Abstract
Meta‐analyses have shown that violent video game play increases aggression in the player. The present research suggests that violent video game play also affects individuals with whom the player is connected. A longitudinal study (N = 980) asked participants to report on their amount of violent video game play and level of aggression as well as how they perceive their friends and examined the association between the participant's aggression and their friends’ amount of violent video game play. As hypothesized, friends’ amount of violent video game play at Time 1 was associated with the participant's aggression at Time 2 even when controlling for the impact of the participant's aggression at Time 1. Mediation analyses showed that friends’ aggression at Time 1 accounted for the impact of friends’ amount of violent video game play at Time 1 on the participant's aggression at Time 2. These findings suggest that increased aggression in video game players has an impact on the player's social network.
Highlights
Given its widespread use, the public and psychologists alike are concerned about the impact of violent video game play
Given that violent video game play increases aggression, it may well be that this increased aggression has an impact on people with whom the player is connected
Violent video game play was associated with increased aggression in the player and participants perceived their friends who play more violent video games to be more aggressive than their less‐playing friends
Summary
The public and psychologists alike are concerned about the impact of violent video game play. Model (GAM) proposed by Anderson & Bushman (2002) According to this theoretical model, person and situation variables (sometimes interactively) may affect a person’s internal state, consisting of cognition, affect, and arousal. This internal state affects how events are perceived and interpreted. Playing violent video games is assumed to increase aggressive cognition and affect, which in turn results in behavioral aggression An extension of this model further assumes that increased aggression due to previous violent video game play may instigate an aggression escalation cycle in that the victim behaves aggressively (cf Anderson & Bushman, 2018, Figure 5). The present research tested key predictions derived from the GAM and its extension, that (a) violent video game play is associated with increased aggression in the player and that (b) individuals who are connected to the player will become more aggressive
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