Measuring State and Trait Aggression: A Short, Cautionary Tale (ebsco link). By: Farrar, Kirstie; Krcmar, Marina. Media Psychology, 2006, Vol. 8 Issue 2, p127-138. Abstract: Ample evidence exists suggesting that exposure to television and film violence (Paik & Comstock, 1994) and playing with violent video games (Sherry, 2001) contribute to increases in aggressive behavior; however, the magnitude of the effect ranges from small to moderate. In this study, we argue that in some cases, use of trait, rather than state, aggression can serve to attenuate effects. We report the results of a study in which a trait aggression scale is reworded slightly to create a state measure. The state and trait scales are then compared in high- and low-aggression priming conditions. Results suggest that though both scales are reliable and both have construct validity, the reworded state aggression scale responds more to the high prime than to the low prime. More important, it also responds more than the original trait scale does. Therefore, minor variations in studies of media's effect on aggression, such as variations in scale wording, can serve to attenuate effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
How do I find out about these articles? I'm glad you asked! I did a search in EBSCO's Academic Search Premier database for author affiliation = Department of Communication Sciences, University of Connecticut. They send me new articles weekly. I send a congratulatory email to the faculty member (s), along with the EBSCO blurb -- and if the article is available online, I tell 'em that, too.
This is good on so many levels!
- Good service to my faculty
- I keep up with what they're doing
- I promote the value of library databases to the (perhaps) uninitiated
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