2002/12/01 by Brad J. Bushman, Craig A. Anderson · 1 citation
Psychology · Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression #Media Influence and Health #Child Development and Digital Technology #Aggression #Psychology #Social psychology #Video game #Test (biology) #Feeling #Interpersonal communication #Verbal aggression #Poison control #Suicide prevention #Multimedia
paper · doi:10.1177/014616702237649
openalex publication_date 2002/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/09
Research conducted over several decades has shown that violent media increase aggression. It is now time to move beyond the question of whether violent media increase aggression to answering the question why violent media increase aggression. The present research tested whether violent video games produce a hostile expectation bias—the tendency to expect others to react to potential conflicts with aggression. Participants (N = 224) played either a violent or nonviolent video game. Next, they read ambiguous story stems about potential interpersonal conflicts. They were asked what the main character will do, say, think, and feel as the story continues. People who played a violent video game described the main character as behaving more aggressively, thinking more aggressive thoughts, and feeling more angry than did people who played a nonviolent video game. These results are consistent with the General Aggression Model.