Publication Type: Extended Abstract
Abstract: According to the media priming literature, exposure to media violence can prime subsequent aggressive behaviors, cognitions, or perceptions. To date, the majority of the literature has been concerned with the presence and display of these primed reactions in social settings. Little work has been conducted to investigate the effect of media content as a priming influence on the selection of subsequent media content. The goal of this project is to investigate how playing a violent video game might impact the selection of a film to be viewed immediately following play.

Participants are randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: play a nonviolent video game, play a violent video game, view a nonviolent film clip, or view violent film clip. After playing the game or viewing the film clip, participants are given a booklet containing film descriptions, modified to highlight the presence or absence of violence in the films. Participants then indicate how much they would like to see a clip from each film.

Based on the priming literature, we expect that participants exposed to violent media (regardless of format) will be more likely to choose a violent movie clip to view than participants exposed to the nonviolent content. Also, we expect that participants who played the violent video game will be more likely to choose an extremely violent movie clip to view than participants who viewed the violent film clip. Finally we expect that these effects will be more pronounced among males and participants with high levels of trait aggression.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The third-person effect, predicting that people perceive others as more susceptible to negative media effects than themselves, has been observed in the context of myriad media, environments, and respondents. However, many aspects of both content and persons considered may moderate this effect. This experiment manipulated abstraction of both content and third persons, measuring effects of violent video games and attitudes toward censoring violent games. Participants estimated the effects of either violent video games in general or a specific violent game on themselves and either a specific third person, others on their university campus, or others in the United States. Increasing specificity of both content and third person was found to reduce perceived effects on others, although the manipulations did not significantly affect advocacy of censorship.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Two recent meta-analyses and decades of research have demonstrated that violent video game play leads to various aggressive effects. Yet, some have argued that the opposite may occur: playing a violent video game may reduce aggressive effects. Until now this cathartic effect for violent video game play has received little support. The present study explains how a cathartic effect for violent video games may be expected after playing a game that employs motion-sensing technology (e.g., the Nintendo Wii). It was thought that physically acting out aggressive acts (e.g., sword play, boxing, etc.) may cathartically relive anger. To test this notion, participants (n = 33) were randomly assigned to play either a high-violence, medium-violence, or non-violence motion-sensing video game. In support of catharsis theory, results revealed that those that played the high-violence game had the largest reduction in anger, unease, and frustration.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The possible impact of technological advancement on video games’ effects—particularly in the case of violent games—has often been discussed, but has not been thoroughly explored by empirical research. The present investigation employed a 2 X 2 between-subjects factorial experiment to examine the interplay of technological advancement and violence by exposing participants (N =120) to either a newer or older version of a violent or nonviolent game and measuring these factors’ effects on physiological arousal (measured by skin conductance), sense of presence, and affective and cognitive aggression. The results indicate that technological advancement increased arousal and participants’ sense of presence. Violent game content increased participants’ self-reported hostility after controls were taken into account. However, neither advancement nor violence had statistically significant effects on accessibility of players’ aggressive thoughts. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed, and recommendations are made with regard to future research.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Recent advances in Internet technology have contributed to changes in the role of the Internet user. New Internet applications facilitate users to upload self-created content. The material involved is generally categorized as user created content (UCC). We investigated the modification of video games as an instance of user created content. Game modding is a (re)creation of game content by amateur users who publish their playable creations online for other players to enjoy. Our research was guided by two questions: who are the modders and why do they take the effort to create and publish mods. In answering the questions we also concentrated on possible differences between genres. We conducted in-depth interview with 15 modders and a quantitative online survey (N = 363). The results showed that modders were predominantly young men who spend almost 9 hous per week on their hobby. The most prominent motives were Entertainment and Community. In contrast to what was argued in earlier analyses of modding, our respondents were not particularly driven by self-marketing. The position of modders of the first person genre was in many cases somewhat different from the other genres (action games, sports games and strategy games). Modders of the FIFA football games were most strongly motivated to recreate game elements to reflect their local context.