Priming effect of computer game violence on children's aggression levels

Abstract

We investigated how aggression resulting from playing violent computer games varies by gender and trait aggressiveness level. In Study 1, 220 children rated 2 video games in terms of pleasantness, excitement, violent content, violent images, fear, interest, and reality. Results indicated that Virtual Cop2 and Fight Landlord games were perceived as violent and nonviolent, respectively. In Study 2, 240 different children responded to the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire, played either Virtual Cop2 or Fight Landlord, and completed a semantic classification task involving rating whether 60 words were aggressive or nonaggressive. Results showed that boys, but not girls, displayed stronger aggression after playing Virtual Cop2, compared to Fight Landlord. Further, children with high trait aggressiveness exhibited strong aggression after playing Virtual Cop2, whereas those with moderate or low trait aggressiveness did not. Overall, our results indicate that gender and trait aggressiveness both affect aggression among children who play violent video games.