Lindsay Hahn

The Thrill Is Gone, but You Might Not Know: Habituation and Generalization of Biophysiological and Self-reported Arousal Responses to Video Games

Past research on consequences of video game play have conflated two distinct psychological mechanisms, habituation and generalization, into a unified process dubbed “desensitization.” The current paper reports the results of two studies, a repeated exposure study and a single exposure study, which examine habituation and generalization of biophysiological and self-reported arousal responses to violent video games. The findings indicate that repeated play leads to habituation in both biophysiological and self-report responses. Notably, evidence of generalization is more apparent in the biophysiological data. The results are discussed in terms of: (1) implications for game developers and players, (2) implications for game researchers, (3) current conceptual ambiguity between cross-sectional and longitudinal models, and (4) the appropriateness of utilizing self-report measures in longitudinal studies examining arousal.

The effect of moral intuitions on decisions in video game play: The impact of chronic and temporary intuition accessibility

The model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME) highlights the central influence of innate moral instincts (or intuitions) in media use. Recent experimental research on the MIME found that moral intuitions that are chronically accessible in video gamers are likely to influence players to uphold related moral principles in the game. This study replicated and extended this research to examine the influence of both chronic and temporary accessibility of moral intuitions. Discussion focuses on the prospect that while chronic accessibility should be a better predictor of behavior in most cases, there are proximal in-game instances where environmental cues temporarily increase the accessibility of other moral intuitions. This suggests that (a) players do not necessarily disengage their morals during gameplay, and that moral intuitions influence their in-game decisions, and that (b) this influence is not fixed, but can be continuously modulated by game design features.

The Importance of Altruistic Versus Egoistic Motivations: A Content Analysis of Conflicted Motivations in Children’s Television Programming

A content analysis examined the frequency with which altruistic versus egoistic motivations were acted upon in television content where these motivations were in conflict with each other. The sample was drawn from children’s television programs popular among different age groups (ages 2–5, 6–11, and 12–17 years). It also examined whether the motivations acted upon were performed by affable (likable, heroic) or surly (unlikable, villainous) characters and whether they were rewarded or punished. Extending previous research (Lewis & Mitchell, 2014), we found that portrayal patterns stressed the importance of altruistic motivations (particularly the care motivation) for content popular among the youngest age group and egoistic motivations (particularly the growth-related motivations of competence, autonomy, and relatedness) for content popular among older children. Findings are interpreted in terms of the model of intuitive morality and exemplars (Tamborini, 2011, 2013), which suggests media representations can influence audience motivations. Implications for scholars, parents, and content producers are explored.

Media’s Influence on the Accessibility of Altruistic and Egoistic Motivations

Previous research suggests that media featuring exemplars of specific altruistic motivations can make those motivations more accessible in viewers’ minds. The present study extends this research to also examine egoistic motivations. We (a) developed a coding scheme to examine how frequently exemplars of altruistic and egoistic motivations appear in media content, (b) developed an intuitive motivation-affect misattribution procedure to measure the accessibility of altruistic and egoistic motivations, and (c) examined whether exposure to media content portraying specific motivations makes those motivations more accessible in audiences. The findings are discussed in terms of the model of intuitive morality and exemplars.

The Representation of Altruistic and Egoistic Motivations in Children’s TV Programming

A content analysis of children’s television examined the frequency with which behaviors were (a) driven by altruistic versus egoistic motivations, (b) performed by affable/surly characters, (c) rewarded/punished, and (d) present in content popular among different age groups (2–5, 6–11, and 12–17 years old). We found that portrayal patterns stressed the importance of egoistic motivations (particularly competence, autonomy, and relatedness) for older children. The findings are interpreted in line with logic underlying the model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME; Tamborini, 2013), suggesting that media representations can influence the motivations of their viewers.

Does Repeated Exposure to Popular Media Strengthen Moral Intuitions?: Exploratory Evidence Regarding Consistent and Conflicted Moral Content

Previous studies have indicated that media consumption may influence moral intuition sensitivity. The present exploratory studies sought to expand on these findings by employing a three-phase, longitudinal experiment conducted over nine weeks, where participants were exposed to two genres of films (romance, action) mixed in various ratios (high = 100% romance, medium = 60% romance, low = 20% romance, none = 0% romance). Findings from the initial study indicate that repeated exposure to romantic films led to increases in sensitivity for four of the five moral intuitions (i.e., care, fairness, authority, purity); at the same time, any exposure to action films seemed to erode these changes. A follow-up post-hoc content analysis sought to confirm these findings and test an operationalization of “moral conditioning.” We discuss the results in regards to media entertainment theory and research, and the societal implications of the role of media entertainment to reinforce standards of moral judgment.

The Representation of Altruistic and Egoistic Motivations in Popular Music over 60 Years

Content analyses examining the values expressed in popular music have been predominantly ad hoc, limited to antisocial themes, and lacking a comprehensive theoretical coding scheme. We applied a content analytic scheme based in the model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME) to examine altruistic and egoistic values in popular music over 60 years. Findings show (a) more frequent representation of egoistic than altruistic motivations, and (b) the profusion of egoistic motivations focused mostly on romantic (in adult-targeted music) but also platonic (in child-targeted music) relationships.

The impact of terrorist attack news on moral intuitions and outgroup prejudice

Using logic suggested by the model of intuitive morality and exemplars, we examined the impact of exposure to terrorist attack news coverage on the salience of moral intuitions and prosocial behavioral intentions toward outgroup members. In an experiment, participants were randomly assigned to watch news of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks or a control news story. Afterward, we measured the salience of five moral intuitions (sensitivity to care, fairness, loyalty, authority, and purity) and the participants’ prejudice (i.e., the lack of intentions to help outgroup members). Results showed that exposure to terrorist attack news (a) increased the salience of respect for authority and subsequently (b) reduced prosocial behavioral intentions toward outgroup members. Closer inspection revealed that authority salience mediated the effect of terrorist news exposure on these behavioral intentions toward outgroup members. In a second study using the same design as in the first study, we ensured that the ingroup and the outgroup addressed in the first study were indeed perceived differently on dimensions of ingroup membership.

Things we know about media and morality

To the Editor — Crockett’s Comment ‘Moral outrage in the digital age’1 explains how social media affect responses to moral violations and the consequences thereof: social media increase the frequency of exposure to moral violations, alter the cost and constraints of experiencing them, and promote feuding responses. We applaud Crockett for addressing this pressing topic. However, a significant body of communication science research suggests important ways in which Crockett’s model and hypotheses could be enriched and refined. First, Crockett argues that individuals show moral outrage when exposed to moral content in social media contexts and that this outrage is consistent with an individual’s moral subculture. Crockett primarily accounts for volume and platform of exposure while underspecifying content as emotional, immoral or otherwise triggering stimuli. Volume is a reasonable start. However, existing models show that moral beliefs shape media exposure, and that these beliefs are influenced as a result. Moral subcultures emerge in response to media use2 and the moral profiles of these subcultures shape the evaluation of moral actions3. Importantly, moral messages differ in systematic ways4 and vary by source5. Therefore, research should address how variations in media content interact with individuals’ moral profiles to shape exposure6 and subsequent behavioural outcomes7. Given that volume can be considered an outcome of variation in moral content, Crockett’s model would benefit from specifying message, source and receiver characteristics that explain intensity of and variation in moral emotions. Second, Crockett’s argument assumes that social media constitute echo chambers and that exposure to moral content in social media contributes to polarization. Empirical support for these assumptions is mixed. Moral content on social media platforms are part of broader media contexts that jointly contribute to moral evaluations and behaviour. In traditional and new media contexts, audience fragmentation is lesser than audience duplication and this finding is true across multiple nations and platforms8. If social media significantly contribute to polarization, then the most polarized audiences should use social media the most. Nationally representative data show the opposite pattern9. Accordingly, Crockett’s hypothesis that echo chambers associated with social media limit the costs and benefits of moral outrage requires further empirical scrutiny. Finally, Crockett argues that exposure to moral content evokes stronger moral outrage in social media compared with in person. This is supported by preliminary evidence for a small effect size in a large sample1. However, the hypothesis that social media exacerbate moral outrage in kind and ferocity over other channels requires additional evidence. Illuminating questions might consider the properties of social media in addition to volume and ease of transmission with a focus on the written nature of online communication that intensifies the emotional impact of messages. Despite the prevalence of graphics in social media, commenting is still predominantly textual, and therefore exceptionally provocative10. If we agreed that evidence for echo chambers is inconclusive and social media may not limit the benefits of moral outrage, then other factors such as intensified self-perceptions and commitment to public positions due to postings are indeed aspects worth considering in more detail. Ultimately, if social media affect moral outrage at the individual and societal level, then cross-disciplinary collaborations to model morality, media and their mechanisms will help us better understand these phenomena. ❐

The effect of behavioral synchrony with black or white virtual agents on outgroup trust

Abstract Trust toward outgroup members is generally lower than it is toward ingroup members. Behavioral synchrony with virtual outgroup characters has been identified as a means of improving attitudes toward racial outgroup members, but this effect has not been tested for outgroup trust. We tested the effect of synchrony with an ingroup/outgroup virtual agent on a behavioral measure of outgroup trust. An experiment used an online economic game to obtain pretest and posttest measures of trust. In between these measures, participants played a dance video game on Xbox Kinect. They were randomly assigned to either an ingroup or outgroup agent (black or white) partner. Game score served as a continuous measure of synchrony with the agent. Regression analysis revealed that agent race moderated synchronys effect on change in outgroup trust. Increased synchrony with an outgroup agent led to increased outgroup trust. Conversely, increased synchrony with an ingroup agent led to decreased outgroup trust. Findings are discussed with respect to implications for using virtual interactions to build outgroup trust in the real world.