I wish I were a warrior: the role of wishful identification in the effects of violent video games on aggression in adolescent boys

This study tested the hypothesis that violent video games are especially likely to increase aggression when players identify with violent game characters. Dutch adolescent boys with low education ability (N=112) were randomly assigned to play a realistic or fantasy violent or nonviolent video game. Next, they competed with an ostensible partner on a reaction time task in which the winner could blast the loser with loud noise through headphones (the aggression measure). Participants were told that high noise levels could cause permanent hearing damage. Habitual video game exposure, trait aggressiveness, and sensation seeking were controlled for. As expected, the most aggressive participants were those who played a violent game and wished they were like a violent character in the game. These participants used noise levels loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage to their partners, even though their partners had not provoked them. These results show that identifying with violent video game characters makes players more aggressive. Players were especially likely to identify with violent characters in realistic games and with games they felt immersed in.     

Contributions of Game Genre and Masculinity Ideologies to Associations Between Video Game Play and Men’s Risk-Taking Behavior

Previous investigations of mainstream video games have documented a high prevalence of risk-promoting content, as well as a positive relation between video game play and participation in risk-taking behaviors such as reckless driving, substance use, and delinquency. In this study, we extend this work by investigating the role of video game genre and masculinity ideology within this relation. A sample of 273 undergraduate men from a large Midwestern university completed online surveys of their video game exposure, masculinity ideology, and participation in a range of high-risk behaviors. Results indicate that playing sports video games is associated with greater alcohol use, drug use, and delinquent behaviors, but action games are only associated with greater delinquency. In contrast, playing online video games was negatively associated with alcohol and drug use. Furthermore, the relation between sports video games and participation in risky behaviors was fully mediated by participants’ adherence to masculinity ideology. These results reveal that the relations between video game play and risk outcomes were strongest for sports video games, and in some cases, were mediated by masculinity ideology.     

The lone gamer: Social exclusion predicts violent video game preferences and fuels aggressive inclinations in adolescent players

Violent video game playing has been linked to a wide range of negative outcomes, especially in adolescents. In the present research, we focused on a potential determinant of adolescents’ willingness to play violent video games: social exclusion. We also tested whether exclusion can predict increased aggressiveness following violent video game playing. In two experiments, we predicted that exclusion could increase adolescents’ preferences for violent video games and interact with violent game playing fostering adolescents’ aggressive inclinations. In Study 1, 121 adolescents (aged 10–18 years) were randomly assigned to a manipulation of social exclusion. Then, they evaluated the violent content of nine different video games (violent, nonviolent, or prosocial) and reported their willingness to play each presented video game. The results showed that excluded participants expressed a greater willingness to play violent games than nonviolent or prosocial games. No such effect was found for included participants. In Study 2, both inclusionary status and video game contents were manipulated. After a manipulation of inclusionary status, 113 adolescents (aged 11–16 years) were randomly assigned to play either a violent or a nonviolent video game. Then, they were given an opportunity to express their aggressive inclinations toward the excluders. Results showed that excluded participants who played a violent game displayed the highest level of aggressive inclinations than participants who were assigned to the other experimental conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that exclusion increases preferences for violent games and that the combination of exclusion and violent game playing fuels aggressive inclinations.

     

Violent and nonviolent video games produce opposing effects on aggressive and prosocial outcomes

Experimental studies routinely show that participants who play a violent game are more aggressive immediately following game play than participants who play a nonviolent game. The underlying assumption is that nonviolent games have no effect on aggression, whereas violent games increase it. The current studies demonstrate that, although violent game exposure increases aggression, nonviolent video game exposure decreases aggressive thoughts and feelings (Exp 1) and aggressive behavior (Exp 2). When participants assessed after a delay were compared to those measured immediately following game play, violent game players showed decreased aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior, whereas nonviolent game players showed increases in these outcomes. Experiment 3 extended these findings by showing that exposure to nonviolent puzzle-solving games with no expressly prosocial content increases prosocial thoughts, relative to both violent game exposure and, on some measures, a no-game control condition. Implications of these findings for models of media effects are discussed.     

Violent Video Games Stress People Out and Make Them More Aggressive

It is well known that violent video games increase aggression, and that stress increases aggression. Many violent video games can be stressful because enemies are trying to kill players. The present study investigates whether violent games increase aggression by inducing stress in players. Stress was measured using cardiac coherence, defined as the synchronization of the rhythm of breathing to the rhythm of the heart. We predicted that cardiac coherence would mediate the link between exposure to violent video games and subsequent aggression. Specifically, we predicted that playing a violent video game would decrease cardiac coherence, and that cardiac coherence, in turn, would correlate negatively with aggression. Participants (N = 77) played a violent or nonviolent video game for 20 min. Cardiac coherence was measured before and during game play. After game play, participants had the opportunity to blast a confederate with loud noise through headphones during a reaction time task. The intensity and duration of noise blasts given to the confederate was used to measure aggression. As expected, violent video game players had lower cardiac coherence levels and higher aggression levels than did nonviolent game players. Cardiac coherence, in turn, was negatively related to aggression. This research offers another possible reason why violent games can increase aggression—by inducing stress. Cardiac coherence can be a useful tool to measure stress induced by violent video games. Cardiac coherence has several desirable methodological features as well: it is noninvasive, stable against environmental disturbances, relatively inexpensive, not subject to demand characteristics, and easy to use. Aggr. Behav. 39:64‐70, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Violent video games and anger as predictors of aggression

Considerable research has demonstrated that playing violent video games can increase aggression. The theoretical framework upon which a good deal of this research has rested is known as the General Aggression Model (GAM; [Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 27–51]). The current study tested an assumption of the GAM by examining if the dispositional trait of anger moderated the relation between violent video games and aggression. A total of 167 undergraduate students (79 females, 88 males) first completed a measure of anger and were then randomly assigned to play either a non-violent or violent video game. After the video game play period, participants completed ambiguous story stems in order to assess aggression. Consistent with predictions of the GAM, anger significantly moderated the effect of video game violence on aggression. Specifically, participants who were angry were more affected by violent video games than participants who were not angry.     

SEX SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN TYPES OF PLAY IN GAMES AND SPORTS

In two studies, 374 participants gave retrospective reports of their favorite games, toys, and hobbies (games) and of their favorite exercise and sports (sports) in elementary school, high school, and college. We tested Gilligan's (1982) expectation that more of males' play would be group activities played in public places, whereas more of females' games and sports would be home-based play in "intimate" dyads. Results showed that sex similarities and differences varied as a function of kind of play. For both sexes, games tended to be home-based and individual or dyadic play, however sports tended to be group, public-based play. Whereas team sports play was most frequent in childhood for both sexes and decreased in frequency from childhood into adulthood, the decrease in team, as compared to individual and dyadic, sports was significantly more dramatic for girls than for boys. The data indicated that whereas girls participate in a variety of types of play, boys' sports play is dominated by team activity across development. Thus, sex differences in the types of sports play provided the strongest support for Gilligan's hypothesis that socialization in team play may foster a reliance upon rights-based moral reasoning in boys.     

Kinds of chance in games and sports

While talking about sports (and games) we use such expressions as ‘random victory’, ‘winning by accident’, ‘skill against luck’, ‘chance (fortune) favours the better player’, etc. Unfortunately, chance-related notions that occur in these expressions are not well defined—their meaning is vague and it is not clear whether they refer to one or many different phenomena. Because such phenomena play an important role in sport, from the viewpoint of the philosophy of sport it is necessary to give a systematic account of this topic. Although the works of De Wachter, Simon, Dixon, Breivik and Loland contain many important insights, there is still a room for further research in this field. The author tries to establish a typology of phenomena that could generally be called ‘chance-phenomena’, which however, should be precisely distinguished. As such the primary task is to present an analysis of several different kinds of chance in sports. In constructing this typology the author uses both the distinction between different kinds of games (performative vs. kinetic) as well as analysis of structure of a game (four constitutive elements: players, constitutive rules, material substrate of the game and the world of the game). The most important method used is phenomenological analysis, especially Ingarden-style analysis. These kinds of ‘chance-phenomena’ are: aleatoriness, chaos, irregularity, imprecision and arbitrariness. The paradigm cases of each kind of chance are discussed. The genesis and functions of the respective phenomena in sports and games are also shown, as well as their position in the structure of the game. Such analytic work should precede any solutions of the chance vs. skill problem, or other problems concerning chance in sport. As a test of usefulness of the provided distinctions, the author considers the veracity of the judgements expressed in such sentences as ‘Fortune favours the better player’.     

双人合作类电子/传统游戏对幼儿同伴交往与亲社会行为的影响

近期研究表明短时接触双人电子游戏有助于促进幼儿的同伴交往与亲社会行为。本研究进一步考查了5天的双人合作类电子游戏与传统游戏干预对幼儿社会化的影响。结果显示,电子与传统游戏干预均能促进幼儿的同伴交往和亲社会行为,且两者的效果不存在差异;女孩比男孩更喜欢自己的搭档、更乐于与同伴交往和分享,游戏干预效果不存在性别差异。可见双人合作类电子/传统游戏干预对幼儿的同伴交往和亲社会行为发展都较有裨益。     

The Impact of Body Emphasizing Video Games on Body Image Concerns in Men and Women

Two studies were conducted to determine if playing a video game that emphasized the body would increase negative body-image. Both studies [study 1 (N?=?51); college-aged males from the Midwestern USA; and study 2 (N?=?32); college-aged females from the Midwestern USA] had participants complete body image measures, play a video game that displayed muscular or thin characters for 15 min, and then complete post-game body image measures. Results showed that participants in both studies had significantly lower body esteem after video game play. Further, these findings were independent of the time spent playing video games and body mass index. This suggests that video games have a negative influence on the body-image of players.     

Appetitive and Defensive Arousal in Violent Video Games: Explaining Individual Differences in Attraction to and Effects of Video Games

Evidence surrounding the attraction to media violence is mixed and the effects of violent video game play on players varies across experimental participants. Differences in both may be explained by differences in experienced positive or negative arousal. This study utilizes the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (LC4MP) and the motivation activation measure (MAM), which measures resting activation of the appetitive and aversive arousal systems, to explore the relationship between attraction to media violence, arousal, and aggression. In part 1, a questionnaire found that men and frequent players of violent games expected to enjoy violent games more than nonviolent games. In addition, participants whose scores on the MAM characterized them as risk takers (high scores on appetitive arousal and low scores on aversive arousal) indicated a stronger preference for violent games compared to the other three arousal types, which is in line with the LC4MP. In the experimental portion of the research, after playing a violent game, those participants characterized as risk avoidant (high on aversive arousal and low on appetitive arousal) were significantly less aggressive than all other arousal groups. Overall, results show that individual differences in the appetitive and aversive arousal systems can explain attraction to violent media. Furthermore, arousal resulting from violent video game play can be experienced as pleasant or aversive, and it is this experience of arousal that explains variations in aggressive responses to violent video games.     

Facing temptation: The neural correlates of gambling availability during sports picture exposure

Nowadays, sports betting has become increasingly available and easy to engage in. Here we examined the neural responses to stimuli that represent sporting events available for betting as compared to sporting events without a gambling opportunity. We used a cue exposure task in which football (soccer) fans (N = 42) viewed cues depicting scheduled football games that would occur shortly after the scanning session. In the “betting” condition, participants were instructed to choose, at the end of each block, the game (and the team) they wanted to bet on. In the “watching” condition, participants chose the game they would prefer to watch. After the scanning session, participants completed posttask rating questionnaires assessing, for each cue, their level of confidence about the team they believed would win and how much they would enjoy watching the game. We found that stimuli representing sport events available for betting elicited higher fronto-striatal activation, as well as higher insular cortex activity and functional connectivity, than sport events without a gambling opportunity. Moreover, games rated with more confidence towards the winning team resulted in greater brain activations within regions involved in affective decision-making (ventromedial prefrontal cortex), cognitive inhibitory control (medial and superior frontal gyri) and reward processing (ventral and dorsal striatum). Altogether, these novel findings offer a sensible simulation of how the high availability of sports betting in today’s environment impacts on the reward and cognitive control systems. Future studies are needed to extend the present findings to a sample of football fans that includes a samilar proportion of female and male participants.     

Body,skill, and look: is bodybuilding a sport?

I argue that bodybuilding should not qualify as a sport, given that at the competition stage it lacks an essential feature of sports, namely, skillful activity. Based on the classic distinction between Leib (the lived body) and Körper (the objective body) in phenomenology, I argue that bodybuilding competition’s sole purpose is to present the Körper, whereas sports are about manifestations of Leib. I consider several objections to this analysis, after which I conclude that bodybuilding is an endeavor closer to both beauty competitions and classical sculpture rather than to any other known sports.     

Exploring the Generalization Process from Past Behavior to Predicting Future Behavior

Substantial evidence in social psychology documents that traits predict behavior. Research in behavioral economics establishes prior behavioral information—the actual behavior of another person in the past—influences future decision making, suggestive of the role of traits in guiding future behavior, but agnostic to the specific psychological mechanism. Yet the entire generalization process from past behavior to predicting future behavior has not been fully explored. Additionally, previous paradigms do not adequately dissociate prediction from explanation, and provide participants with trait information, or rely on participants to generate the appropriate trait. Here, we combine literature and experimental approaches in social psychology and behavioral economics to explore the generalization process from prior behavior that guides future decisions. Across three studies utilizing consequential economic game paradigms and online questionnaires, an initial group of participants (employees) played a time estimation game and a charity donations game before a second group of participants (employers) viewed the behavior of the first group, then decided whether to invest in employees in a trust game and rock guessing game. Although participants infer trait warmth and competence from the behavioral information in the first two games, estimates of normative behavior predicted investment decisions on the warmth‐relevant games better than trait inferences. These results dissociate generalizations guided by warmth and competence behavioral information, and question the extent to which traits always serve as heuristics to predict behavior. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The difference between playing games with and without the computer: a preliminary view

The authors address the question of whether associations between video games and cognitive and metacognitive variables depend either on the features of the computer or on the content of the game that the computer allows one to play. An experiment to separate these two kinds of effects was carried out by using a traditional version and a computer-supported version of Pegopolis, a solitaire game. The two versions were exactly the same except that they were played by moving pieces either on a real board or on a virtual computer-presented board. The performance levels and strategies followed during the game by the 40 undergraduates who took part in the experiment were not significantly different in the real and virtual conditions. None of the participants transferred playing strategies or practice from one version of the game to the other. Scores were not affected by gender or by the studies pursued by participants, the habit of playing games in the traditional manner or playing video games, or intelligence. Retrospective reports did not support differences in the subjective experience between the two versions. Results showed that video games, when they do not make much use of the computer's special features, produce effects because of the situations they simulate rather than because of features of the computer itself.     

Interrogating Healthy Conflict

The need to turn an enemy into an adversary is an ethical obligation. I try to show that this obligation has multiple religious and philosophical resources. The ethical imperative also requires us to not overstate and magnify any problem at hand to the point that it becomes insurmountable and enmity becomes an end in itself. I do ask the question whether Springs thinks of Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest by taking the knee at football games as an instance of healthy conflict. Are the terms peace and healthy conflict perhaps not better viewed as allegories for the interrogation of the human condition? Perhaps healthy conflict remains a series of questions rather than concrete outcomes.     

问题性网络游戏使用青少年未来取向的助推研究

摘要：以问题性网络游戏使用青少年为研究对象,基于锚定效应助推国民身心健康的理论前提和态度改变理论视角,通过实验1和实验2分别建立未来取向内部锚和未来取向外部锚,检验未来取向内部锚和外部锚对减少问题性网络游戏使用青少年游戏时间的有效性。结果表明,未来取向内部和外部的助推方式,均能够有效促进问题性网络游戏使用青少年游戏时间的减少,提高了决策效用。     

Are You What Your Avatar Eats? Health-Behavior Effects of Avatar-Manifested Self-Concept

Drawing on the self-concept activation and goal-priming account of the priming effect, this study examined how self-concept—i.e., ideal self, ought self, and actual self—can be harnessed as a model for avatar customization in digital games to promote healthy-eating behavior. Female participants (N = 133) customized an avatar in a digital game to reflect either the ideal, ought, or actual self. Participants then selected food items for their avatar within the digital game as well as food items for themselves to eat afterward. Results suggest that for participants using an ought-self avatar, the extent to which they were conscious of their health was positively related to healthier food choice both within and after playing the game. No such effect emerged for participants who used an ideal- or actual-self avatar, indicating that participants formed the goal of being healthy only with regard to the ought self. This study demonstrates that avatar customization in a digital game can serve a regulatory function by representing individuals’ duties and responsibilities, thus, causing them to adopt such attributes manifested in their avatar during and after the game.     

Let's Make a Deal: Quality and availability of second-stage information as a catalyst for change

The Monty Hall Problem (MHP), a process of two-stage decision making, was presented in atypical form via a custom software game. Differing from the normal three-box MHP, the game added one additional box on-screen for each game—culminating on game 23 with 25 on-screen boxes to initially choose from. A total of 108 participants played 23 games (trials) in one of four conditions; (1) “Vanish” condition—all non-winning boxes totally removed from the screen; (2) “Empty” condition—all non-winning boxes remain on-screen, but with an “empty” label on them; (3) “Steroids” condition—all non-winning boxes removed from the screen, with initially chosen box becoming 25% larger; (4) “Steroids2” condition—all non-winning boxes removed from the screen, box not currently chosen becomes 25% larger. Results indicate second-stage on-screen presence of boxes influences switching; with their absence having the opposite effect. Size manipulation appears to elicit demand characteristics resulting in indeterminate influence.     

The influence of violent and nonviolent computer games on implicit measures of aggressiveness

We examined the causal relationship between playing violent video games and increases in aggressiveness by using implicit measures of aggressiveness, which have become important for accurately predicting impulsive behavioral tendencies. Ninety‐six adults were randomly assigned to play one of three versions of a computer game that differed only with regard to game content (violent, peaceful, or abstract game), or to work on a reading task. In the games the environmental context, mouse gestures, and physiological arousal—as indicated by heart rate and skin conductance—were kept constant. In the violent game soldiers had to be shot, in the peaceful game sunflowers had to be watered, and the abstract game simply required clicking colored triangles. Five minutes of play did not alter trait aggressiveness, yet an Implicit Association Test detected a change in implicit aggressive self‐concept. Playing a violent game produced a significant increase in implicit aggressive self‐concept relative to playing a peaceful game. The well‐controlled study closes a gap in the research on the causality of the link between violence exposure in computer games and aggressiveness with specific regard to implicit measures. We discuss the significance of importing recent social–cognitive theory into aggression research and stress the need for further development of aggression‐related implicit measures. Aggr. Behav. 36:1–13, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.