Violent Video Game Play Research Articles

Violent Video Game Play and (De)Sensitization to Threat.

This study assesses whether the frequency of violent video game play is associated with attentional desensitization or sensitization to images depicting violence or nonviolent interpersonal conflict. Two hundred and thirty-two participants reported their three most frequently played video games and the amount of time each game was played in a typical week. Next, they completed an assessment of emotion-induced blindness, which refers to a reduction in the correct identification of a neutral target image when it follows an emotionally charged distractor image. The primary findings showed that weekly violent video game play was negatively associated with target identification following nonviolent interpersonal conflict images, but not violent images. Findings are discussed in terms of the saliency of threatening images and attentional processing.

The effect of a physically formidable competitor or cooperator on attraction to violent video games

Typically, men prefer violent video games more than women do. However, little is known about the motivational factors driving this greater preference for violent games in men. The integrative motivational model of violent video games (IMT-VVG) suggests that the pull of violent video games should be strongest in men because men have faced stronger evolutionary pressures to physically compete within an explicit hierarchy relative to women. In two experiments, individuals were led to believe they were competing (Experiment 1; N = 122) or cooperating (Experiment 2; N = 121) with an ostensible same-gender partner to complete a physical strength program. The partner was presented as either high or low in physical formidability. Participants then selected a violent or non-violent video game to play for up to 15 min. In Experiment 1, men showed a stronger preference for violent video games than women when they anticipated facing a stronger opponent in an impending physical strength competition. In Experiment 2, for the physical cooperation task, men also chose the violent game over the non-violent game, but did so independent of the formidability of their cooperation partner. In sum, these data suggest that men may be attracted to violent video games when faced with a competitive task that requires physical strength, but not necessarily a cooperative task. In support of this hypothesis, participants who played the violent games reported greater subjective toughness after game play. These results provide evidence for a new integrative motivational theory of violent video game play.

The social contagious effects of violent video game play: retaliatory, displaced, and the mere observation of aggression

ABSTRACT Aggression and violence have been shown to spread among connected individuals. The present experimental study aims to test whether exposure to violent video games increases aggression levels in players and whether this increased aggression spreads among their social network. Results showed that aggression after video game play is indeed contagious and that not only victims of the player’s aggression retaliate or are aggressive toward a neutral person (i.e., displaced aggression), but that even mere observers of the player’s aggression are aggressive toward a neutral person. Overall, our findings suggest that violent video game exposure may not only have an impact on the player’s level of aggression, but also on people who are connected to the player.

Is playing violent video games a risk factor for aggressive behaviour? Adding narcissism, self-esteem and PEGI ratings to the debate.

Aggressive behaviour is a challenge for society. There continues to be considerable debate over whether the consumption of violent video games affects aggression, as violent video game content has become more accessible in recent years due to the growing use of online distribution platforms. Personality traits often linked to aggression, such as narcissism and self-esteem, have been considered in the context of violent video game play and their relationship with aggression. We surveyed an international population of 166 game players on their personality traits and their three favourite video game choices, which were classified as violent or non-violent, using Pan European Game Information (PEGI) 16 and 18 ratings. We found that violent video game choice is a predictor of verbal aggression alongside narcissism, and hostility alongside self-esteem. A categorical regression highlighted the desire to impersonate society's undesirable role models (e.g., 'be a thief or a killer') as one of the motivations for aggression and violent video game choice. These findings show that video game violence should be considered a risk factor for aggression, as in other violent media, as it provides a social reinforcement of aggressive behaviour and observational learning of aggressive models, calling for the introduction of stricter online age verification procedures on online game platforms to safeguard children from violent video game content; and increased use of parental controls on content fruition. More granularity should be considered in the PEGI classifications.

Using video games to understand sex differences in attentional biases for weapons.

Attentional biases for threatening stimuli of various kinds have been repeatedly demonstrated. More recently, sex differences in the strength of visual biases for weapons have been observed, with men exhibiting stronger biases than do women. In the current study we further explored this sex difference, by examining how immediate vicarious experience with weapons (via playing a violent video game compared to playing a non-violent video game) affected the visual attention for weapons. We found that the basic visual bias for weapons compared to non-weapons was replicated, as was the sex difference in the strength of this bias. We also observed that the context produced by playing a violent video game prior to the visual search task, produced some sex differences in responding that were not present after playing the nonviolent video game, providing modest evidence that men may be more prone to cognitive behavioural effects of violent video game play. Interestingly, there was some evidence that both sexes de-prioritised non-weapons during search after playing the violent, relative to the non-violent, video game. We recommend that future studies investigate the task dynamics that may have led to this effect.

Emotion Recognition and Inhibitory Control in Adolescent Players of Violent Video Games.

Developmental changes during adolescence may make youth susceptible to violent media effects. Two studies with male adolescents (N1 = 241; N2 = 161; aged 12-17) examined how habitual and short-term violent video gaming may affect emotion recognition and inhibitory control. We found that not habitual exposure to violent video games, but to antisocial media content predicted worse emotion recognition. Furthermore, higher habitual exposure to violent games predicted better inhibitory control over emotional stimuli in a stop signal task. However, short-term causal effects of violent gameplay on adolescents were not found. While these results do not indicate a negative impact of violent video games on young players, future research may further investigate possible effects of antisocial media content on adolescents.

Why do habitual violent video game players believe in the cathartic effects of violent video games? A misinterpretation of mood improvement as a reduction in aggressive feelings.

Previous research found that violent video game play leads to increased aggression, but many people (mainly habitual violent video game players) still believe that playing violent games releases aggressive feelings and in turn reduces aggressive behavior. Other research has shown that video game play can have a positive impact on the player's mood. Based on the General Aggression Model and mood management theory, we thus hypothesized that habitual violent video game players misinterpret their better mood after game play as a reduction of aggressive feelings and hence believe in the cathartic effects of violent video games. Two studies examined this reasoning in the player's natural habitat. Habitual video game players were surveyed multiple times for a period of 2 weeks before and after each gaming session. Results showed that playing video games improved the participant's mood, which in turn was positively associated with the belief in the cathartic effect of violent video game play. Importantly, this relation held when controlling for the player's actual level of aggressive feelings. Study 1 further showed that playing a violent game tended to lead to a higher level of reported aggressive feelings after playing. In contrast, in Study 2, level of reported aggressive feelings was not related to the violence of the game. Taken together, habitual violent video game players (erroneously) believe in the cathartic effects of violent video games, because they are in a better mood after playing.

Sex differences in anger states after violent video game play and the relationship of empathy and emotional invalidation as pre-aggressive predictors in young adults

Previous research indicates that anger and aggressive behavior may increase with exposure to violence, particularly from playing violent video games. However, this literature is mixed with few studies examining individual differences that account for these inconsistencies. Therefore, we conducted a within-subjects experiment examining state anger in young adults after violent and nonviolent video game play. Importantly, we examined how individual differences involving levels of empathy, childhood emotional invalidation, anger traits, and sex may relate to state anger outcomes. Our results suggest that sex differences play a role in anger states after violent video game play. Specifically, only females showed increased levels of state anger. Lower empathy was a strong predictor of increased anger expression, and emotionally invalidating childhood environments was related to higher levels of trait anger. Implications from these results may include a possible buffering role that empathy and childhood emotional validation have in anger outcomes, while emphasizing the importance of examining individual differences and their outcomes resulting from playing violent video games.

A Positive Side of Violent Video Game Play

The exploration of the potential link between aggression and violent video game play has been extended to violent video game play as a precursor to violent crime. If violent video game play does increase aggression in players, that does not translate into real-world violence or violent crime. There is no single criminogenic risk factor that causes someone to commit violent criminal acts, so the idea that violent video game play causes players to commit a crime, through desensitization or otherwise, is not plausible. Therefore, this paper discusses if violent video game play is a contributing factor for an individual to participate in violent crime. The conclusion is that violent video game play and violent crime exist in a negative correlation to one another. Crime data compared to video game sales, implying higher video game play rates, shows a decrease in property and violent crime in areas where violent video game play is increased. This outcome may be explained by more time spent in the home playing video games via Routine Activities Theory as well as the presence of a catharsis effect. Since violent video game play contributes to lower crime rates, this may produce lower social costs for society as well as a heightened feeling of safety in impacted areas. Future research in this area includes violent video game play and violent crime studies conducted with a broader range of participants with various demographics, as well as the long-term effects of violent video game play on players.

Psychopathy and violent video game playing: Multiple associations in a juvenile justice system involved sample.

Violent video game playing is a consistent risk factor for aggression, but research on its psychopathology and trait underpinnings are primarily based on community or university student samples, thus the ecological validity to adjudicated and juvenile justice system-involved youth lacks clarity. This is an important void in the literature because relative to youth in the general population, adjudicated and detained youth evince greater psychopathology, more severe delinquency and violence histories, and clinical psychopathic features. Negative binomial regression models using data from 252 youth in residential placements found that several psychopathic features are significantly associated with violent video gaming. The role of psychopathy operated differently across gender and arrest chronicity, and across models remorselessness emerged as an important correlate. Given the desensitization that can occur with violent video game play, it is of particular concern among delinquent youth with psychopathic personality features.

Growing Up with Grand Theft Auto: A 10-Year Study of Longitudinal Growth of Violent Video Game Play in Adolescents.

A host of studies have examined the impact of playing violent video games on aggressive behavior. However, longitudinal research is rare, and existing studies have allowed little room for individual variability in the trajectories of violent video game play. The current study used a person-centered approach to examine trajectories, predictors, and outcomes of violent video game play over a 10-year period. Three groups of individuals emerged: high initial violence (4 percent), moderate (23 percent), and low increasers (73 percent). High initial violence and moderate groups showed a curvilinear pattern of violent video game play across time, whereas low increasers group increased slightly in violent video game play across time. The high initial violence and moderate groups were more likely to be male, and those in the high initial violence group were more likely to be depressed at the initial wave. There was no difference in prosocial behavior at the final time point across all the three groups, but individuals in the moderate group displayed the highest levels of aggressive behavior at the final wave. Implications of the results are discussed.

Video games and close relations: Attachment and empathy as predictors of children's and adolescents' video game social play and socio-emotional functioning

This cross-sectional study examined the differential associations between attachment patterns and empathy and children's and adolescents' aggressive, prosocial and interpersonal video game play and peer relations. The sample was composed of 1391 Israeli children and adolescents, aged 9–15 who rated their recent video-game involvement in terms of violent, prosocial and interpersonal interactions. Dispositional attachment styles and empathy were measured, as well as social satisfaction, prosociality, peer support, subjective well-being, and aggressive behavior in daily life. The results confirmed the relationship between type of video game involvement, social functioning, and well-being. Prosocial and interpersonal video game play were related to greater social satisfaction, peer support, and prosocial behavior, which led to increased well-being, whereas violent video game play was related to increased school bullying, and lower social satisfaction and prosociality. Secure attachment was related to increased empathic concerns and higher levels of prosocial and interpersonal interactions in video game use. Children with attachment anxiety or avoidance engaged in significantly less prosocial video game behavior. These findings challenge the assumption that violence in video games is inevitably related to negative social consequences and points to the potential of video games to serve basic attachment and prosocial needs that can promote close relations.

Exploring the Effects of Violent Video Games on Healthcare Trainees

Background. The prevalence of video game play has continued to increase. Previous literature has suggested negative emotional consequences related to violent video game play, such as an increase in aggression and decrease in empathy. Healthcare providers require high levels of empathy to effectively work with patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of video games on empathy on a sample of graduate-level healthcare trainees. Methods. A sample of 81 students on a healthcare campus completed a 30-item survey assessing video game habits and empathy levels. Participants were then placed into two groups (violent and non-violent) based on the amount of video game violence they are exposed to. Results. The results revealed no differences between healthcare trainees on overall empathy. A follow-up analysis examining individual subscales that comprise the overall empathy score, indicated the violent video game players had lower scores on the Personal Distress scale. Conclusion. Findings suggest that healthcare trainees who play violent video games do not experience decreased Empathic Concern or Perspective Taking, compared to individuals who do not play violent games. However, healthcare trainees who play violent video games indicated lower levels of Personal Distress. Given the intensity in healthcare settings, findings suggest violent video game play may be adaptive to healthcare trainees, as lower personal distress can lead to better decision-making and potentially prevent burnout. Further research is necessary to determine the role of video game play in healthcare professionals.

Video Game Violence and Interactivity: Effect or Equivalence?

Abstract The effect of exposure to violent video game content on aggression is intensely debated. Meta-analyses have produced widely varying estimates as to the effect (or non-effect) of violent video games on subsequent aggressive thoughts and behaviors. Recent work suggests that interactivity and player skill may play key roles in moderating the effects of violent content in video games on aggression. This study investigates the effects of violence, interactivity, and player skill on mild aggressive behavior using a custom-developed first-person shooter game allowing for high levels of experimental control. We conduct effect and equivalence tests with effect size assumptions drawn from prominent meta-analyses in the video game violence literature, finding that aggressive behavior following violent video game play is statistically equivalent to that observed following non-violent game play. We also observe an interaction between violent game content, player skill, and interactivity. When player skill matched the interactivity of the game, violent content led to an increase in aggressive behavior, whereas when player skill did not match the interactivity of the game, violent content decreased aggressive behavior. This interaction is probed using a multiverse analysis incorporating both classical significance testing and Bayesian analyses.

Understanding the Effects of Violent Video Games on Violent Crime

Psychological studies invariably find a positive relationship between violent video game play and aggression. However, these studies cannot account for either aggressive effects of alternative activities video game playing substitutes for or the possible selection of relatively violent people into playing violent video games. That is, they lack external validity. We investigate the relationship between the prevalence of violent video games and violent crimes. Our results are consistent with two opposing effects. First, they support the behavioral effects as in the psychological studies. Second, they suggest a larger voluntary incapacitation effect in which playing either violent or non-violent games decrease crimes. Overall, violent video games lead to decreases in violent crime.

Violent video game play, gender, and trait aggression influence subjective fighting ability, perceptions of men's toughness, and anger facial recognition

Violent video game play can alter how people process social information. We examined the extent to which violent video game play influenced anger facial recognition, perceptions of one's own fighting ability, and perceptions of others' toughness. In three experiments (N = 868), participants were randomly assigned to play a violent or non-violent video game in the laboratory for 15 min (Experiments 1 and 2) or online for 5 min (Experiment 3). Participants then completed anger recognition tasks. Participants also indicated when they would back out of a physical confrontation with images of men that morphed from feminine to masculine. They rated these same target images on how tough they were and how much they could bench press. Participants rated themselves on how well they would fare in a fight against the men. Although not perfectly replicated, the general pattern of findings suggest that violent video game play impaired anger recognition, increased players' self-perceived fighting ability and reduced perceptions of the target men's toughness. Several effects were moderated by gender and/or trait aggression. These results provide insight into improved subjective fighting ability as a reinforcing feature of violent video games that may make them highly attractive to players.

The contagious impact of playing violent video games on aggression: Longitudinal evidence.

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.

The Police Officer’s Dilemma

Abstract. Correll and colleagues ( Correll, Park, Judd, & Wittenbrink, 2002 ) developed a first-person shooter task that simulates the police officer’s dilemma of whether to shoot or not a target that may present lethal danger. The present study examined the relationship between habitual violent video game play and responses in this shooting paradigm. Habitual violent video game play has been shown to increase the accessibility of aggressive thoughts. Previous research also demonstrated that action video game play has a positive impact on perceptual skills. Hence, it was hypothesized that players of violent video games would be more likely to mistakenly shoot a target and exhibit shorter reaction times in the shooting task. Results revealed that reaction times, but not error rates, were significantly associated with habitual violent video game play. These findings suggest that habitual violent video game play may have a positive impact on overall processing skills without limiting accuracy.

Parental influence on youth violent video game use

Violent video games have been the subject of much news and analysis. One area of the debate, particularly in legal arenas, has been whether parents have or should have control over what games their children play. Despite such debates, only limited empirical research has examined whether parents actually do have influence over what games their children play or how much they play them. Using cross-sectional data from large-samples of American high-school and middle-school students, this study examines parental influences on violent video game play and the role of perceived parental opinion of violent video games. Results suggest that parental attachment and perceived parental opinion of video games play a significant role in the degree to which youth play violent games, even through later adolescence in high school.

The interaction of contextual realism and fantasy tendency on aggressive behavior following violent video game play: An indirect test of violent content effects

The current study employed a novel experimental paradigm to test the effect of violent video game content on aggressive behavior. This was accomplished by leveraging player engagement with the game's content as opposed to direct manipulation of violent content. Participants reported on their dispositional tendency to engage in fantasy activities after playing either a realistic or fantasy version of the same game. A two-way interaction revealed that participants who regularly engage with fantasy were more likely to administer aversive noise “blasts” to another person after playing the fantasy game, compared to the realistic game. A mediated moderation test revealed that this increase in aggression was due in part to increased player engagement with the game's content. Specifically, participants predisposed to engage with the violent game tended to behave more aggressively following game play as a function of that engagement. The findings provide supporting evidence for violent content effects and detail a novel method for assessing violent and other media content effects.