Despite recent growth of research on prosocial media effects (e.g., Greitemeyer, 2011a & b), processes underlying these effects are not well understood. Two studies explored theoretically relevant mediators and moderators of prosocial media effects on helping. Study 1 examined associations among prosocial and violent media use, empathy, and helping with participants from 7 countries. Prosocial media use was positively associated with helping. This effect was mediated by empathy and was similar across cultures. Study 2 explored longitudinal relations among prosocial video game use, violent video game use, empathy, and helping in a large sample of Singaporean children and adolescents measured three times across two years. Path analyses yielded significant longitudinal effects of prosocial and violent video game use on prosocial behavior through empathy. Latent growth curve modeling revealed significant mediated effects of change in video game use on change in helping through change in empathy over the two-year period.

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Cultural generality versus specificity of media violence effects on aggression was examined in seven countries (Australia, China, Croatia, Germany, Japan, Romania, the United States). Participants reported aggressive behaviors, media use habits, and several other known risk and protective factors for aggression. Across nations, exposure to violent screen media was positively associated with aggression. This effect was partially mediated by aggressive cognitions and empathy. The media violence effect on aggression remained significant even after statistically controlling a number of relevant risk and protective factors (e.g., abusive parenting, peer delinquency), and was similar in magnitude to effects of other risk factors. In support of the cumulative risk model, joint effects of different risk factors on aggressive behavior in each culture were larger than effects of any individual risk factor.

This study investigates the tracking facilitation effect during categorical distinction between targets and distractors in the Multiple Identity Tracking task. We asked observers to track four targets in a total of eight moving objects, and manipulated categorical distinctions of targets and distractors across four experiments, with different combinations of inter-category and intra-category differences. Results show that tracking performance was significantly better when the targets and distractors were inter-category different, compared to when the targets and distractors were identical or intra-category distinctive. As the inter-category distinction between targets and distractors narrowed, tracking performance improved, but the inter-category facilitation effect decreased. These results may indicate a category-based grouping effect: the observers organized the targets within the same semantic category into one group and made the targets more easily and accurately rediscovered when lost during tracking. Furthermore, the tracking facilitation of categorical distinction diminished when all the objects were inverted. This proved that besides their visual distinctiveness, objects’ semantic category information also played an important role during tracking.

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