Chapter 19 personality

Personality: individuals’ characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior First or second life personality?

Selection and enjoyment Use and selection –Some uses of media include passing the time, habit, companionship, relaxation, escape –Still other studies suggest that it is personality; eg. Weaver “neurotic” personality types use television for passing the time, companionship and stimulation

Mood management –The impact of personality in moderating mood management has not be examined much –Perhaps the maintenance of positive moods may be a universal motivation –One study showed that non-lonely subjects preferred media with uplifting portrayals of older people, lonely subjects viewed negative portrayals where the character is shown to be forlorn or neglected –People who are empathetic, hostile, extroverted or optimistic respond differently to media content

Enjoyment –Since most research is on personality and violence or pornography, it may be assumed that no research is on comedy means that there are no differences among subjects on this genre –Media violence: enjoyment is higher among viewers who possess characteristics related to aggression, hostility… –One study showed that greater liking of “hard” rock music was related to higher scores on tough- mindedness, forcefulness, and discontentedness –Does this make sense?

Perhaps people that have antagonistic dispositions may actually be less likely than more sensitive persons who watch violent media, thus allowing them to enjoy it more

Pornography –Sensation-seeking is associated with pornographic media content

Attraction to Pornographic Stories on the Internet: A Commentary on "Clinical Encounters with Internet Pornography" by Thomas P. KalmanJournal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis & Dynamic Psychiatry; Winter2008 According to Dr. Thomas P. Kalman, Internet pornography influences people's beliefs, attitudes and values, as well as impact people's professional life, family life and relationships. Based on most media studies, nonviolent and violent pornography lead to a wide variety of negative effects, including acceptance of rape myths and encouragement of aggressive behavior.

The pornography industry in the United States generates annual revenues of $10 billion to $14 billion A healthy percentage of this figure comes from pay-per-view movies on cable and satellite, websites, and in room hotel services. The companies that profit from pornography, either currently or in the past, include: AT&T, Yahoo!, Marriott, Westin and Hilton

The studies have treated personality as an independent variable Independent variable: creates change in a dependent variable

Sadness-evoking entertainment –Enjoying sad films is associated with higher levels of empathy, communal (feminine) gender-role self perceptions and loneliness –People who are reminded of their own mortality may find tragic entertainment more meaningful and comforting, allowing a safe haven to confront fears

Personality as a dependent variable One study suggests that long-term effects of playing violent video games can result in the creation of aggression-related knowledge structures that change the individual’s personality

Journal of Adolescence; Feb2004, Vol. 27 Issue 1, p23, 17p It is believed that repeated exposure to real-life and to entertainment violence may alter cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes, possibly leading to desensitization. The goal of the present study was to determine if there are relationships between real-life and media violence exposure and desensitization as reflected in related characteristics. One hundred fifty fourth and fifth graders completed measures of real-life violence exposure, media violence exposure, empathy, and attitudes towards violence. Regression analyses indicated that only exposure to video game violence was associated with (lower) empathy.

Comfortably Numb Desensitizing Effects of Violent Media on Helping Others Brad J. Bushman1,2 and Craig A. Anderson3 ABSTRACT—Two studies tested the hypothesis that exposure to violent media reduces aid offered to people in pain. In Study 1, participants played a violent or nonviolent video game for 20 min. After game play, while completing a lengthy questionnaire, they heard a loud fight, in which one person was injured, outside the lab. Participants who played violent games took longer to help the injured victim, rated the fight as less serious, and were less likely to ‘‘hear’’ the fight in comparison to participants who played nonviolent games. In Study 2, violent- and nonviolentmovie attendees witnessed a young woman with an injured ankle struggle to pick up her crutches outside the theater either before or after the movie. Participants who had just watched a violent movie took longer to help than participants in the other three conditions. The findings from both studies suggest that violent media make people numb to the pain and suffering of others.