Violent Video Game Play Research Articles

Hands Up! Atypical Defensive Reactions in Heavy Players of Violent Video Games When Exposed to Gun-Attack Pictures.

Threatening cues and surrounding contexts trigger specific defensive response patterns. Posturography, a technique for measuring postural strategies, has been used to evaluate motor defensive reactions in humans. When exposed to gun pointed pictures, humans were shown to exhibit an immobility reaction. Short and long-term exposure to violent video games was shown to be a causal risk factor for increased violent and aggressive behavior. Assaultive violence with a gun is a major trigger for motor defensive reactions, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most characteristic psychiatric sequelae. Recent studies point to links between PTSD symptoms and emotional shortfalls in non-clinical trauma-exposed samples. The present study investigated defensive reactions to gun threat and PTSD symptoms in heavy players of violent video games compared to non-players. Male university students were screened according to use of violent video games and divided in three groups: non-players, moderate players, and heavy players. Stimuli were pictures depicting a man pointing a gun directed at the participant. In matched control pictures, non-lethal objects replaced the gun. Posturography was recorded and PTSD symptoms were assessed. When exposed to the threat pictures, non-players exhibited the expected reduction in amplitude of body sway (immobility), heavy players presented atypical augmented amplitude of body sway, and moderate players showed intermediate reactivity. Heavy players presented a significant distinct reaction compared to non-players. They also scored significantly higher in PTSD symptoms than non-players. Disadvantageous defensive reactions and higher vulnerability to PTSD symptoms, revealed in the present study, add to other shortcomings for heavy players.

Decreased prefrontal activity during a cognitive inhibition task following violent video game play: A multi-week randomized trial.

Decreased prefrontal activity during a cognitive inhibition task following violent video game play: A multi-week randomized trial.

Efekti igranja nasilnih video-igrica na decu i mlade

Violent video games, as a modern digital media, have attracted increasing attention of children and adolescents in recent decades, causing many detrimental consequences, most notably aggressive behavior. Therefore, the goals of the paper are: presentation of research findings that testify to the influence of playing violent video games on aggressive cognition, aggressive feelings, physiological arousal, desensitization to violent scenes, as processes that play a significant role in the expression of aggressive behavior; review of research indicating significant effects of playing violent video games on aggressive behavior; summarizing and displaying the factors that mediate and moderate the link between violent video game play and aggressive behavior. Based on the findings of meta-analytic, longitudinal, experimental and correlational studies, it is clear that playing violent video games is positively related to aggressive behavior and underlying processes.

Are everyday sadists specifically attracted to violent video games and do they emotionally benefit from playing those games?

The present research tested the hypothesis that everyday sadists show a distinct preference for violent video games and examined the relationship between everyday sadism and participant's mood after violent video game play. In Study 1, participants watched three trailers for video games that differed in their level of violent content. Whereas everyday sadists were attracted to a violent video game, there was no significant positive association between everyday sadism and attraction to the nonviolent video games. Study 2 showed that after playing a violent video game, there was a significant positive relationship between everyday sadism and participant's positive mood and a negative relationship between everyday sadism and participant's negative mood. In contrast, after playing a nonviolent video game, the relationship between everyday sadism and participant's negative mood was less pronounced. Overall, these studies show that everyday sadists specifically like to play violent video games and suggest that this tendency is adaptive in that they emotionally benefit from playing violent video games.

Aversive images cause less perceptual interference among violent video game players: evidence from emotion-induced blindness

ABSTRACTPrevious research has assessed links between violent video game playing, aggression, and desensitization in the moral domain, but here we find that frequent violent video game play additionally may be linked with differences in perceptual processing. In an emotion-induced blindness task – wherein graphic images typically outcompete and impair perception of targets – violent video game players suffered less perceptual disruption following aversive images than non-players did, despite no group difference following neutral images. This difference persisted when controlling for sex and other violent media consumption and despite no group differences in trait aggression, disgust propensity, or disgust sensitivity. Importantly, the recruitment method ensured that participants were not aware of links between the experiment and their videogame playing history. Although a causal relationship has yet to be established, the findings suggest that violent video game players might sometimes, literally see the world differently.

Parents’ and children’s violent gameplay: role of co-playing

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the role of co-playing as a moderator of the relation between parents’ and children’s play of violent video games.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses dyadic parent/child survey data to estimate the conditional effects in the model, both direct and indirect.FindingsThe positive effect of parents’ violent video game play of children’s playing behaviors is attenuated by parent/child co-playing. Parents’ knowledge of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings leads to higher levels of co-playing, thereby indirectly attenuating violent video game play in children as driven by parents’ play.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper extends the literature on consumer socialization and the impact of co-playing and identifies an antecedent for co-playing in this context.Practical implicationsThe paper reveals that knowledge of the self-regulatory ESRB rules plays a valuable (indirect) role in mitigating violent video game play by children through an increase in co-playing, which attenuates the positive effect of parents’ play on children’s play.Originality/valueThe study incorporates data from both parents and children to investigate the relationship between parents and children’s violent video game play while empirically investigating the uncertainty in the literature concerning the moderating impact of co-playing.

Metaanalysis of the relationship between violent video game play and physical aggression over time

To clarify and quantify the influence of video game violence (VGV) on aggressive behavior, we conducted a metaanalysis of all prospective studies to date that assessed the relation between exposure to VGV and subsequent overt physical aggression. The search strategy identified 24 studies with over 17,000 participants and time lags ranging from 3 months to 4 years. The samples comprised various nationalities and ethnicities with mean ages from 9 to 19 years. For each study we obtained the standardized regression coefficient for the prospective effect of VGV on subsequent aggression, controlling for baseline aggression. VGV was related to aggression using both fixed [β = 0.113, 95% CI = (0.098, 0.128)] and random effects models [β = 0.106 (0.078, 0.134)]. When all available covariates were included, the size of the effect remained significant for both models [β = 0.080 (0.065, 0.094) and β = 0.078 (0.053, 0.102), respectively]. No evidence of publication bias was found. Ethnicity was a statistically significant moderator for the fixed-effects models (P ≤ 0.011) but not for the random-effects models. Stratified analyses indicated the effect was largest among Whites, intermediate among Asians, and nonsignificant among Hispanics. Discussion focuses on the implications of such findings for current debates regarding the effects of violent video games on physical aggression.

Does playing violent video games cause aggression? A longitudinal intervention study

It is a widespread concern that violent video games promote aggression, reduce pro-social behaviour, increase impulsivity and interfere with cognition as well as mood in its players. Previous experimental studies have focussed on short-term effects of violent video gameplay on aggression, yet there are reasons to believe that these effects are mostly the result of priming. In contrast, the present study is the first to investigate the effects of long-term violent video gameplay using a large battery of tests spanning questionnaires, behavioural measures of aggression, sexist attitudes, empathy and interpersonal competencies, impulsivity-related constructs (such as sensation seeking, boredom proneness, risk taking, delay discounting), mental health (depressivity, anxiety) as well as executive control functions, before and after 2 months of gameplay. Our participants played the violent video game Grand Theft Auto V, the non-violent video game The Sims 3 or no game at all for 2 months on a daily basis. No significant changes were observed, neither when comparing the group playing a violent video game to a group playing a non-violent game, nor to a passive control group. Also, no effects were observed between baseline and posttest directly after the intervention, nor between baseline and a follow-up assessment 2 months after the intervention period had ended. The present results thus provide strong evidence against the frequently debated negative effects of playing violent video games in adults and will therefore help to communicate a more realistic scientific perspective on the effects of violent video gaming.

The roles of selective attention and desensitization in the association between video gameplay and aggression: An ERP investigation

A number of studies have indicated that violent video gameplay is associated with higher levels of aggression and that desensitization and selective attention to violent content may contribute to this association. Utilizing an emotionally-charged rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task, the current study used two event-related potentials (ERPs) – the N1 and P3 – that have been associated with selective attention and desensitization as neurocognitive mechanisms potentially underlying the connection between gameplay and higher levels of aggression. Results indicated that video game players and non-players differed in N1 and P3 activation when engaged with emotionally-charged imagery. Additionally, P3 amplitudes moderated the association between video gameplay and aggression, indicating that players who display small P3 amplitudes also showed heightened levels of aggression. Follow-up moderational analyses revealed that individuals who play games for many hours and show more negative N1 amplitudes show smaller P3 activation. Together, our results suggest that selective attention to violent content and desensitization both play key roles in the association between video gameplay and aggression.

The relationship between everyday sadism, violent video game play, and fascination with weapons

Previous research has shown that everyday sadism is positively related to the amount of violent video game play. The present research extends this line of work by examining whether everyday sadists are attracted to violent video games because they are fascinated with weapons. In fact, a survey (N=613) showed that everyday sadism was significantly related to both violent video game play and the fascination with weapons. These relationships remained significant when controlling for the impact of trait aggression and the Dark Triad (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism). Most importantly, fascination with weapons mediated the relationship between everyday sadism and amount of violent video game play. It thus appears that everyday sadists use virtual weapons during violent video game play to satisfy their fascination with weapons.

How do videogame players identify their actions? Integrating Action Identification Theory and videogame play via the Behavior Identification Form - Gamer

How does a videogame player identify the actions of their character in a videogame, and do those identifications have meaningful implications or effects on cognition? The principles of Action Identification Theory (Vallacher & Wegner, 1985) were utilized in the present research to understand how players identify their actions when playing a violent videogame. A new measure, the Behavior Identification Form – Gamer, was created and tested for reliability and validity across three studies. The BIF-G demonstrated acceptable reliability along with convergent and incremental validity from the original Behavioral Identification Form. Results indicated that those who played videogames more, as well as those who, played more diverse types of videogames, thought of their game actions more abstractly than those who played less or played fewer types. In addition, those who thought of their game actions more abstractly performed better while playing games compared to those who viewed actions more concretely. The implications of these results are applied to the current debate regarding violent videogame play's impact on aggressive thoughts and actions. The utility of viewing this relationship through the lens of Action Identification Theory is also discussed.

The spreading impact of playing violent video games on aggression

Violent video game exposure has been shown to increase aggression in the player. The present research examines the idea that violent video game play does not only have an impact on the player, but also on the player's social network. In fact, egocentric social networking analyses showed that playing violent video games is associated with increased aggression, which then spreads among connected individuals. Even participants that do not play violent video games themselves reported more aggression when their social network consists of individuals who do play violent video games. Psychologists and the public alike have been concerned that violent video game exposure has the potential to increase aggression on a societal level. As the present study shows, not only players of violent video games but also their social network may contribute to this phenomenon.

Drones, risk, and moral injury

ABSTRACTThis article assesses the ethical significance of drone violence by focusing on the experience of drone operators as moral agents. In recent debates over the use of armed drones, ethical judgements have tended to be informed by the Just War principles that traditionally govern the conduct of war. However, Just War thinking is not the only way to think morally about the killing that drone operators do. Drone violence could also be assessed by reference to the notion that killing a human being can cause ‘moral injury’ to the killer because it betrays his or her personal standards of right conduct. Killing that is deemed permissible by others (by reference to Just War principles) can be judged further and differently by killers themselves, and a drone operator can make this judgement in the unprecedented circumstance of remote killing witnessed in real time via a powerful video camera mounted on the aircraft. Although it is sometimes claimed that physically distant drone operators are as morally disengaged and as immune to risk as the players of violent video games, evidence to the contrary is emerging. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to illuminate the situation of drone operators who might actually be highly engaged morally and to explore reasons why they might experience moral injury. If the risk of moral injury is real, it undermines the risk-avoidance rationale for sending drones rather than troops to dangerous places, and it could serve as an additional ethical basis for restraining drone violence.

Cool, callous and in control: superior inhibitory control in frequent players of video games with violent content

Research on the effects of media violence exposure has shown robust associations among violent media exposure, increased aggressive behavior, and decreased empathy. Preliminary research indicates that frequent players of violent video games may have differences in emotional and cognitive processes compared to infrequent or nonplayers, yet research examining the amount and content of game play and the relation of these factors with affective and cognitive outcomes is limited. The present study measured neural correlates of response inhibition in the context of implicit attention to emotion, and how these factors are related to empathic responding in frequent and infrequent players of video games with graphically violent content. Participants completed a self-report measure of empathy as well as an affective stop-signal task that measured implicit attention to emotion and response inhibition during electroencephalography. Frequent players had lower levels of empathy as well as a reduction in brain activity as indicated by P100 and N200/P300 event related potentials. Reduced P100 amplitude evoked by happy facial expressions was observed in frequent players compared to infrequent players, and this effect was moderated by empathy, such that low levels of empathy further reduced P100 amplitudes for happy facial expressions for frequent players compared to infrequent players. Compared to infrequent players, frequent players had reduced N200/P300 amplitude during response inhibition, indicating less neural resources were recruited to inhibit behavior. Results from the present study illustrate that chronic exposure to violent video games modulates empathy and related neural correlates associated with affect and cognition.

Ready, Aim, Fire! Violent Video Game Play and Gun Controller Use: Effects on Behavioral Aggression and Social Norms Concerning Violence

In addition to individual risk factors, recent findings surrounding the effects of violent video game play have provided compelling evidence that the contextual features of games also contribute to increased outcome aggression. The current study focuses on the relationship between violent video game play and the use of gun controllers on both social norms related to aggression and real-life behavioral aggression. As predicted, both violent video game play and gun controller use were positively related to behavioral aggression. The implications of these findings are discussed along with their influence on future research in this area.

Supplemental Material for Decreased Prefrontal Activity During a Cognitive Inhibition Task Following Violent Video Game Play: A Multi-Week Randomized Trial

Supplemental Material for Decreased Prefrontal Activity During a Cognitive Inhibition Task Following Violent Video Game Play: A Multi-Week Randomized Trial

Parental Restrictive Mediation and Children's Violent Video Game Play: The Effectiveness of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Rating System

This study seeks to determine whether Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings are an effective tool for parents seeking to enhance their mediation efforts and ultimately reduce their children's play of violent video games (and their children's corresponding engagement in negative behaviors, such as getting in fights at school). Results demonstrate that children of parents who employ restrictive mediation efforts tend to play less violent video games, and the effect of these efforts is enhanced when parents use the ESRB system. This moderated effect also extends to reduce children's engagement in negative behaviors in school. These findings suggest that both the video game industry and the government could play a role in establishing and maintaining educational programs whose purpose is to inform parents/caretakers about the potential usefulness of the ESRB guidelines.

Violent video games increase voice stress: An experimental study.

In most violent video games, players are put in stressful situations where enemies are trying to kill them. This is reflected by the results of previous research showing that violent video games increase physiological arousal (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin response). In this study, I investigate the effect of playing violent video games on emotional stress detected by a new methodology: voice analysis. Because changes and disturbances in vocal responses can be understood as reactions to emotional stress, I expected that violent videogames would increase voice stress. Participants (N 87 French university students; 40% female; Mage 21.2) played either a violent or nonviolent game for 20 min. After game play, participants read a stressprovoking story aloud while their voices were recorded. Voice recordings were analyzed to determine the amount of emotional stress in participants’ voices using Automated Voice Stress Analysis. As hypothesized, voice stress was higher among violent video game players than among nonviolent video game players. Voice stress was also higher for men than for women. No interaction between video game content and the gender of participants was observed. This study confirms that violent video games have physiological consequences on players, as predicted by the General Aggression Model and also introduces a promising nonobtrusive physiological measure in media psychology research.

The longitudinal relationship between everyday sadism and the amount of violent video game play

Previous research found correlational evidence that the trait of everyday sadism is associated with the amount of violent video game play. Due to the correlational design, the direction of the association remained unclear. According to the selection hypothesis, everyday sadists should be attracted to violent video games, whereas the socialization hypothesis would propose that repeated exposure to violent video games makes the player more sadistic. However, these hypotheses are by no means mutually exclusive and the relation between everyday sadism and violent video game exposure could be bidirectional. To examine the causal mechanisms more closely, we carried out a longitudinal study (N=743) for which we collected data at two points in time, six months apart. Results showed that (a) everyday sadists are more likely than others to play violent video games and (b) repeated exposure to violent video games predicts everyday sadism over time. Overall, this bidirectional influence reflects a downward spiral of everyday sadistic tendencies and violent video gaming reinforcing each other.

Modeling outcomes of violent video game play: Applying mental models and model matching to explain the relationship between user differences, game characteristics, enjoyment, and aggressive intentions

While much research on video games has focused on aggressive outcomes, the extant research has not come to consensus on the role of other factors, notably enjoyment, frustration and individual differences amongst players, in mediating the link between violent game play and aggression. This experimental design uses a mental models approach to examine game features (e.g., controller naturalness), player characteristics (e.g., first person shooter experience, sex, degree of competitiveness) and the game play experience (e.g., perceived game realism, immersion, game failure, frustration and enjoyment) to explain aggressive outcomes. Results from a revised path model suggest perceived realism, immersion, and experience with other first person shooters all positively predicted enjoyment while frustration negatively predicted game enjoyment. Frustration and enjoyment both predicted state aggression. The findings of this study support the application of mental models as a theoretical approach to unify thinking about violent games, contextual features of violent games, individual difference variables and differences in player perceptions and game experiences with regards to outcome aggression. Results are discussed in terms of the model matching hypothesis and implications for the comprehensive study of violent game play, including the importance of enjoyment and frustration, are also discussed.