The Game Within the Game: The Potential Influence of Demand Characteristics and Participant Beliefs in Violent Video Game Studies

IF 4.3 2区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL

Social Psychological and Personality Science Pub Date : 2024-08-27 DOI:10.1177/19485506241273193

Yashvin Seetahul, Tobias Greitemeyer

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Abstract

In two experiments, we examined the potential impact of demand characteristics in violent video game (VVG) research. Study 1 ( N = 788) measured behavioral aggression, while Study 2 ( N = 1,182) measured trait aggression. Participants were informed either that researchers wanted to confirm that VVGs increase aggression (“Positive Hypothesis”) or that VVGs have no effect (“Null Hypothesis”). Study 2 included a third condition where participants were given no information. In both studies, the interaction between VVG exposure and experimental conditions was significant. Whereas VVG exposure was significantly positively associated with aggression in the “Null Hypothesis” condition, it was not in the “Positive Hypothesis” condition. These effects were driven by habitual players responding differently based on the presented hypothesis, appearing less aggressive in the “Positive Hypothesis” condition than in the other two conditions. These findings highlight the importance of addressing demand characteristics in VVG studies.

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游戏中的游戏：暴力电子游戏研究中需求特征和参与者信念的潜在影响

在两项实验中，我们考察了暴力视频游戏（VVG）研究中需求特征的潜在影响。研究 1（788 人）测量的是行为攻击性，而研究 2（1182 人）测量的是特质攻击性。参与者被告知，研究人员希望证实暴力电子游戏会增加攻击性（"正假设"）或暴力电子游戏没有影响（"零假设"）。研究 2 包括第三种情况，即不向参与者提供任何信息。在这两项研究中，接触 VVG 与实验条件之间的交互作用都很显著。在 "零假设 "条件下，接触 VVG 与攻击行为呈显著正相关，而在 "正假设 "条件下则不然。这些影响是由于习惯性玩家根据提出的假设做出了不同的反应，在 "积极假设 "条件下比在其他两种条件下表现出更少的攻击性。这些发现强调了在 VVG 研究中考虑需求特征的重要性。

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来源期刊

Social Psychological and Personality Science PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL-

CiteScore

12.50

自引率

1.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： Social Psychological and Personality Science (SPPS) is a distinctive journal in the fields of social and personality psychology that focuses on publishing brief empirical study reports, typically limited to 5000 words. The journal's mission is to disseminate research that significantly contributes to the advancement of social psychological and personality science. It welcomes submissions that introduce new theories, present empirical data, propose innovative methods, or offer a combination of these elements. SPPS also places a high value on replication studies, giving them serious consideration regardless of whether they confirm or challenge the original findings, with a particular emphasis on replications of studies initially published in SPPS. The journal is committed to a rapid review and publication process, ensuring that research can swiftly enter the scientific discourse and become an integral part of ongoing academic conversations.