Topic 8 DQ 1 Research Proposal: Abstract
Design a brief abstract focusing on the Research Proposal: Project Paper (attached in this order).
Consider aforementioned elements in the Research Proposal:
Introduction/Hypothesis
Method
Results
Discussion
Figures and Tables (total of two from paper)
Sample Answer
Abstract
In contemporary times the cases of mass shootings in the United States have kept increasing, raising concerns from the government and scholars. The past three decades have seen a significant increase in the number of mass shootings in the US. This has coincided with the proliferation of the internet and technology and the increase in the production and consumption of violent content in various media formats. The higher exposure of populations to screen violence is one of the main issues that has been seen as contributing to increased incidences of violence, such as mass shootings in the US. In the modern days, a lot of individuals, therefore, spend most of their time-consuming different media genres, including video games, television, and the internet. The modern-day population is therefore exposed to a significant proportion of violent content through their screens on their day-to-day lives, which can contribute to the onset of aggressive behaviors. The study will explore the hypothesis of whether the significant exposure of present-day populations, especially adolescents, to screen violence has contributed to the increased incidences of violence and aggression being witnessed. The study will adopt a qualitative research approach utilizing the correlational design. The researchers will present self-administered questionnaires targeting participants between 13 to 19 years old who are normally exposed to violent media content for at least more than 24 hours every week. The expected results of the study will be results that either support or refute the hypothesis that screen violence will contribute to aggressive behavior among adolescents. On the other hand, non-significant results will entail results that do not support or refute the hypothesis. This study will follow the ethical guidelines provided by the APA, including informed consent, autonomy, and confidentiality, among others. Before being enrolled in the study, the research participants will be required to fill and sign the informed consent form and the debriefing form.
Introduction
Purpose
The past three decades have seen a significant increase in the number of mass shootings in the US. This has coincided with the proliferation of the internet and technology and the increase in the production and consumption of violent content in various media formats. The increase in incidences of violence such as mass shootings has therefore attracted the attention of scholars who are interested in understanding the contributing factors of the phenomenon of mass violence. The higher exposure of populations to screen violence is one of the main issues that has been seen as contributing to increased incidences of violence, such as mass shootings in the US. In the modern days, a lot of individuals, therefore, spend most of their time-consuming different media genres, including video games, television, and the internet. The modern-day population is therefore exposed to a significant proportion of violent content through their screens on their day-to-day lives, which can contribute to the onset of aggressive behaviors. The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effect of screen violence on aggressive behavior among individuals. This study will therefore help to determine whether exposure to screen violence contributes to aggressive behavior and the rising cases of aggressive incidents in society such as mass shootings.
Literature Review
In the modern days, there’s a lot of depiction of violence in screen entertainment media, including video games, television, film, and the internet. In most of these media channels, different characters are normally depicted as trying to physically harm one another (Mitrofan et al., 2016). Most adolescents in contemporary times spend at least 9 hours consuming some form of media or entertainment which includes videos games, television, computer, or the internet. Video games are some of the most popular forms of content, with some adolescents reporting to playing more than 40 hours per week (Prescott et al., 2018). The significant amount of time that most teenagers spend on video games, therefore, raises the attention of teachers, parents, policymakers, and researchers who are interested in understanding the potential positive and negative effects that video games can have on teenagers.
Over the years, various scholars have therefore explored the effects of screen violence on aggressive behavior. In their studies, different scholars explored the effects of screen violence on aggressive behaviors among individuals. Alia-Klein et al. (2014) posit that the reaction to screen violence will vary among different individuals depending on the brain’s composition and structure. The brain structure of an individual will therefore predispose them to aggression or not. Individuals with a brain structure that predisposes them to aggression might therefore report being determined and inspired by violent media instead of being nervous and upset. Individuals who already have an aggressive trait because of their brain structure will be more likely to get inspiration from screen violence to behave aggressively (Alia-Klein et al., 2014). Individuals with aggressive behavior are also more likely to have their own autonomic and behavioral reactions to screen violence, leading them to perform aggressive actions such as mass shootings. Alia-Klein et al. (2014) therefore suggest that exposure to screen violence will not result in aggressive behaviors among all individuals with people who have a predisposition to aggression due to their brain structure being the most likely to be influenced by screen violence.
Shao & Wang (2019) make similar conclusions as Alia-Klein et al. (2014) that screen violence such as video games can contribute to aggressive behaviors among adolescents. However, Shao & Wang (2019) focus on the mediating effect of the family environment of the adolescents who are exposed to screen violence and how it affects aggressive behaviors. According to Shao & Wang (2019), a poor family environment in combination with exposure to screen violence such as violent video games is, directly and indirectly, related to aggressive behaviors among adolescents. Conversely, a good family environment limits the effect of screen violence on aggressive behaviors (Shao & Wang, 2019). These results show that though screen violence may contribute to aggressive behavior, the environment in which individual lives will also contribute significantly to the onset of aggressive behaviors or not.
