Virtual driving and risk taking: do racing games increase risk-taking cognitions, affect, and behaviors?

Full Abstract

Research has consistently shown that aggressive video console and PC games elicit aggressive cognitions, affect, and behaviors. Despite the increasing popularity of racing (driving) games, nothing is known about the psychological impact of this genre. This study investigated whether playing racing games affects cognitions, affect, and behaviors that can promote risk taking in actual road traffic situations. In Study 1, the authors found that the frequency of playing racing games was positively associated with competitive driving, obtrusive driving, and car accidents; a negative association with cautious driving was observed. To determine cause and effect, in Study 2, the authors manipulated whether participants played 1 of 3 racing games or 1 of 3 neutral games. Participants who played a racing game subsequently reported a higher accessibility of cognitions and affect positively associated with risk taking than did participants who played a neutral game. Finally, on a more behavioral level, in Study 3, the authors found that men who played a racing game subsequently took higher risks in computer-simulated critical road traffic situations than did men who played a neutral game. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.((c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).

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Author information

Author/s: Fischer, Peter (P); Kubitzki, Jörg (J); Guter, Stephanie (S); Frey, Dieter (D);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. pfischer(-atsign-)psy.unimuenchen.de

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of experimental psychology. Applied (J Exp Psychol Appl), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Mar; vol 13 (issue 1) : pp 22-31

Dates: Created 2007/03/27; Completed 2007/05/01;

PMID: 17385999, 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.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Affect
Cognition
Female
Humans

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