Priming and Negative Priming in Violent Video Games

This is a thesis about priming and negative priming in video games. In this context, priming refers to an effect in which processing some concept makes reactions to related concepts easier. Conversely, negative priming refers to an effect in which ignoring some concept makes reactions to related concepts more difficult. The General Aggression Model (GAM) asserts that the depiction of aggression in VVGs leads to the priming of aggression-related concepts. Numerous studies in the literature have seemingly confirmed that this relationship exists. However, recent research has suggested that these results may be the product of confounding. Experiments in the VVG literature commonly use different commercial off-the-shelf video games as different experimental conditions. Uncontrolled variation in gameplay between these games may lead to the observed priming effects, rather than the presence of aggression-related content. Additionally, in contrast to the idea that players of VVGs necessarily process in-game concepts, some theorists have suggested that players instead ignore in-game concepts. This suggests that negative priming rather than priming might happen in VVGs. The first series of experiments reported in this thesis show that priming does not happen in video games when known confounds are controlled. These results also suggest that negative priming may occur in these cases. However, the games used in these experiments were not as realistic as many VVGs currently on the market. This raises concerns that these results may not generalise widely. I therefore ran a further three experiments. In these experiments, a variety of different kinds of VVG realism were manipulated and the effects of this realism on priming measured. These experiments suggest that increased realism in VVGs does not lead to increased priming of aggression-related concepts, and therefore that the effects outlined above should generalise to a variety of games regardless of their level of realism

The Effects of Displayed Violence and Game Speed in First-Person Shooters on Physiological Arousal and Aggressive Behavior

Many studies have been conducted to examine the effects of displayed violence in digital games on outcomes like aggressive behavior and physiological arousal. However, they often lack a proper manipulation of the relevant factors and control of confounding variables. In this study, the displayed violence and game speed of a recent first-person shooter game were varied systematically using the technique of modding, so that effects could be explained properly by the respective manipulations. Aggressive behavior was measured with the standardized version of the Competitive Reaction Time Task or CRTT (Ferguson et al., 2008}. Physiological arousal was operationalized with four measurements: galvanic skin response (GSR), heart rate (HR), body movement, force on mouse and keyboard. A total of N = 87 participants played in one of four game conditions (low- vs. high-violence, normal- vs. high speed) while physiological measurements were taken with finger clips, force sensors on input devices (mouse and keyboard), and a Nintendo Wii balance board on the chair they sat on. After play, their aggressive behavior was measured with the CRTT. The results of the study do not support the hypothesis that playing digital games increases aggressive behavior. There were no significant differences in GSR and HR, but with a higher game speed, participants showed less overall body movement, most likely to meet the game’s higher demands on cognitive and motor capacities. Also, higher game speed and displayed violence caused an increase in applied force on mouse and keyboard. Previous experience with digital games did not moderate any of these findings. Moreover, it provides further evidence that the CRTT should only be used in a standardized way as a measurement for aggression, if at all. Using all 7 different published (though not validated) ways to calculate levels of aggression from the raw data, “evidence” was found that playing a violent digital game increases, decreases, or does not change aggression at all. Thus, the present study does extend previous research. Firstly, it shows the methodological advantages of modding in digital game research to accomplish the principles of psychological (laboratory) experiments by manipulating relevant variables and controlling all others. It also demonstrates the test-theoretical problems of the highly diverse use of the CRTT. It provides evidence that for a meaningful interpretation of effects of displayed violence in digital games, there are other game characteristics that should be controlled for since they might have an effect on relevant outcome variables. Further research needs to identify more of those game features, and it should also improve the understanding of the different measures for physiological arousal and their interrelatedness

Emotional Gaming

In recent years, research on the psychology of gaming has examined the negative and positive outcomes of playing video games. Thus far, a variety of affective phenomena have been investigated. In this chapter we will continue this exploration by examining the emotions elicited by the act of playing video games. Because the study of emotions must rely on different type of methods, including subjective self-reports (e.g., description of feelings), neuropsychophysiological measurements (e.g. electromyography, skin conductance, heart rate, event-related potentials, functional magnetic resonance imaging), biological markers (e.g. cortisol, testosterone) and behaviours (e.g., facial expressions), we will cover all these distinct methods. We will explore how dimensional and categorical models of emotions have been used to identify the emotional responses of players, including their enjoyment experience. Expanding upon past research findings we will also discuss the social implications of gaming and suggest areas for future research.This chapter was supported by a grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) (GRANT PTDC/PSI-PSO/099985/2008

Motivations, experiences and outcomes of playing videogames

The current research examined gaming within a leisure context to examine the motivational and experiential value of the activity, to better understand the range of outcomes of playing videogames. Flow theory was used as a theoretical framework for examining positive gaming experiences, and how these were associated with gaming motivations, and potential positive psychological and affective outcomes. The research utilised a mixed-methodological approach with samples of gamers. These included focus groups, an experiment and online questionnaires. The findings showed that immersion and achievement-orientated gaming motivations predicted flow in gaming, and could also predict some dimensions of psychological well-being. Flow in gameplay interacted with increases in positive mood and activation. This suggests that the processes involved in gaming are influential to positive gaming outcomes. Specific game aspects were influential to the nature of gaming experiences, although these were largely dependent on game-type. The findings also showed that social gaming contexts were influential towards gaming experiences, and the associated affective outcomes. This suggests the dynamic nature of gaming experiences, and the importance of acknowledging the wider social contexts in which gaming occurs. Aspects of personality (i.e. trait aggression and competitiveness) influenced negative mood after gameplay, suggesting the importance of considering internal factors when examining gaming outcomes. Further, because gaming motivations, experiences and the associated effects were largely individual and game-specific, this highlights the need for future research to adopt more idiographic approaches. Based on the findings, the research presents a Process Model of Gameplay to examine the dynamic nature of gameplay processes for a range of outcomes. The current research highlights the effectiveness of considering gaming within the wider context of leisure, to identify gaming processes as a way of examining the influence of gaming motivations and experiences on positive outcomes of the activity

Mechanisms driving the effects of violent and non-violent media on aggression and mood

This aim of this thesis was to investigate the effects of violent and non-violent media on aggression and mood. The results of Chapter 3 indicate that viewing violent heroes, rather than violent villains, leads to a greater chance of reactive aggression. Graphic violence portrayals that fostered anger and anxiety inhibited likelihood of aggressive behaviour. Chapter 4 highlighted a significant positive relationship between positive affect and reactive aggression for male participants who viewed a violent hero. The results from chapter 5 demonstrate that positive affect increases after viewing non-violent media correlate with instrumental aggression. Results of chapter 6 indicate that playing a positive affect inducing, non-violent video game led to an increased likelihood of reactive and instrumental aggression. Playing a graphically violent video game did not lead to a aggression. Results of chapter 7 suggest that trait aggression and identification with a violent protagonist predict instrumental aggression in graphically violent video game players. The results of this thesis suggest that for the general population, violent content is not the key characteristic of media that leads to aggression. However, players who enjoy playing graphically violent media and identify with the violent main character may be the most likely to instrumentally aggress

The effect of violent video game playing on gamer's views of victims of crime

This research was designed to explore the relationship between violent video game play and attitudes towards victims. As the violent genre of games become more popular and as the graphics and content becomes even more realistic and immersive, there has been concern that this media form offers a different perspective on violence to players than more passive forms of media. Much of the research in the area of violent video game research has focused on changes in players in terms of aggressive behaviour, following exposure to these games. The present research was designed to explore any changes in affect and cognition, in terms of attitudes, that may be associated with video game play, and also to explore any factors that may moderate or mediate these changes in players, with a particular emphasis on adolescents and female gamers. The overall aims of the thesis were to establish i) the attitudes of gamers towards victims of crime ii) the role of moral disengagement strategies in violent video game play iii) the nature and experience of female violent video game play. The aims were addressed through four stages of linked research utilising a multi method design including a survey of adolescents (n=206), semi structured interviews (n=50), an online and paper survey (n=605) and analysis of a female gamer online discussion posts, in order to explore the impact of violent video game play The principal findings of this thesis noted young people who played violent video games reporting less concern for victims of crime, and attributed more blame to the victims of crime, particularly non serious victims and those that could be viewed as culpable for the crimes. While moral disengagement has been proposed as a mechanism through which people may justify immoral conduct, in the current studies the video game players were less likely than sports players to endorse moral disengagement strategies. They were found however to use a specific set of moral disengagement strategies (cognitive restructuring) than sports players and this may be related to the structures of the games, both virtual and sporting. In relation to female gamers, gaming was found to be a key element of the female gamers’ identity, with females discussing the integration of gaming into their daily lives on a number of different levels. Similar to previous research, the social elements of gaming was highlighted while simultaneous difficulties with Page 12 of 281 online interaction emphasised for female gamers. The results of the studies are discussed in relation to the experience of gaming and the possible mediating and moderating factors that may explain these effects. The results suggest that cognitive distortions, developmental stages, gender and differences in identification with game characters may explain differences in attitudes towards victims which were observed. These concepts are discussed in relation to risk and protective factors that may be important in understanding any relationship between violent video game play and less positive attitudes towards victims

Exploring Game Transfer Phenomena: a multimodal research approach for investigating video games' effects

Video games are evolving and are becoming ever more immersive. Consequently, it is necessary to understand their effects on gamers’ psychological wellbeing. The impact on cognition, affect and behaviour has mostly been investigated separately and sometimes from narrow approaches that limit the understanding of the video games’ effects. This thesis investigates the effects of playing video games from a novel, multimodal and broad research approach that is termed "Game Transfer Phenomena" (GTP). The Game Transfer Phenomena framework examines the influence of video games on gamers’ sensorial perception, cognitions, and behaviours directly related to video games’ structural characteristic, game content and, in-game activities. A theoretically eclectic approach is taken to explain the interplay of physiological, perceptual, and cognitive mechanisms involved in GTP, mainly informed by socio-cognitive and behavioural theories. Mixed-methods were used in the empirical research. The three qualitative studies presented here were analysed by content and thematic analysis methodologies (n=1,244), and the quantitative online survey using appropriate statistical testing (n=2,362). The specific aims of the thesis were: (i) identify, classify and explain GTP experiences collected in online video game forums divided in three empirical studies, and (ii) investigate the characteristics of GTP, and factors associated with GTP in a cross-cultural online survey with a total sample of English and Spanish Speaking gamers. The results suggest that gamers experience a variety of non-volitional phenomena when not playing. (i) Experiencing thoughts, urges, images, sounds, tactile and kinaesthetic perceptions and sensations associated with the game, (ii) perceiving distorted physical stimuli due to the video game features, (iii) confusing physical stimuli with video game elements, (iv) responding to certain physical stimuli as in the game, and (v) experiencing involuntary body movements and behaviours directly related with the video game. In summary: (i) different gamers reported similar GTP in the same video games, (ii) GTP are in the continuum between normal and pathological phenomena, and appear to reflect failures in cognitive and control inhibition, and neural adaptations, (iii) age and occupation, having a medical condition, gamer type, session length, playing for escape, immersion, exploring, customization and rules and mechanics were significantly associated with GTP, and (iv) the appraisal of GTP were either positive or negative (with one in five players experiencing distress or dysfunction due to their GTP experiences). Findings suggest that resemblances between virtual and physical objects facilitate GTP and these may be strengthened with more advanced technologies. Knowing about particular video game features and their effect on gamers may contribute to taking more informed decisions regarding the psychological, cognitive, physiological and social effects of video games and the technologies that are still to come

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion