The appeal of violent video games to lower educated aggressive adolescent boys from two countries.

Full Abstract

The objective of this study was to test the effect of individual differences on appeal and use of video games. Participants were 299 adolescent boys from lower and higher secondary schools in the Netherlands and Belgium. In general, boys were most attracted to violent video games. Boys that scored higher in trait aggressiveness and lower in empathy were especially attracted to violent games and spent more time playing video games than did boys lower in trait aggressiveness. Lower educated boys showed more appreciation for both violent and nonviolent games and spent more time playing them than did higher educated boys. The present study showed that aggressive and less empathic boys were most attracted to violent games. The fact that heavy users of violent games show less empathy and higher aggressiveness suggests the possibility of desensitization. Other studies have shown that playing violent games increases aggressiveness and decreases empathy. These results combined suggest the possibility of a violence cycle. Aggressive individuals are attracted to violent games. Playing violent games increases aggressiveness and decreases empathy, which in turn leads to increased appreciation and use of violent games.

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Author information

Author/s: Lemmens, Jeroen S (JS); Bushman, Brad J (BJ); Konijn, Elly A (EA);

Affiliation: Department of Communication Science, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. jslemmens(-atsign-)gmail.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Cyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society (Cyberpsychol Behav), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Oct; vol 9 (issue 5) : pp 638-41

Dates: Created 2006/10/12; Completed 2007/02/12; Revised 2007/03/14;

PMID: 17034335, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

ErratumIn: Cyberpsychol Behav. 2007 Feb;10(1):160. (Note: Konijn, Elly A [added])

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Aggression - psychology
Behavior, Addictive - diagnosis; psychology
Belgium
Child
Choice Behavior
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Desensitization, Psychologic

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