About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about how exposure to violence in the media can impact aggressive behaviour, focusing in particular on: (i) types of media which can expose consumers to violence of different kinds; (ii) three formats of research which might be used to investigate the relationship between violent media exposure and aggression: correlational, experimental, and longitudinal; (iii) the potential limitations of each research format along with the impact those can have on the conclusions we draw from each set of results; (iv) routes to how exposure to violent media can increase the prevalence of aggressive behaviour, including desensitisation, disinhibition, cognitive priming, and practicing aggressing.

About the lecturer

Dr Eduardo Vasquez is a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Kent. His research interests include aggression, inter-group relations/conflict, and the influence of alcohol on social behaviours. Some of Dr Vasquez’s recent publications include 'Are you insulting me? Exposure to alcohol primes increases aggression following ambiguous provocation' (2014), 'Any of them will do: In-group identification, out-group entitativity, and gang membership as predictors of group based retribution' (2015), and 'The sexual objectification of girls and aggression towards them in gang and non-gang affiliated youth' (2017).