The effects of plot time manipulations on viewers' perceptions of violent video characters
| dc.contributor.author | Andrews, Dion Guy | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-01-27T20:51:01Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-01-27T20:51:01Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1990 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | It was concluded from a review of the literature that very little is known about the effect of plot time perceptions on perceptions of film character violence levels and their violence frequency, as well as the perception processes involved in viewers attributions about television characters. Accordingly, three levels of perceived character violence (slight, mild, and extreme) were manipulated through the selection of video tapes which presented characters who were considered examples of the three violence levels. Two levels of plot time elapsed (unaltered, altered) were also manipulated through the insertion of time cues into the experimental version of each video selected. To test the hypotheses that were formulated, the three movies in their unaltered condition were presented to three classes of subjects all aged from 15 to 16 years (N=69). The dependent variables were ratings of character violence, violence frequency, and the self perceived confidence with which violence ratings were made, as well as plot time elapsed ratings. Each of two movies, which contained suitable characters, were retained and shown again, with their time cues altered, to one of the other subject groups. The hypothesis that lengthened perceptions of plot time elapsed would result in reduced perceptions of character violence frequency received only mixed support. The second hypothesis that elongation of plot time would reduce the mean general violence ratings for the mildly violent character was supported. The results also supported the notion that the prototype process of person perception was used for extremely violent video characters, whilst the frequency process of person perception was used for mildly violent video characters. The results of an additional analysis strongly suggested that the lengthening of plot time mediated the effect of exposure to additional episodes of character violence on ratings of character violence, regardless of how violent the character was perceived to be to begin with. Weaknesses in the research methodology were then noted, along with the implications of the results. Finally, possible future research trends were considered. | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10092/103333 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://dx.doi.org/10.26021/12434 | |
| dc.language | English | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved | en |
| dc.rights.uri | https://canterbury.libguides.com/rights/theses | en |
| dc.subject | Violence on television | en |
| dc.subject | Time perception | en |
| dc.title | The effects of plot time manipulations on viewers' perceptions of violent video characters | en |
| dc.type | Theses / Dissertations | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Psychology | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Canterbury | en |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science | en |
| uc.bibnumber | 330176 | en |
| uc.college | Faculty of Science | en |