JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The question of how video games can shape aggressive behaviors has been a focus for many researchers. Previous research has focused on how violent video game content leads to post-game aggressive behaviors. However, not only do video games convey violence or prosocial content to players, but they also require cognitive effort from individuals. Since human cognitive resources are limited, consuming more cognitive effort in a game leads to less cognitive resources to suppress aggressive impulses. Therefore, the depletion of cognitive resources from video games may also lead to changes in post-game aggressive behaviors.

Objective:

To examine the relationship between cognitive resources consumed in video games and post-game aggressive behaviors.

Methods:

Sixty participants (mean age: 20.22 years, range: 18 to 24 years) were assigned to two groups. Participants in both groups played a 25-minute video game, with the video game in one of the groups requiring more cognitive effort. Following the sessions, a maze selection task measured the participants’ helping and hurting behaviors.

Results:

The results showed that consuming more cognitive resources led to more post-game hurting behaviors, t(58) = -2.07, p = .043, Cohen's d = -0.535, while helping behaviors were unaffected, t(58) = 1.52, p = .134, Cohen's d = 0.393.

Conclusions:

The more cognitive resources consumed in a video game, the more hurting behaviors are exhibited post-game. This result proposes an alternative explanation for the influence of video games on aggressive behaviors, adding to previous theories and raising concerns about the popularity of cognitive training games.