Is playing violent video games a risk factor for aggressive behaviour? Adding narcissism, self-esteem and PEGI ratings to the debate

Frontiers in Psychology

Psychology

Daniela Romano¹  Szymon Zbigniew Olejarnik² 

[1] Department of Information Studies, University College London, London, United Kingdom;Institute of Artificial Intelligence, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom;Department of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom;

关键词: aggressive behaviour;    violent video games;    narcissism;    self-esteem;    social psychology;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1155807

 received in 2023-01-31, accepted in 2023-06-21,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionAggressive behaviour is a challenge for society. There continues to be considerable debate over whether the consumption of violent video games affects aggression, as violent video game content has become more accessible in recent years due to the growing use of online distribution platforms. Personality traits often linked to aggression, such as narcissism and self-esteem, have been considered in the context of violent video game play and their relationship with aggression.MethodsWe surveyed an international population of 166 game players on their personality traits and their three favourite video game choices, which were classified as violent or non-violent, using Pan European Game Information (PEGI) 16 and 18 ratings.ResultsWe found that violent video game choice is a predictor of verbal aggression alongside narcissism, and hostility alongside self-esteem. A categorical regression highlighted the desire to impersonate society’s undesirable role models (e.g., ‘be a thief or a killer’) as one of the motivations for aggression and violent video game choice.DiscussionThese findings show that video game violence should be considered a risk factor for aggression, as in other violent media, as it provides a social reinforcement of aggressive behaviour and observational learning of aggressive models, calling for the introduction of stricter online age verification procedures on online game platforms to safeguard children from violent video game content; and increased use of parental controls on content fruition. More granularity should be considered in the PEGI classifications.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Olejarnik and Romano.