Guns Automatically Prime Aggressive Thoughts, Regardless of Whether a “Good Guy” or “Bad Guy” Holds the Gun

Bushman, Brad J.

doi:10.1177/1948550617722202

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…People know that Olympians use guns to shoot inanimate targets rather than people. However, when people are exposed to photos of guns that are used to shoot people, it does not matter whether the person holding the gun is a "good guy" or a "bad guy" (Bushman, 2018).…”

Section: Generalizing Beyond Violent Media Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solving the puzzle of null violent media effects.

Bushman¹,

Anderson²

2023

Psychology of Popular Media

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Over the past half-century, many professional and scientific organizations have issued statements about the harmful effects of violent media on children and adolescents. Most pediatricians, media researchers, and parents also believe that violent media can be harmful. Although most studies report significant violent media effects, some report null effects. In this article, we address the puzzle of why some studies obtain null effects. Some possible factors include the use of inappropriate or excessive number of covariates, small samples, trait measures when state measures are more appropriate, poor predictor and outcome measures, and poor procedures to control for suspicion. We also discuss statistical, methodological, and theoretical issues that underlie some “failures” to replicate in experimental, cross-sectional, and longitudinal studies. The differences between studies that do and do not report significant violent media effects are explainable; sometimes they are intentional because different scholars have different objectives. We offer best practice suggestions for conducting violent media research, which we hope will be useful for editors, reviewers, researchers, pediatricians, politicians, parents, and others trying to evaluate violent media research. Finally, we also show the importance of our analyses and suggestions for other media research, for other research topics, and for the replication crisis in psychology.

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Section: Generalizing Beyond Violent Media Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solving the puzzle of null violent media effects.

Bushman¹,

Anderson²

2023

Psychology of Popular Media

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To be sure, some phenomena are manifested in strong and thus potentially more replicable effects, as has been shown by research dealing with the influence of the mere sight of individuals with a gun on subsequent aggressive thoughts (Bushman, 2018). By analogy, vigorous exercise produces stronger physiological effects than moderate and mild exercise.…”

Section: Subtle Truthmentioning

confidence: 97%

Replication and the Establishment of Scientific Truth

Iso‐Ahola

2020

Front. Psychol.

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The idea of replication is based on the premise that there are empirical regularities or universal laws to be replicated and verified, and the scientific method is adequate for doing it. Scientific truth, however, is not absolute but relative to time, context, and the method used. Time and context are inextricably intertwined in that time (e.g., Christmas Day vs. New Year's Day) creates different contexts for behaviors and contexts create different experiences of time, rendering psychological phenomena inherently variable. This means that internal and external conditions fluctuate and are different in a replication study vs. the original. Thus, a replication experiment is just another empirical investigation in an ongoing effort to establish scientific truth. Neither the original nor a replication is the final arbiter of whether or not something exists. Discovered patterns need not be permanent laws of human behavior proven by the pinpoint statistical verification through replication. To move forward, phenomenon replications are needed to investigate phenomena in different ways, forms, contexts, and times. Such investigations look at phenomena not just in terms the magnitude of their effects but also by their frequency, duration, and intensity in labs and real life. They will also shed light on the extent to which lab manipulations may make many phenomena subjectively conscious events and effects (e.g., causal attributions) when they are nonconsciously experienced in real life, or vice versa. As scientific knowledge in physics is temporary and incomplete, should it be any surprise that science can only provide "temporary winners" for psychological knowledge of human behavior?

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“…For example, Bartholow and colleagues (2005) showed that for hunters, the weapons effect was only present when they were exposed to assault-type firearms, but not to hunting firearms. Furthermore, Bushman (2018) showed that when the weapon is interpreted as one not intended to harm humans, that specific weapon does not prime aggressive thoughts.…”

Section: Limitations and Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Weapons Effect

Benjamin¹

2019

Preprint

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This review examines the current state of research on the weapons effect, a phenomenon in which the mere presence of weapons is presumed to cause people to behave more aggressively. The General Aggression Model (GAM) is often used to explain how and why the weapons effect occurs. Hence research on the extent to which weapons prime cognitive and appraisal processes is considered, based on findings from recent meta-analytic research. Findings from classic and contemporary studies offer mixed support for the weapons effect. Implications for theory and future research will be discussed.

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Guns Automatically Prime Aggressive Thoughts, Regardless of Whether a “Good Guy” or “Bad Guy” Holds the Gun

Cited by 13 publications

References 13 publications

Solving the puzzle of null violent media effects.

Solving the puzzle of null violent media effects.

Replication and the Establishment of Scientific Truth

The Weapons Effect

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