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Psychology of Popular Media Culture
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ISSN (Print) 2689-6567 - ISSN (Online) 2689-6575
Published by APA

[89 journals]

Further tests of the media violence–aggression link: Replication and
extension of the 7 Nations Project with multiple Latinx samples.
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  Abstract: Numerous studies from various countries and cultural backgrounds have found a link between media violence consumption and aggressive behaviors and cognition. However, some failures to replicate these findings potentially suggest that some Latinx cultures may be relatively invulnerable to such harmful effects. To investigate this, media violence exposure and aggression data were collected from samples of predominantly Latinx communities in Brazil, Mexico, and Southwest Texas U.S., as well as from a Canadian sample for contrast. Replication and extension tests of hypotheses derived from the general aggression model and the 7 Nations Media Violence Project (Anderson et al., 2017) were conducted. This cross-sectional study (N = 862) revealed violent media exposure-to-aggression effect sizes with Latinx samples that are comparable to those from other ethnicities and countries in previous studies. This relation remained significant in statistical “destructive tests” that included other major risk factors for aggression in the model. The effect generalized across samples, sex, and type of aggression (physical, verbal, and relational). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Thu, 25 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000428
That’s disgusting! Why disgust increases enjoyment of crime dramas.
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  Abstract: Police procedural crime dramas follow a fairly predictable formula. In the opening scenes, a murder has been committed, and detectives are called to investigate. These opening scenes are often accompanied by imagery of death and decay, eliciting physical disgust. The remainder of the episode is devoted to investigating the crime, which is generally successfully resolved, with the perpetrator being brought to justice. The current research shows that these disgusting scenes, normally present at the beginning of each episode, momentarily decrease positive affect and enjoyment. However, due to the connection between physical and moral disgust, these scenes increase the perceptions of the seriousness of the crime, leading to greater satisfaction upon a successful resolution. In this manner, physical disgust has a positive effect in the larger context of the narrative. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Mon, 08 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000353
Empathy, narcissism, alexithymia, and social media use.
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  Abstract: As social media becomes more popular, so do debates about its socio-emotional implications. The current study examined the relationship between social media use and narcissism, alexithymia, and empathy among 1253 American adults. We find that, within this sample, social media use is negatively correlated with self-report and performance measures of empathy, particularly cognitive empathy, and positively correlated with narcissism and alexithymia. However, this result appears constrained to the demographics of this sample. We also report a mini meta-analysis on the relationship between empathy and social media use including our results alongside those of previous research. We find that this strength and direction of this relationship may depend upon nationality, age, and data collection date. In contrast to our result, studies conducted in Europe or with a sample under 18 years of age find a positive relationship between social media use and empathy. In addition, data collected in more recent years tends to report a more positive association between social media and empathy. This paper helps to clarify the relationship between social media use and socioemotional traits and contributes to public debates about social media. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Thu, 07 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000419
Binging on the heartbreak: The effect of binge-watching on narrative
engagement and parasocial breakups.
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  Abstract: The goal of this study was to explore how binge-watching may influence narrative engagement, both positive and negative parasocial relationships (PSRs), and, ultimately, parasocial breakups. Two experimental studies were conducted using identical methods but different samples. The results indicate that binge-watching did not appear to have a direct impact on narrative engagement, positive or negative PSR, or parasocial breakups. Furthermore, narrative engagement in both samples positively predicted positive and negative PSR. Positive PSR, as predicted, led to an increase in parasocial breakup distress. Surprisingly, in one sample, negative PSR also led to an increase in parasocial breakup distress. The results of both studies and their implications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Thu, 09 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000414
Parent–child communication about gender and race through the films Black
Panther and Wonder Woman: The roles of parental mediation and media
literacy.
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  Abstract: This research explores parent–child communication about gender and race through popular media. Specifically, this study examined how White and Black parents (N = 185) discussed the critically acclaimed films Black Panther and Wonder Woman with their children (aged 7–12 years). Findings reveal significant relationships between parents’ media literacy skills, mediation styles, and parent–child conversations about race and gender through these popular superhero films. Higher levels of media literacy and active mediation style were related to the likelihood that parents had conversations about gender and race with their children when discussing the films. Parental race was predictive only of discussion of Black character roles, and parental gender was not significantly related to parent–child communication about the films. Findings are discussed in terms of how media literacy and mediation styles work together to define the parent–child–media relationship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Mon, 25 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000405
Mimetic representations of the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of
objectification, anchoring, and identification processes in coronavirus
memes.
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  Abstract: This study examines meaning-making in and through coronavirus memes, as part of broader representations of the pandemic circulating online. It also aims to make a broader conceptual contribution by advancing a theory of mimetic representation that considers memes to be cultural meaning units and, building on social representations theory, proposes objectification, anchoring, and identification as their 3 main constitutive processes. A content analysis that focuses on these processes was conducted on a systematically generated sample of 1,544 memes posted on Reddit’s r/CoronavirusMemes between January and May 2020. We found that the pandemic is objectified most often in terms of protective measures (e.g., quarantine, social distancing) and transmission (e.g., coughing, traveling when sick); that it is anchored in popular media themes, followed by geography, politics, and history; and that, in terms of identification, most memes portrayed the self and/or in-group. Although, over time, memes displayed more objectification and less identification, the ones that did make reference to in- and out-groups were more commented on. These results suggest that analyses guided by the theory of mimetic representation can shed light on the dynamic nature of meaning-making processes on social media and the importance of memes in terms of framing wider societal debates as well as creating new identities, online and offline. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Thu, 14 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000370
Prejudice norms in online gaming: Game context and gamer identification as
predictors of the acceptability of prejudice.
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  Abstract: Video games are an increasingly popular form of entertainment. However, despite declining acceptability in many social contexts, prejudiced behavior remains common in online gaming. We explore the possibility that prejudiced behavior is more normative in video games than in the real world by comparing people’s perceptions of the norms across these contexts. In Study 1, we demonstrate that prejudiced behavior is more normative in online video games than in the real world. In Study 2, we show that not all video games are equal—prejudiced behavior is perceived as more common and less offensive in action and role-playing games than puzzle games or face-to-face interactions. This research suggests that norms about prejudiced behavior are different in online gaming than in other contexts; interventions targeted to genres where prejudiced behavior is most frequent and accepted may be effective at shifting social norms and by doing so, reducing prejudiced speech in these contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Thu, 09 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000377
Big data, actually: Examining systematic messaging in 188 romantic
comedies using unsupervised machine learning.
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  Abstract: Popular films within the romantic comedy genre set social expectations for romantic relationships, sexual activity, and gender roles, especially for young audiences. Nevertheless, academic research on the genre is scarce and mostly limited to manual content analyses conducted on relatively small samples of films. To systematically examine trends in thematic content and social messages in romantic comedy scripts over time, we harness a novel computational method, the ANalysis of Topic Model Network to analyze 188 scripts of top-grossing romantic comedies in the United States between 1980 and 2019. We estimate the dynamic prevalence of themes in the dialogue and demonstrate the increasing focus on romantic relationships at the expense of other life aspects in recent decades. We demonstrate how this trend systematically resulted in an increase in the prominence of misleading and detrimental messages about romantic relationships. The theoretical, social, and practical implications of our findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Thu, 07 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000349
Inspired to mask up: The effect of uplifting media messages on attitudes
about wearing face masks among Democrats and Republicans.
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  Abstract: Although mask-wearing can curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and protect others, the attitudes and behaviors regarding wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic appear to differ between partisan groups. This study aimed to investigate whether wearing a mask in public can be elicited by uplifting media messages through increasing universal orientation and prosocial motivation. In addition, we tested whether uplifting videos focusing on patriotic American values (e.g., the flag, military) moderated partisan differences related to both feelings of inspiration and an individual’s attitudes and behavioral intentions regarding mask-wearing. Participants (N = 446) were exposed to an uplifting video devoid of patriotic messages, an uplifting video featuring patriotic messages, or a control video. Results showed that both Democrats and Republicans found both uplifting videos inspiring, leading to greater universal orientations and prosocial motivations. Universal orientations were associated with more favorable attitudes and behavioral intentions regarding mask use among Republicans, and prosocial motivations lead to more favorable attitudes among members of both parties. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Thu, 30 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000366
The effects of daily Instagram use on state self-objectification,
well-being, and mood for young women.
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  Abstract: Increasingly visual social media platforms such as Instagram (IG) constitute a large part of young women’s daily lives, but their psychological effects have not yet been studied at the daily level. This study examines the effects of daily IG use on state self-objectification and well-being among Western college-aged women. Participants completed an initial assessment (N = 45) followed by daily-diary responses (N = 481) for up to 13 nights, reporting each day’s IG use, self-objectifying thoughts and feelings on that day, daily well-being, and daily mood. Results from multilevel models indicated that, as hypothesized, using more IG on a particular day was related to increased self-reported state self-objectification on that same day. Daily IG use was also related to lower daily life satisfaction and higher daily negative mood. Further, results provide evidence that state self-objectifying feelings partially explain the relationship between IG use and negative mood (but not life satisfaction). The results of this study suggest that daily exposure to visual social media posts on IG may have adverse effects. Future studies exploring these effects in samples with greater variation in terms of gender and ethnicity are needed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
  PubDate: Thu, 02 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000350