Demolishing the Competition: The Association between Competitive Video Game Play and Aggression among Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

The link between video game play and aggression is an important issue as video games The link between video game play and aggression is an important issue as video games are the fastest growing form of entertainment in the world. Past research on this association has been focused primarily on the link between video game violence and aggression; however, this research has confounded the effect of video game violence versus competition on aggression. The main goal of the current dissertation, therefore, was to examine the short- and long-term associations between competitive video game play and aggression. In addition, the longitudinal work on this association to date has been limited to adolescent samples, but not young adults. Thus, the second goal of the dissertation research was to investigate whether video game play predicts aggression in the long-term among young adults in addition to adolescents. To address these goals, three studies were conducted. Study 1 consisted of a series of experiments examining the short-term effect of video game violence versus competition on aggression. Study 2 examined the long-term association between competitive video game play and aggression among adolescents, and Study 3 examined this long-term link among young adults, in addition to adolescents. Taken together, the results of the three dissertation studies converged to suggest that video game competition, rather than violence, may be a stronger predictor of aggression in both the short- and long-term. Overall, the current research represents an important advance in our understanding of the association between video game play and aggression, and leads to a new direction in the video game and aggression literature.

are the fastest growing form of entertainment in the world. Past research on this

association has been focused primarily on the link between video game violence and

aggression; however, this research has confounded the effect of video game violence

versus competition on aggression. The main goal of the current dissertation, therefore,

was to examine the short- and long-term associations between competitive video game

play and aggression. In addition, the longitudinal work on this association to date has

been limited to adolescent samples, but not young adults. Thus, the second goal of the

dissertation research was to investigate whether video game play predicts aggression in

the long-term among young adults in addition to adolescents. To address these goals,

three studies were conducted. Study 1 consisted of a series of experiments examining the

short-term effect of video game violence versus competition on aggression. Study 2

examined the long-term association between competitive video game play and aggression

among adolescents, and Study 3 examined this long-term link among young adults, in

addition to adolescents. Taken together, the results of the three dissertation studies

converged to suggest that video game competition, rather than violence, may be a

stronger predictor of aggression in both the short- and long-term. Overall, the current

research represents an important advance in our understanding of the association between

video game play and aggression, and leads to a new direction in the video game and

aggression literature.