency to interact with Blues Clues transferred to another program from a different series. A longitudinal study comparing children who regularly watched Blues Clues to demographically similar children who could not receive the program indicated that the program had a positive impact on cognitive development.

Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography on Family Values

Male and female students and nonstudents were exposed to videotapes featuring common, nonviolent pornography or innocuous content. Exposure was in hourly sessions in six consecutive weeks. In the seventh week, subjects participated in an ostensibly unrelated study on societal institutions and personal gratifications. Marriage, cohabitational relationships, and related issues were judged on an especially created Value-of-Marriage questionnaire. The findings showed a consistent impact of pornography consumption. Exposure prompted, among other things, greater acceptance of pre- and extramarital sex and greater tolerance of nonexclusive sexual access to intimate partners. It enhanced the belief that male and female promiscuity are natural and that the repression of sexual inclinations poses a health risk. Exposure lowered the evaluation of marriage, making this institution appear less significant and less viable in the future. Exposure also reduced the desire to have children and promoted the acceptance of male dominance and female servitude. With few exceptions, these effects were uniform for male and female respondents as well as for students and nonstudents.

Handbook of sports and media

Contents: Preface. Part I: The Development of Sports Media. T.F. Scanlon, Sports and Media in the Ancient Mediterranean. J. Bryant, A.M. Holt, A Historical Overview of Sports and Media in the United States. L.A. Wenner, Sports and Media Through the Super Glass Mirror: Placing Blame, Breast-Beating, and a Gaze to the Future. Part II: The Coverage and Business of Sports Media. R.V. Bellamy, Jr., Sports Media: A Modern Institution. D. Brown, J. Bryant, Sports Content on U.S. Television. W. Wanta, The Coverage of Sports in the Print Media. J.W. Owens, The Coverage of Sports on Radio. D.B. Sullivan, Broadcast Television and the Game of Packaging Sports. C. Wood, V. Benigni, The Coverage of Sports on Cable TV. M. Real, Sports Online: The Newest Player in Mediasport. R.G. Cummins, Sports Fiction: Critical and Empirical Perspectives. H.J. Lenskyj, Alternative Media Versus the Olympic Industry. A. Tudor, World Cup Worlds: Media Coverage of the Soccer World Cup 1974 to 2002. M.C. Duncan, Gender Warriors in Sport: Women and the Media. A.C. Billings, Utilizing Televised Sport to Benefit Prime-Time Lineups: Examining the Effectiveness of Sports Promotion. M.A. Krein, S. Martin, 60 Seconds to Air: Television Sports Production Basics and Research Review. M. Mondello, Sports Economics and the Media. L. Kinney, Sports Sponsorship. Part III: Sports Media Audiences. A.A. Raney, Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports. D.L. Wann, The Causes and Consequences of Sport Team Identification. B. Gunter, Sports, Violence, and the Media. W. Gantz, S.D. Bradley, Z. Wang, Televised NFL Games, the Family, and Domestic Violence. R.G. Lomax, Fantasy Sports: History, Game Types, and Research. D. Leonard, An Untapped Field: Exploring the World of Virtual Sports Gaming. J.E. Mahan, III, S.R. McDaniel, The New Online Arena: Sport, Marketing, and Media Converge in Cyberspace. Part IV: Critical Perspectives on Sports Media: Cases and Issues. J. Maguire, Sport and Globalization: Key Issues, Phrases, and Trends. A. Grainger, J.I. Newman, D.L. Andrews, Sport, the Media, and the Construction of Race. D.W. Houck, Couching Tiger, Hidden Blackness: Tiger Woods and the Disappearance of Race. D. Baroffio-Bota, S. Banet-Weiser, Women, Team Sports, and the WNBA: Playing Like a Girl. M.G. McDonald, Thinking Through Power in Sport and Sport Media Scholarship. D. Leonard, A World of Criminals or Media Construction?: Race, Gender, Celebrity, and the Athlete/Criminal Discourse. D.W. Houck, Sporting Bodies. C.R. King, L. Davis-Delano, E. Staurowsky, L. Baca, Sports Mascots and the Media. M. Hardin, Disability and Sport: (Non)Coverage of an Athletic Paradox.

Consumer Response to Humor in Advertising: A Series of Field Studies Using Behavioral Observation

In a series of field studies, social and business events were promoted using humorous, non-humorous, and control formats. The humorous promotions significantly increased attendance for the social events, but showed no significant impact for business events. Copyright 1990 by the University of Chicago.

Temporal Changes in Mood Repair Through Music Consumption: Effects of Mood, Mood Salience, and Individual Differences

Prior research on mood management through media consumption has encountered mixed results. This study seeks to address these discrepancies by incorporating time of measurement into the examination of regulatory outcomes and by identifying trait-like cognitive moderators that presumably are involved in the regulation of negative moods. Results showed that sad mood initially fostered longer listening to mood-compatible music but such preference decreased over time, suggesting the merits of considering temporal changes in the mood-repair process. In addition, ruminative trait was found to be a significant factor in how people cope with their sad moods, whereas mood salience was not.

SHIFTING PREFERENCES IN PORNOGRAPHY CONSUMPTION

Male and female students and nonstudents were exposed to one hour of common, nonviolent pornography or to sexually and aggressively innocuous materials in each of six consecutive weeks. Two weeks after this treatment, they were provided with an opportunity to watch videotapes in a private situation. G-rated, R-rated, and X-rated programs were available. Subjects with considerable prior exposure to common, nonviolent pornography showed little interest in common, nonviolent pornography, electing to watch uncommon pornography (bondage, sadomasochism, bestiality) instead. Male nonstudents with prior exposure to common, nonviolent pornography consumed uncommon pornography almost exclusively. Male students exhibited the same pattern, although somewhat less extreme. This consumption preference was also in evidence in females, but was far less pronounced, especially among female students.

Effect of intensification of annoyance through unrelated residual excitation on substantially delayed hostile behavior

Abstract In a field-experimental setting, male and female subjects were provoked or not at a time when residual excitation from prior exposure to communication was of relatively low, intermediate, or high magnitude. Eight days later, subjects were provided with an opportunity to treat their annoyer or nonannoyer in a hostile or beneficial manner. It was found that excitatory residues had no appreciable effect on the behavior of unprovoked subjects. In contrast, excitatory residues prevailing at the time of provocation produced an intensification of delayed hostile behavior. Provoked subjects in the high and intermediate residue conditions retaliated more severely than those in the low residue condition. Retaliation in the high residue condition tended to be more severe than in the intermediate residue condition. No appreciable sex differences were observed. The findings were interpreted as supporting the proposal that the excitatory intensity of acute annoyance critically influences the magnitude of retaliation for considerable periods of time after the dissipation of excitation associated with the initial annoyance.