scholarly journals Gamers’ Attitudes towards Victims of Crime

Author(s):  
Lavinia McLean ◽  
Mark D. Griffiths

Research on video game playing has focused mainly on the effects of such games in relation to aggression and attitudes towards perpetrators and towards crime. The present research was designed to investigate gamers’ attitudes towards victims of crimes and incidents that were designed to mirror those portrayed in violent video games. Vignettes were used during interviews to explore 50 participants’ attitudes towards different types of victims. The results indicate that long-term playing of violent video games appears to be associated with more negative attitudes towards victims of crime. This is the first study to directly explore attitudes towards victims of crime, in relation to violent video game exposure. Compared to nonviolent video game players, the violent video game players in the study reported less positive attitudes towards the victims in the study and attributed more blame to the victims. The implications of this finding in the context of previous research on violent video games, and on attitudes are explored. Directions for future research in the area are also highlighted.

Author(s):  
Lavinia McLean ◽  
Mark D. Griffiths

Previous research has indicated that playing violent video games may be associated with an increase in acceptance of violence and positive attitudes towards perpetrators of crime. This study is the first to investigate the relationship between playing violent video games and attitudes towards victims of crime. A total of 206 young people (aged 12-24 years) completed measures of attitudes towards victims and violent video game exposure. The results suggest that exposure to violent video games is associated with less concern being reported for victims of crime. Young people who play more violent video games reported less concern for general victims and for culpable victims, and these effects cannot be explained by gender or age differences. The results are discussed in relation to relevant research in the area, along with recommendations for future research.


2016 ◽  
pp. 704-722
Author(s):  
Lavinia McLean ◽  
Mark D. Griffiths

Previous research has indicated that playing violent video games may be associated with an increase in acceptance of violence and positive attitudes towards perpetrators of crime. This study is the first to investigate the relationship between playing violent video games and attitudes towards victims of crime. A total of 206 young people (aged 12-24 years) completed measures of attitudes towards victims and violent video game exposure. The results suggest that exposure to violent video games is associated with less concern being reported for victims of crime. Young people who play more violent video games reported less concern for general victims and for culpable victims, and these effects cannot be explained by gender or age differences. The results are discussed in relation to relevant research in the area, along with recommendations for future research.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Miedzobrodzka ◽  
Frederick Waiyaki ◽  
Jacek Buczny ◽  
Elly Konijn

Despite growing body of research on video games effect on enhanced cognitive functioning, a relationship between violent video game exposure (VVGE) and inhibitory control is still poorly understood. Investigating inhibitory control mechanisms in relation to VVGE may help to better explain processes underlying aggression. This holds especially for adolescent players, who often play M-rated violent video games, and whose ability to inhibit responses is still developing. In two studies performed in adolescent samples we examined how habitual VVGE may be related to inhibitory control (Study 1; N = 151) and whether inhibitory control can be affected by 30-minute violent video gameplay (Study 2; N = 63). Inhibitory control in both studies was measured with well-validated Stop-Signal Task. Results of the Study 1 showed that VVGE was related lower inhibitory control. Results of the experimental Study 2 supported a causal relationship: participants who played a violent video game showed reduced inhibitory control compared to those who played a non-violent game. Our findings bring new theoretical and empirical insights into violent video games research and highlight the importance of studying inhibitory control as a possible mechanism underlying aggression in adolescents. Based on the current correlational and experimental evidence, future studies should also investigate long-term effects on VVGE on development of inhibitory control in adolescents.


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 653-665
Author(s):  
Karlie A. Krause ◽  
Chelsie Smyth ◽  
Kate L. Jansen

Background. The prevalence of video game play has continued to increase. Previous literature has suggested negative emotional consequences related to violent video game play, such as an increase in aggression and decrease in empathy. Healthcare providers require high levels of empathy to effectively work with patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of video games on empathy on a sample of graduate-level healthcare trainees. Methods. A sample of 81 students on a healthcare campus completed a 30-item survey assessing video game habits and empathy levels. Participants were then placed into two groups (violent and non-violent) based on the amount of video game violence they are exposed to. Results. The results revealed no differences between healthcare trainees on overall empathy. A follow-up analysis examining individual subscales that comprise the overall empathy score, indicated the violent video game players had lower scores on the Personal Distress scale. Conclusion. Findings suggest that healthcare trainees who play violent video games do not experience decreased Empathic Concern or Perspective Taking, compared to individuals who do not play violent games. However, healthcare trainees who play violent video games indicated lower levels of Personal Distress. Given the intensity in healthcare settings, findings suggest violent video game play may be adaptive to healthcare trainees, as lower personal distress can lead to better decision-making and potentially prevent burnout. Further research is necessary to determine the role of video game play in healthcare professionals.


Author(s):  
Nadia Itona Siregar ◽  
Pudji Muljono

 The development of today's technology so rapidly, this development affects the audio-visual media one of which is video games. The aim of this study are: 1) to analyze the differences influence the level of violent video game playing element to the level of adolescent aggressive behavior, 2) to analyze the influence of personal factors as differences in behavior-forming element violent video games to the level of adolescent aggressive behavior, 3) to analyze differences in the effect of factors situational as forming behavior of violent video game playing element to the level of adolescent aggressive behavior. The analysis in this study uses cross tabulation, the statistical test Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis with a 5% significance level. The results showed that there are differences in the level of situational and gender differences on the level of play behavior element violent video games; and there are differences in the level of playing video games behavioral element of violence against adolescent aggressiveness level.Keywords: audio-visual media, development of technology -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ABSTRAKPerkembangan teknologi saat ini begitu pesat, perkembangan ini mempengaruhi media audio-visual salah satunya adalah video game. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah: 1) untuk menganalisis perbedaan yang memengaruhi elemen tingkat kekerasan bermain video game ke tingkat perilaku agresif remaja, 2) untuk menganalisis pengaruh faktor pribadi sebagai perbedaan dalam elemen perilaku pembentuk video game kekerasan untuk tingkat perilaku agresif remaja, 3) untuk menganalisis perbedaan pengaruh faktor situasional sebagai pembentuk perilaku bermain video game unsur kekerasan ke tingkat perilaku agresif remaja. Analisis dalam penelitian ini menggunakan tabulasi silang, uji statistik Mann-Whitney dan Kruskal-Wallis dengan tingkat signifikansi 5%. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada perbedaan dalam tingkat perbedaan situasional dan jenis kelamin pada tingkat perilaku bermain elemen video game kekerasan; dan ada perbedaan dalam tingkat bermain video game unsur perilaku kekerasan terhadap tingkat agresivitas remaja.Kata kunci: media audio-visual, perkembangan teknologi


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 139-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Bösche

Previous studies have shown that violent video games prime aggressive thoughts and concepts. Interestingly, positively valenced test stimuli are rarely used in this field, though they might provide useful information on the nature of the emotional response to virtual violence and its associative structure. According to the General Aggression Model (GAM) and its extensions ( Carnagey, Anderson, & Bushman, 2007 ), normal negative reactions to violence are expected. Alternatively, playing violent video games might be construed as engaging in positively valenced playful fighting behavior. To test the potential of violent video games to prime positive concepts, N = 29 adult males played either a violent or a nonviolent video game for 20 minutes and were subsequently tested in a standard lexical decision task consisting of positive, aggressive, nonaggressive negative, and neutral target words. The data show that the violent video game primed aggressive concepts as expected, but also raised positive concepts, and did so independently of the participants’ history of playing violent video games. Therefore, the results challenge the idea that violent video games inherently stimulate negative concepts only.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 408-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Greitemeyer

Two studies addressed whether playing video games cooperatively in a team would increase emphatic concern toward others in need. Study 1 showed that cooperative team-play ameliorates the negative effects of violent video game play on empathy. Both those participants who had played a violent video game cooperatively in a team and participants who had played a neutral video game on their own reported more empathy than participants who had played a violent video game on their own. Study 2 showed that cooperative teamplay does not only ameliorate negative effects of violent video games, but may also foster consideration for others. In fact, playing a neutral video game cooperatively in a team (relative to single-play) increased empathy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1033-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Engelhardt ◽  
Bruce D. Bartholow ◽  
Geoffrey T. Kerr ◽  
Brad J. Bushman

2021 ◽  
pp. e20200012
Author(s):  
Heidi Rautalahti

The article examines player narratives on meaningful encounters with video games by using an argumentative qualitative interview method. Data gathered among Finnish adult video game players represents narratives of important connections in personal lives, affinities that the article analyzes as further producing three distinctive themes on meaningful encounters. Utilizing a study-of-religion framework, the article discusses meaning making and emerging ways of meaningfulness connected to the larger discussion on the “big questions” that are asked, explored, and answered in popular culture today. Non-religious players talk about intricate and profound contemplations in relation to game memories, highlighting how accidental self-reflections in mundane game worlds frame a continuing search for self.


Author(s):  
Christopher J. Ferguson

The issue of video game violence continues to attract attention from the legal and policy communities, particularly in the wake of mass shootings. However, focusing on video game violence has generally not resulted in successful legal or public policy. In part this is because the science upon which beliefs of “harm” in video game violence are based remains inconsistent and heavily disputed. The current article examines several issues. First, the article examines the current evidence about video game violence influences on negative outcomes in players. Second, the article concerns itself with the application of video game science to several recent legal cases, involving both criminal prosecutions and attempted regulation/censorship of video game violence in the United States. Finally, the manuscript addresses several common talking points used in legal cases and by policy makers and examines whether these talking statements survive careful scientific scrutiny. It is advised that, consistent with the legal decisions and government reviews in the United States, Sweden, Australia, and elsewhere, current evidence does not support the regulation of violent video games, and legal or policy attempts to connect video game violence to specific crimes are unlikely to survive careful scrutiny.


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