Relational Victimization and Video Game Addiction among Female College Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Social Anxiety and Parasocial Relationship

Video game addiction, a common behavioral problem among college students, has been more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic; at the same time, females’ video game usage has also attracted considerable research attention. Against this background and under the perspective of social interaction, this study aimed to examine the relationship between relational victimization and video game addiction among female college students, as well as its underlying mechanism—the mediating roles of social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters. Female college students (N = 437) were recruited to complete a set of questionnaires voluntarily in June 2022. Through the mediating effect analysis, the results found that (1) relational victimization was positively associated with female college students’ video game addiction; (2) social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters could independently mediate this relation; (3) social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters were also the serial mediators in this association. These findings not only expand previous studies by revealing the social motivation of video game usage and the underlying mechanism accounting for video game addiction, but also provide basis and guidance for the prevention and intervention of video game addiction in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Machiavellianism and Gift-Giving in Live Video Streaming: The Mediating Role of Desire for Control and the Moderating Role of Materialism

This study aimed to examine the association between Machiavellianism and gift-giving in live video streaming, as well as the mediating role of desire for control and the moderating role of materialism in this relation. A sample of 212 undergraduate students (146 males; the average age was 19.80 ± 2.05 years old) with experience of gift-giving in live video streaming was recruited to complete questionnaires on Machiavellianism, desire for control, materialism, and the frequency of gift-giving in live video streaming. The results showed that Machiavellianism was positively associated with gift-giving in live video streaming through the mediating role of desire for control; and the mediating effect of desire for control was moderated by materialism, with this relation being stronger for individuals with a higher level of materialism. Though with several limitations (e.g., cross-sectional method), this study could deepen our understanding of the influencing mechanism of gift-giving in live video streaming, which could also provide practical implications for the sustainable development of the live video streaming industry

Trait aggression affects the response inhibition to angry expressions: An event-related brain potential study

Response inhibition to angry expressions is impaired in individuals with high trait aggression. Yet, the underlying cognitive neural mechanism of it remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the underlying cognitive neural mechanisms of response inhibition to angry expressions in individuals with high trait aggression and whether there was emotion-specificity of response inhibition in individuals with high trait aggression. 58 individuals (29 participants with high trait aggression) completed an emotional Go/NoGo task, during which participants\u27 EEG were recorded. Results indicated that individuals with high trait aggression showed smaller NoGo P3 effect than individuals with low trait aggression, in particular facing angry or fearful expressions. These results suggest that individuals with high trait aggression show deficits in response inhibition, in particular facing angry expressions, and these deficits exist in the later stage of response inhibition, which is closely related to the actual inhibition of the motor system; there is no emotion-specificity of response inhibition in individuals with high trait aggression