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Violent Media Consumption and the Recognition of Dynamic Facial Expressions

NCJ Number
233865
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 21 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2006 Pages: 571-584
Author(s)
Steven J. Kirsh; Jeffery R. W. Mounts; Paul V. Olczak
Date Published
May 2006
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effects of violent media consumption on the identification of dynamic facial expression.
Abstract
This study assessed the speed of recognition of facial emotional expressions (happy and angry) as a function of violent media consumption. Color photos of calm facial expressions morphed to either an angry or a happy facial expression. Participants were asked to make a speeded identification of the emotion (happiness or anger) during the morph. Results indicated that, independent of trait aggressiveness, participants high in violent media consumption responded slower to depictions of happiness and faster to depictions of anger than participants low in violent media consumption. Implications of these findings are discussed with respect to current models of aggressive behavior. (Published Abstract) Figure and references