Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This study examined the effects of playing violent video games on aggressive thoughts and behaviors and the moderating role that affective orientation plays in the violent video game-aggression relationship. Eighty college students’ affective orientation was measured and approximately two weeks later 59 of these students (plus 5 additional students) participated in a laboratory study in which they played one of two video games that differed in violent content. Participants played the video game alone for 10 minutes after which they performed a word completion task and judged the researcher’s competence, courteousness, and deservingness of financial support. The hypotheses were partially supported in that participants who played the violent video game rated the researcher as less courteous and less deserving of financial support than did participants who played the nonviolent video game, and affective orientation and the video game condition interacted to predict evaluations of courteousness and deservingness of financial support.