Effects of Violent Versus Nonviolent Video Games

on Childrens Arousal, Aggressive Mood, and

Positive Mood

J. FLEMING^
MICHELE AND DEBRAJ. R r C K W W D
CentreforApplied Psychology
University of Canberra
Canberra, Australia

This study investigated the relationship between violent video games and childrens mood.
A total of 71 children aged 8 to 12 years played a paper-and-pencil game, a nonviolent
video game, and a violent video game. Results indicate that arousal, as measured by heart
rate and self-reported arousal, increased significantly after playing the violent video game,
as compared with the other two game conditions, with girls reporting more arousal than
did boys. There was no significant increase in aggressive mood scores for either boys or
girls after playing the violent game. Positive mood, as measured by positive affect,
showed no significant increases or decreases after playing either video game. However,
positive mood, as measured by general mood, showed a significant increase after playing
the violent game for both boys and girls, but only as compared with the paper-and-pencil
game. Results are interpreted in terms of social learning and cognitive information pro-
cessing theories of aggression.

Recent murders by children in both the United States and the United King-
dom have prompted endless discussions by the media, professionals, and the pub-
lic concerning what it is that causes children to become violent. Aggression and
violence in children are likely to be caused by a wide range of precipitating fac-
tors, such as neurological and hormonal abnormalities, poor parenting, poverty,
level of cognitive and moral development, and community values. But violent
video and computer games may also be a contributing factor.
Extensive research, particularly looking at violence in the media, has consis-
tently supported the important role of observational learning in children (for
reviews, see Bandura, 1973; Paik & Comstock, 1994). Observational learning
occurs when individuals observe others behavior and as a result learn that
behavior. It is then stored in memory for later retrieval when the appropriate
opportunity arises and if the individual is motivated to do so. It has been
suggested that the period from 6 to 11 years is an especially sensitive one for
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Michele J. Fleming, Centre for
Applied Psychology, School of Human and Biomedical Sciences, Division of Science and Design,
University of Canberra, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.

Journal ofApplied Social Psychology, 2001, 31, 10, pp. 2047-2071

Copyright 0 2001 by V. H. Winston & Son, Inc. All rights reserved.
2048 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

learning by observation, and that exposure to television violence during this

period promotes aggressive behavior and habits that are difficult to extinguish
(Huesmann & Eron, 1986a).
According to Geen (1 990), aggression may be viewed as affective or instru-
mental. Affective aggression may be thought of as angry aggression, and its
main goal is to cause hurt to another. Instrumental aggression is that which is
aimed at obtaining tangible rewards. For the purpose of this study, the term
aggression is used to mean affective aggression. Within the present study, chil-
drens aggressive mood is measured. This is defined as an aroused and angry
state during which the individuals threshold for aggression is lowered. Given
this mood state, together with other background variables such as a genetic pre-
disposition to aggressiveness and past learning, the individual is likely to behave
aggressively if the necessary situational stimulus occurs (Geen, 1990).

Aggression and the Media

Many studies show video games to be linked with increased aggression in

children and adolescents (e.g., Cooper & Mackie, 1986; Irwin & Gross, 1995;
Lin & Lepper, 1987; Silvern & Williamson, 1987). Aggressive thoughts have
also been found to increase after playing rather than simply observing a violent
virtual-reality video game (Calvert & Tan, 1994). Increased hostility and anxiety
have also been found after playing an aggressive video game (Anderson &
Ford, 1986). Aggressive games may also make prosocial behavior less likely
(Chambers & Ascione, 1987; van-Schie & Weigman, 1997).
According to Bandura (1973), a childs learning is not based purely on pas-
sively observing models; rather, the child identifies more readily with some mod-
els than with others. When a models aggressive behavior is rewarded, the child
is more likely to see this model as one with whom identification is desirable
(Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963b).
In a violent video game, children not only view aggression, but often take on
the role of the aggressor. In order to move forward in the game, score points,
solve the puzzle, or achieve whatever the object of the game may be, the child
often needs to perform violent acts to achieve the games goal. The child
actively adopts the role of the hero, who is often extremely violent, and is then
rewarded for successful acts of violence, thereby enhancing identification and
learning.
In many video games, the hero is rewarded for aggressive acts. Thus, the
child is likely to identify with the aggressor and to be more likely to perform the
behavior. Furthermore, the childs impulse controls for aggressive acts may be
disinhibited. Not only has the child learned examples of aggressive behavior, but
also the childs inhibitions about performing aggressive acts have been reduced.
Thus, other nonimitative acts of aggression may be performed more readily.
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2049

According to social learning theory (Bandura, 1973), the more rehearsal that
takes place, the more the aggressive response is learned. Bandura believes that a
ruminative process allows certain aggressive ideas to dominate a persons con-
sciousness and that these ideas are then elaborated to fit the individuals circum-
stances. Similarly, the cognitive information processing model of aggression
proposed by Huesmann (1988) suggests that viewing violent material can lead to
the development of aggressive scripts. Aggressive scenes on television and video
games provide examples of new scripts and may also act as cues for the use of
existing scripts. Childrens scripts for dealing with solutions to problems are
thought to be learned by observing parents, peers, and others, along with charac-
ters in various media (Huesmann, 1997). However, childrens scripts are likely to
be filtered through their normative beliefs about what constitutes appropriate
behavior in any given situation (Huesmann & Guerra, 1997). Thus, a child who
plays a violent game but already has strong normative beliefs against aggression
will not be influenced in the same way as a child who believes that aggressive
behavior is the way to solve problems. According to this model, only certain vul-
nerable children are likely to be affected by violent video games (Sanson & Shee-
han, 1996). These are usually children who are already exposed to violence
within their homes, their schools, or their communities.
Berkowitz (1984) suggests that aggression on television can give ideas to the
audience that may then be translated into open antisocial behavior. He maintains
that a violent film can prime other semantically related thoughts and that for a
period of time after this, there is a greater likelihood that the concept, along with
associated thoughts and emotions, will come to mind again. Media violence can
create in the individual a combination of aggressive ideas, emotions related to
violence, and the impetus for aggressive behavior.

Arousal

Playing video games appears to be exciting for children as they manipulate

the keyboard,joysticks, buttons, or levers; take on the role of the hero; struggle to
conquer their foes; or compete for ever higher scores. In a study by Segal and
Dietz (199 I), participants were found to have significantly increased heart rate
(HR), blood pressure, and oxygen consumption while playing a video game com-
pared with measurements taken while they were resting.
Kubey and Larson (1 990) found that childrens arousal increased after play-
ing video games and that their arousal levels were significantly higher than after
watching television, reading, or listening to music. In a study with college stu-
dents, participants HR increased after playing a virtual-reality video game
(Calvert & Tan, 1994).
According to general arousal theory, physiological arousal is thought to
enhance an individuals responsiveness to the environment and the intensity of
2050 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

that response (Malmo, 1959). It has been suggested that general physiological
arousal, arising fiom many different activities, can lead to aggression if there is
sufficient provocation soon after the activity (Zillmann, Katcher, & Milavsky,
1972). However, more recently, prolonged exposure to media violence has been
shown to increase aggressive behavior, even without provocation (Zillmann &
Weaver, 1999).
According to Schachter and Singers (1962) two-factor theory of arousal,
arousal may energize any responses that a person is predisposed to make. Thus,
an individuals emotional state may result from both a state of physiological
arousal and from the thoughts and feelings associated with this state. This two-
factor theory can therefore take account of arousal-eliciting pleasant states in a
way that Zillmanns (197 1) theory cannot. From the viewpoint of two-factor the-
ory, if an individual attributes arousal to aggressive stimuli, he or she will be
likely to experience anger and therefore be more likely to aggress. However, if
the individual attributes arousal to pleasant stimuli, he or she will experience the
state as positive mood. Arousal may contribute to aggression not just by energiz-
ing responses, but by combining with cognitions to create a state of increased
anger that may lead to increased aggressive behavior.

Catharsis

An alternative theoretical framework maintains that video-game play may

have a positive effect on aggressive impulses through a cathartic effect. Accord-
ing to catharsis theory, we need to purge or discharge our aggressive feelings and
by performing or even witnessing aggression, we can be relieved (Breuer &
Freud, 1894/1961).
From the point of view of catharsis theory, playing a violent video game
could serve as a form of release and therefore would be expected to be followed
by reduced aggression (Dominick, 1984). A study by Kestenbaum and Weinstein
(1985) found that, for 11- to 14-year-olds, video games with aggressive content
had a calming effect. However, there has been little support for catharsis theory
in the widely studied area of television violence (Friedrich-Cofer & Huston,
1986; Huesmann & Eron, 1986b).

Gender

Numerous studies have shown gender differences in childrens aggression,

with boys showing more aggressive behavior than girls after watching televised
violence (Bandura, Ross, & ROSS, 1963a; Sheehan, 1986). Cognitive develop-
mental theory (Kagan, 1964), social learning theory (Bandura, 1973), and gender
schema theory (Bem, 1981) all maintain that gender is a lens through which chil-
dren view the world, resulting in differences in how much boys and girls play
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2051

video games and the way they react to them. Stereotypical gender differences
may also determine whether children choose to play video games and also which
types of games they decide to play. Playing video games is a more highly
regarded activity for males than for females (Barnett et al., 1997), and boys gain
more social approval for playing fighting games (Funk & Buchman, 1996).
Mehrabian and Wixen (1986) found that for males, but not for females, greater
feelings of dominance in the video game significantly contributed to increased
game preference.
Kubey and Larson (1990) reported that 80% of video-game play among 9- to
15-year-olds is by boys, possibly because boys are more attracted to the aggres-
sive themes in video games (Kinder, 1991; Malone, 1981; Provenzo, 1991).
Barnett et al. (1997) report that boys favorite video games are those with either
violent or sport-based content.

Experience and Desensitization

Exposure to violence, in the form of being a frequent user of video games

may cause children to become immune to real-life violence. A number of studies
have examined the content of video games and have found that many contain
violence. Bowman and Rotter (1983) found that 85% of video games required
players to act violently. Provenzo (1991) reported that of the 47 Nintendo games
he analyzed, 85% contained violence.
Research into the effects of viewing televised violence has shown that the
more television programs with aggressive content a child watches, the more
accepting the child may become of aggressive behaviors (Dominick &
Greenberg, 1972). This immunity may take the form of attitude changes as a
result of cognitive desensitization to violence, and arousal changes as a result of
physiological desensitization, as found in numerous studies that have examined
the effects of television violence (Drabman & Thomas, 1974; Molitor & Hirsch,
1994). In the case of television violence, there is both laboratory and field evi-
dence suggesting that those who watch a lot of violence display less physiologi-
cal arousal in response to new violence than do control subjects (Cline, Croft, &
Courrier, 1973; Thomas, Horton, Lippincott, & Drabman, 1973).
Treatment of various phobias using an interactive computer environment has
led to successful desensitization of various fears, including fear of flying, agora-
phobia, and acrophobia (North, North, & Coble, 1997). In much the same way
that the effects of these treatments can be successfully transferred to real-life sit-
uations, children may be desensitized to real-life violence by repeated exposure
to and immersion in the violence in the games.
According to Huesmann and Eron (1986b), it is plausible that children who
watch the least violence will be the most aroused and the most likely to act
aggressively in the short term. A similar effect may be found after playing an
2052 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

aggressive video game. In a study by Cooper and Mackie ( 1 986), girls were
found to increase their aggressive free play after playing or observing an
aggressive video game; however, boys free play was not significantly altered.
Cooper and Mackie suggest that a possible explanation for these results is that as
girls have less exposure to and less experience with violence, they are the ones
most likely to be aroused by exposure and to react more aggressively to any vio-
lent content than boys.
It is therefore possible that, in the short term, children who are inexperienced
with video games may well be more aroused and more likely to behave aggres-
sively than experienced children after exposure to a violent game. However, for
experienced children, the repeated exposure to violence may cause long-term
effects. These effects are likely to be desensitization to observed violence and
more aggressive behavior through a process of observational learning.

The Present Study

The purpose of the present study is to determine empirically the effect of a

violent versus a nonviolent video game or a paper-and-pencil game on arousal,
aggressive mood, and positive mood in a sample of 8- to 12-year-old Australian
children, and whether the effect is different for boys and for girls. Additionally,
the role of previous experience with video games is examined to determine
whether this results in any desensitization to violence. The following six hypoth-
eses are proposed:
Hypothesis I. Children of both genders who are more experienced
with video games will show less arousal after the violent video
game than will inexperienced children.
Hypothesis 2. The violent video game, compared with the nonvio-
lent video game or the paper-and-pencil game, will cause higher
levels of arousal in both genders.

Hypothesis 3. Children of both genders will report more aggres-

sive mood after playing the violent game compared with the non-
violent game or the paper-and-pencil game.
Hypothesis 4.Boys will report more aggressive mood after playing
the violent game than will girls.
Hypothesis 5. For boys, the violent game will cause more positive
mood than will the nonviolent game.
Hypothesis 6. For girls, the violent game will cause less positive
mood than will the nonviolent game.
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2053

Method

Participants

Participants were 35 girls and 36 boys from third grade through sixth grade at
a medium-sized public junior school in Canberra, Australia. The mean age for
both girls and boys was 10 years, 6 months (SD = 10.97 months), and their age
range was from 8 years, 8 months to 12 years, 4 months.
Parental consent was obtained for 94 of the 2 10 children in the primary divi-
sion of the school to participate in the study. The number of children and the
order in which they were chosen to participate were both dictated by school time-
table constraints. No children were excluded on social or intellectual grounds.

Design

A mixed between-within subjects, 2 x 3 fully counterbalanced design was

used. The between-subjects independent variable was the gender of the partici-
pants, and the within-subjects independent variable was the level of game vio-
lence (paper-and-pencil game, nonviolent video game, or violent video game).
The five dependent measures were HR, self-reported arousal, aggressive mood,
positive affect, and general mood. Experience with video games was the covari-
ate. Full counterbalancing of game order was used to control for any order effects.

Materials

Game hardware. A Sony Playstation@ games system was used, with one
standard controller attached. The system was connected to a 14411. (36-m) tele-
vision set.
Game soffware. The two computer games used were Bouncer 11 and
Hercs Adventures. Bouncer I1 is the nonviolent game and is rated G (for gen-
eral use, with no parental guidance required). The game involves geometric fig-
ures (bouncers) that must be juggled on a platform in order to hit boxes, which
results in points accruing for the player. The violent game is Hercs Adventures,
which is rated G8+ (no parental guidance required for children aged 8 and over).
The child takes on the role of Herc, the potential savior of Persephone, who has
been kidnapped by Hades, the god of the underworld. The child commences a
journey across ancient Greece (which none of the children finished, nor were
they expected to, in the time allotted) to find Persephone, killing monsters in the
form of Cyclops and skeletons en route.
Paper-and-Pencil Game

The paper-and-pencil game consists of three mazes that were selected from a
childrens puzzle book entitled Amazing Mazes 3 (Heimann, 1996). The mazes
2054 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

were chosen to be interesting without being too difficult for children in this age
group.

Biographical Data

Parents completed a demographic cover sheet. Included in this section were

questions relating to their childs gender, school class, and age in years and
months.

Experience

Parents indicated on the parent questionnaire how often their children played
computer/video games on a 6-point scale ranging from 0 (never) to 5 (every day).
The researcher asked each child, during the experimental session, how often they
played computer games and whether they played on a dedicated game system or
on a computer. If most or all of their game play was on a computer, they were
asked details of the game content and whether it was educational or just for
fun. A few children were found to be regular players but had mostly played only
educational games. The children were then rated by the researcher, on the basis
of the information provided, on a 6-point scale ranging from 0 (total& inexperi-
enced) to 5 (very experienced).Children and parents were both asked whether the
child had played either of the games being used in the experiment. Parent and
child ratings were summed to give a total experience score ranging from 2 to 10,
with higher scores indicating greater experience with video games.

Heart Rate

A Bioview Series IV Biofeedback system was used to measure HR. The Bio-
view data-acquisition unit is a small machine measuring 13.5 cm x 19 cm, which
is connected to a laptop computer via the serial port. A small clip from the Bio-
view unit is attached to each participants ear and HR is displayed for the range
from 25 to 200 beats per minute (bpm); a numbered readout is also constantly
displayed. An averaged HR readout for each 4-min trial (i.e., for each game con-
dition) is recorded by the researcher for analysis.
HR was used as a measure of physiological arousal. Physiological measures
have the advantage of being objective and reliable. However, they can be expen-
sive, and correlations between different indicators of physiological arousal are
often low (Elliott, 1964; Lacey, 1967).

Self-Reported Arousal

Self-reported arousal was measured by three 7-point semantic differential

items: alert-drowsy, strong-weak, and excited-bored (Larson & Lampman-
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2055

Petraitis, 1989). Children circled the number indicating how they were feeling
right now. The three items were summed, yielding a total possible score rang-
ing from 3 to 2 1, with a higher score meaning more arousal.
Larson and Lampman-Petraitis (1989) assessed the scale in a study using 473
American participants ages 9 to 15 years. In addition to the three questions mea-
suring arousal, three questions assessing positive affect were included in the scale
(see the Positive affect section). These two dimensions had been found previ-
ously to be stable for children of this age group (Russell & Ridgeway, 1983).
Russell and Ridgeway conducted four studies (Ns = 146,270,66, and 229, for the
four studies, respectively) to explore the implicit taxonomy of emotion in chil-
dren from about 8 to 12 years. They found that children describe their emotional
states along the two dimensions of arousal and pleasure/displeasure, as do adults.

Aggressive Mood

Aggressive mood was defined as an aroused and angry state during which the
individuals threshold for aggression is lowered. An aggressive mood scale was
therefore developed for the present study from the State-Trait Anger Expression
Inventory (STAXI; Spielberger, 1988). The STAXI is a 44-item, self-report ques-
tionnaire for ages 13 years and over, which consists of six scales. Only one of the
six scales was used in the development of the scale for the current study. This
was the 10-item State Anger (S-Anger) scale, which is used for measuring the
strength of angry feelings at a particular time. Respondents rate items on a 4-
point scale according to how they feel right now. The scale ranges from 1 (not
at a10 to 4 (a lot). Examples include I feel angry and I feel like yelling at
somebody. The scale devised for the present study consisted of only eight items.
Three items from the STAXI were modified and two items were deleted, as they
were determined through pilot testing to be unsuitable for young children. Total
possible scores ranged from 8 to 32, with higher scores indicating more aggres-
sive mood.
Positive Mood

Positive affect. Like self-reported arousal, positive affect was measured by

three 7-point semantic differential items: happyunhappy, cheerful-irritable, and
friendly-angry (Larson 8z Lampman-Petraitis, 1989). Children circled the num-
ber indicating how they were feeling right now. Scores on the three items were
summed, yielding a total possible score ranging from 3 to 21, with a higher score
meaning more positive affect.
General mood. General mood was measured by the scale commonly known
as the Smiley Faces scale developed by Butzin and Anderson (1973). This scale
comprises a row of seven faces ranging from 1 (very unhappy) to 7 (very happy).
Three faces had downward curving smiles, three had upward curving smiles,
2056 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

while the mouth of the center face was in a straight line. A higher score therefore
indicates a happier mood. The faces scale is recognized as a valid measure of
childrens mood (Judd, Smith, & Kidder, 1991) and has been validated with chil-
dren as young as 5 years.

Preexperimental Procedure

A small pilot test was conducted in advance of the study in order to ascertain
the appropriateness of the measures and the games used. The games were
assessed for difficulty level, noise level, and game preference and were found to
be comparable with each other for each of these three domains. Data from the
pilot test are not included in this study.

Procedure

Children reported individually every half hour, as advised by their class

teacher, to the room allocated by the school for use by the researcher. They were
welcomed and settled, and the purpose and procedure of the experiment were
explained to them. Each child was then asked to complete an informed consent
form, consistent with their being over 7 years of age and respecting their cogni-
tive maturity. The researcher then spent a few minutes explaining the Bioview
machine to children, asking about their general experience with video games and
details of how frequently they played. The Bioview clip was then attached to the
childs ear. Next, each child was assigned an order of game play.
Every child played all three games for 4 min each. Before the two video-
game conditions, children were given 2 to 3 min of game instruction. After each
of the three games, children completed a questionnaire consisting of the self-
reported arousal, positive affect, general mood, and aggressive mood measures.
The researcher explained how the scales worked, and children were told to ask if
they did not understand the meaning of any of the words used. Childrens HR
was monitored and recorded for each of the game conditions, but not during the
periods in between.

Results

Preliminary analyses reveal the correlations between the covariate, experi-

ence, and the five dependent measures, and intercorrelations among the five
dependent measures (HR, self-reported arousal, aggressive mood, positive affect,
and general mood). All measures were screened for normality, which led to a log-
arithmic transformation of aggressive mood as a result of negative skew. No out-
liers among cases were found. Assumptions of homogeneity of variance and
homogeneity of intercorrelations were met for all dependent variables ( N = 71).
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2057

A series of five 2 x 3 split-plot ANOVAs (SPANOVAs) was conducted on the

five dependent measures, with gender as the between-subjects independent vari-
able and game condition (paper-and-pencil, nonviolent, or violent) as the within-
subjects independent variable.

Experience

Experience was the sum of previous experience with video games as judged
by the parent, plus previous experience with computer games as reported to the
researcher by the child. There was a significant positive correlation between
parental judgment of experience and the childs own report of his or her experi-
ence ( r = 3 5 , p < .001). In this sample children were very experienced with
video games, with 78.8% of children scoring 8 or more on a scale ranging from 2
to 10, with higher scores indicating greater experience. Parental reports showed
that 8 1.7% of children played games on a computer or on a dedicated game sys-
tem at least once per week, and 28.2% played daily. By their own report, chil-
dren indicated that 80.3% of them played at least weekly, and 33.8% played
daily. For girls, 7 1.4% reported playing at least weekly, as did 91.6% of boys. A
between-subjects t test demonstrated that boys were more experienced with
video games (A4= 8.6 1, SD = 1.18) than were girls (A4= 7.40, SD = 2.17),
(69) = -2.93, p < .01. Only one participant had played either of the games used
in the experiment.
It was hypothesized that more experienced children would be less aroused
than would inexperienced children by the violent video game, and experience,
therefore, was measured as a covariate in the design. However, there was no cor-
relation between experience and either of the arousal measures, or between expe-
rience and HR after any of the games. The hypothesis that experience would be
related to arousal was not supported, so experience was not entered into further
analyses with these two dependent variables. Exploratory investigations were
performed to ascertain whether experience was correlated with any of the other
three dependent variables; however, no significant correlations were found.

Intercorrelations Among Dependent Measures

The intercorrelations among the five dependent measures were considered in

order to make a decision regarding the most appropriate analyses to be done.
These intercorrelations are shown in Table 1. The pattern of intercorrelationswas
similar across the game conditions for each of the dependent measures, with the
exception of HR.
HR was not significantly correlated with any of the other dependent measures
in each game condition, with the exception of HR and positive affect for the
paper-and-pencil condition, where there was a weak positive association. More
2058 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

Table I

Intercorrelations Among Dependent Variables by Game Condition

Variable 1 2 3 4 5
Paper-and-pencil game
1. Heart rate - .14 -.08 .28* .I1
2. Self-reported arousal - -.36** .64*** .69**
3. (Log of) aggressive mood - -.44* * * -.36**
4. Positive affect so***
5. General mood
Nonviolent video game
1. Heart rate - .I4 -.02 .02 .I3
2. Self-reported arousal - -.26* .76*** .71***
3. (Log of) aggressive mood - -.46*** -.38**
4. Positive affect .76***
5. General mood
Violent video game
1. Heartrate - .I2 -.06 -.I0 -.I1
2. Self-reported arousal - -.27* .54*** .38**
3. (Log of) aggressive mood - -.49*** -.35**
4. Positive affect - .55***
5. General mood
Note. N = 71 for all dependent measures except heart rate. N = 70 for heart rate.
* p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < ,001.

importantly, the two measures of arousal (HR and self-reported arousal) were not
correlated, supporting a decision to retain them as separate measures of arousal.
Arousal was significantly negatively correlated with aggressive mood for all
three game conditions so that as arousal increased, aggressive mood decreased.
Arousal was significantly positively correlated with both positive affect and gen-
eral mood for all three game conditions so that as arousal increased, positive
affect and general mood both increased.
Aggressive mood was significantly negatively correlated with both positive
affect and general mood in each of the three game conditions so that as aggres-
sive mood increased, positive affect and general mood both decreased. Positive
affect and general mood were significantly positively correlated for all three
game conditions so that as positive affect increased, general mood increased. As
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2059

Table 2

Correlations Between Aggressive Mood, Positive Affect, and General Mood by

Game Condition and Gender
Girls Boys
1 2 3 1 2 3
Paper-and-pencil game
1. (Log of) aggressive mood - -.37* -.51** - -.56** -.27
2. Positive affect - .54** - .42*
3. General mood - -
Nonviolent video game
1. (Log of) aggressive mood - -.52** -.63** - -.42* -.23
2. Positive affect - .69** - .77**
3. General mood - -
Violent video game
1. (Log of) aggressive mood - -.63** -.a**
- -.37* -.05
2. Positive affect - .58** - .52**
3. General mood - -
*p < .05. **p < .01.

these associations were moderate, it was decided to retain both measures of posi-
tive mood separately for analysis.
In order to examine the relationship between gender and mood, correlations
between aggressive mood, positive affect, and general mood were examined.
Correlations are presented in Table 2 for boys and girls in each game condition.
For girls, aggressive mood was significantly negatively correlated with posi-
tive affect and general mood in all three game conditions such that as aggressive
mood decreased, positive affect and general mood increased. Also for girls, posi-
tive affect and general mood were significantly positively correlated in all three
game conditions such that as positive affect increased, general mood increased.
For boys, aggressive mood and positive affect were significantly negatively
correlated in all three game conditions such that as aggressive mood decreased,
positive affect increased. Aggressive mood was not significantly correlated with
general mood for boys in all three game conditions. Positive affect and general
mood were significantly positively correlated in all three game conditions for
boys such that as positive affect increased, general mood increased.
An ANOVA of each of the dependent measures by gender and game condi-
tion follow. Means and standard deviations are presented in Table 3.
2060 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

Table 3

Means and Standard Deviations for All Dependent Measures by Game Condition
Paper and Nonviolent Violent video
pencil game video games game
M SD M SD M SD
Heart rate Fa 84.07 12.59 -83.47 12.31 87.65 11.19
Mb 81.22 10.37 -84.33 13.26 85.63 9.90
Total 82.60 11.51 83.91 12.72 86.61 10.52
Self-reported Fc 15.74 3.64 16.54 3.18 17.40 2.39
arousal Mb 14.03 4.19 14.17 4.61 16.69 3.03
Total 14.87 4.00 15.34 4.12 17.04 2.74
Aggressive mood Fc 10.11 3.28 10.14 3.06 10.77 3.88
Mb 9.67 2.88 10.97 4.25 11.22 4.23
Total 9.89 3.07 10.56 3.71 11.00 4.04
Positive affect Fc 17.28 2.95 17.09 2.82 17.06 3.05
Mb 15.67 3.75 15.28 4.04 17.03 3.05
Total 16.47 3.45 16.17 3.59 17.04 3.03
General mood Fc 5.69 1.23 5.74 0.95 5.80 1.23
Mb 5.08 1.13 5.14 1.42 5.81 1.06
Total 5.38 1.21 5.44 1.24 5.80 1.14
an = 34. bn = 36. C n = 35.

Heart Rate

One female participant had missing data for HR, as a result of battery failure,
and, therefore, was excluded from the analysis (N = 70). HR ranged from 53.10
to 102.60 bpm during the paper-and-pencil condition, from 55.90 to 136.70 bpm
in the nonviolent condition, and from 62.20 to 112.60 bpm in the violent game
condition.
There was a significant main effect of game condition on HR, Wilkss A =
37, F(2, 67) = 4.85, power = .79, p < .05, multivariate q2 = .126. There was no
significant main effect of gender on HR, F(1,68) = 0.34, power = .089, p > .05,
multivariate q 2 = .005; and no significant effect of the interaction between gender
and HR, Wilkss A = .97, F(2,67) = 0.89, power = .20,p > .05, multivariate q 2 =
.026. Type of game did affect participants HR, whereas gender did not.
Post hoc analysis for HR reveals that the violent game produced a sig-
nificantly higher HR than did both the paper-and-pencil game (p < .Ol) and the
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2061

nonviolent game (p < .05). The paper-and-pencil game and the nonviolent game
were not significantly different from each other. This provides support for the
first hypothesis that the violent video game would cause higher levels of arousal
in both genders than would the nonviolent game.

Self-Reported Arousal

Internal consistency among the self-report items measuring arousal was ade-
quate, ranging from .54 to -74 for the three game conditions. Self-reported
arousal scores ranged from 4 to 21 in the paper-and-pencil game condition, from
3 to 21 in the nonviolent game condition, and from 9 to 21 in the violent game
condition.
The main effect of game condition on arousal was significant, Wilkss A =
.74, F(2, 68) = 11.95, power = .99,p < .001, multivariate q 2 = .260. There was a
significant,though weak main effect of gender, F( 1,69) = 5.28, power = .62, p <
.05, multivariate q 2 = .071. No significant interaction between gender and
arousal was found, Wilkss A = .96, F(2,68) = 1.58, power = .32, p > .05, multi-
variate q2 = .044. Both type of game played and gender affected arousal. On
average, girls reported more arousal than did boys.
Post hoc analysis was conducted with a Bonferroni adjustment for multiple
comparisons. Painvise comparisons of the arousal scores show that the violent
game produced significantly more arousal than did both the nonviolent game (p <
.01) and the paper-and-pencil game (p < .OOl), which were not significantly dif-
ferent from each other in their effect on arousal. This pattern was similar to that
for HR, despite the measures not being significantly correlated, and this provides
further support for the hypothesis that the violent video game would cause higher
levels of arousal in both genders than would the nonviolent game.

Aggressive Mood

Internal consistency among the self-report items measuring aggressive mood

was good, ranging from .72 to .90 for the three game conditions. Scores ranged
from 8 to 24 in the paper-and-pencil game condition, and from 8 to 28 in both the
nonviolent and the violent game conditions.
Aggressive mood was very positively skewed, and therefore a logarithmic
transformation was performed to improve normality. The main effect of game
condition on the log of aggressive mood, as determined by multivariate tests, was
just beyond significance, Wilkss A = .92, F(2,68) = 3.04, power = .57, p = .054,
multivariate q 2 = .080. The main effect of gender on aggressive mood was non-
significant, F(1, 69) = 0.11, p > .05,power = .06, multivariate q2 = .002. No sig-
nificant interaction between gender and aggressive mood was found, Wilkss A =
.95, F(2, 68) = 1.63, power = .33,p > .05,q2 = .046. These results offer no sup-
port for the hypothesis that children will report more aggressive mood after
2062 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

playing violent video games. There is also no statistical evidence to support the
hypothesis that this effect would be stronger for boys than for girls.

Positive Aflect

Internal consistency among the items measuring positive affect was good,
ranging from .75 to .87 for the three game conditions. Positive affect scores
ranged from 7 to 2 1 in the paper-and-pencil game condition, from 5 to 2 1 in the
nonviolent game condition, and from 11 to 2 1 in the violent game condition.
Results indicate that the main effect of game condition on positive affect was
nonsignificant, Wilkss A = .94, F(2,68) = 2.05, power = .41, p > .05, multivari-
ate q 2 = .057. The main effect of gender on positive affect was also nonsignifi-
cant, F(1, 69) = 3.63, power = .47,p > .05, multivariate q2= .055.No significant
interaction between positive affect and gender was found, Wilkss A = .94, F(2,
68) = 2.23, power = .44, p > .05, multivariate q2 = .062. These results offer no
support for the hypotheses that the violent video game would result in more posi-
tive mood than the nonviolent game for boys, or that the violent game would
result in less positive mood than the nonviolent game for girls.

General Mood

The main effect of game condition on general mood, as measured by the Smi-
ley Faces scale (Butzin & Anderson, 1973), was significant, Wilkss A = .91, F(2,
68) = 3.37, power = .62, p < .05, multivariate q2 = .090. There was no significant
main effect of gender, F(1, 69) = 3.64, power = .47, p > .05, multivariate q2 =
.05. No significant interaction between gender and general mood was found,
Wilkss A = .95, F(2, 68) = 1.89, power = .38, p > .05, multivariate q2 = .053.
Thus, type of game played affected general mood, but only very weakly.
Post hoc analysis was conducted with a Bonferroni adjustment for multiple
comparisons. Painvise comparisons of the general mood scores reveal that mood
was significantly more positive after playing the violent game than after the
paper-and-pencil game (p = .034). There was no significant difference in general
mood between playing the paper-and-pencil game and playing the nonviolent
game, or between playing the nonviolent game and the violent game. These
results do not offer support for the hypothesis that the violent game would result
in higher positive mood than would the nonviolent game for boys, nor for the
hypothesis that the violent game would result in lower positive mood than would
the nonviolent game for girls.

Discussion

The level of experience with computer games shown by this Australian sam-
ple, with 9 1.6% of boys and 70.6% of girls reporting that they play at least
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2063

weekly, is relatively consistent with levels of experience shown in other studies.

A study in The Netherlands found that 70% of children had played video games
in a given week (van-Schie & Weigman, 1997). An American study with 357
seventh and eighth graders found that 67% of girls played every week for at least
1 to 2 hours, while 90% of boys did so (Funk, 1993).
In Cooper and Mackies (1986) study, girls were found to show more aggres-
sion after a violent game, and boys were not. The authors suggested that the rea-
son for this was that girls were less experienced with video games than were boys
and therefore were less desensitized to the violence contained therein. In the
present study, girls reported less experience than did boys, although both groups
were very experienced. Although the exact nature of the games played was not
explored in detail, it seems reasonable to assume that many of the children had
played games containing some violence. Studies have shown the prevalence of
violent content in electronic games (Bowman & Rotter, 1983; Provenzo, 1991)
and also childrens preference for violent games (Buchman & Funk, 1996). Of
note is the fact that boys reported less arousal than did girls, which might have
been a result of their greater experience, leading to more desensitization. Impor-
tantly, the lack of variance in the experience measure would explain the fact that
experience was not significantly correlated with any of the dependent variables
and therefore could not be entered into analysis as a covariate. In order to test the
hypothesis regarding more experienced children being more likely to have
become desensitized to violence, it is necessary to find children with a wider
range of experience. Research may therefore need to be conducted with even
younger children or with children who have less access to technology.
The hypothesis that children of both genders would show more arousal, as
measured by increased HR and self-reported arousal, after playing the violent
game versus the nonviolent game or the paper-and-pencil game was supported.
These findings are consistent with both Calvert and Tans (1 994) and Kubey and
Larsons (1990) studies. However, in Kubey and Larsons study, childrens
arousal increased simply by virtue of playing video games in general, regardless
of content. In the present study, arousal was highest for the violent game. From a
social learning theory perspective, because the children were more aroused by
the aggressive games, and therefore more likely to want to play them, they were
likely to overlearn aggressive scripts.
It is noteworthy, however, that HR and aggressive mood were not signifi-
cantly positively correlated after the violent game, and self-reported arousal and
aggressive mood were moderately negatively correlated for the violent game
condition. An explanation for these relationships is possible when one takes into
account the positive correlation between self-reported arousal and positive mood.
These findings can then be explained by Schachter and Singers (1962) two-
factor theory of arousal, which indicates that the childs arousal would have been
attributed to the cognitions available to him (p. 398). It is possible that the
2064 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

children were engaged by and enjoying the aggressive content of the violent
game. Therefore, the childs cognitions may have been based on the pleasure of
observing and acting out aggressive behaviors. Thus, the child may have been
aroused by the violence, enjoying the violence, learning the aggressive behavior,
and encoding it in memory for future use. However, the pleasurable arousal
derived from playing the games was incompatible with aggressive mood.
The results of the present study do not support the hypothesis that playing a
violent versus a nonviolent video game will result in more aggressive mood for
either boys or girls. One possible explanation for this is that the childrens script
for this game was based on a rescue-mission script, rather than simply a bad
guy provokes good guy and good guy retaliates script. If the children perceived
the violent game in terms of a rescue mission in which their behavior was justi-
fied, then this may have affected their subsequent aggressive mood. Perhaps
some children saw themselves as being rewarded in the game for trying to rescue
Persephone, rather than being rewarded for killing the monsters. Certainly, the
meaning of observed violence has been shown to affect subsequent aggressive
behavior. In a study by Geen and Stonner (1 974), participants reacted more
aggressively after observing fighting in a movie if they believed that the fighting
was motivated by revenge rather than altruism.
However, as the children in this study only played the game for a short time,
during which time they did not encounter Persephone, it is more likely that the
second script (good guy vs. bad guy) was operating. Bandura (1973) suggests
that it is the utility of aggression, rather than its moral value, that affects whether
or not aggressive behavior will be emulated. Therefore, we would have antici-
pated greater aggressive mood in the children after playing this game. As this
was not the case, one possible explanation for the lack of aggressive mood in the
children is that they did not see the violent game as particularly violent. For ethi-
cal reasons, a very mild game was chosen. With the use of a more aggressive
game in the violent category, it is possible that the childrens aggressive mood
would have been greater after playing this game type. An alternative explanation
for the lack of aggressive mood after playing the violent game is the short time
period spent playing the game. Social learning is based on repeated exposure;
therefore, a longer playing period or repeated playing may create stronger effects.
From the viewpoint of the cognitive information processing model, it is likely
that continued re-exposure to these types of aggressive acts could lead to the
development of and augmentation of aggressive scripts, which would lead to re-
enactment of the aggressive behaviors, given the appropriate situational cues.
The lack of gender differences in aggressive affect found in this study may be
a result of a diminution in gender-role differences in boys and girls in the late
1990s and a result of measuring affect rather than behavior. Bandura (1973) sug-
gests that males and females do not differ in their amount of aggression, rather in
the way it is expressed, with males showing more physical aggression rather than
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2065

verbal aggression. Thus, the present findings may not be surprising if aggressive
mood is seen as a precursor to both of these forms of aggression.
It was hypothesized that boys would find that the violent game resulted in
more positive mood than the nonviolent game, and that for girls the violent game
would reduce their positive mood as compared with the nonviolent game. Neither
of these two hypotheses was borne out. The two mood measures gave inconsis-
tent findings as the results for positive affect were nonsignificant, and for general
mood were significant, though weak. The general mood measure showed that
both boys and girls moods increased after playing both the video games, as
compared with the paper-and-pencil game. It was anticipated that for boys, the
violent game would have been more pleasurable, and for girls less pleasurable.
As this was not the case, the likely explanation (as with aggressive mood) is that
the children did not see the violent game as particularly violent because of its
mild nature.
The present study offers no support for catharsis theory. There was no evi-
dence that playing the more violent game led to a reduction of the aggressive
drive. This is in line with extensive work in the more widely studied area of tele-
vision violence, which has, for the most part, shown increased aggressive affect
and behavior after viewing television violence (e.g., Wood, Wong, & Chachere,
1991).
One limitation of the present study is the use of a measure of short-term
aggressive mood. A common problem with studying the effect on children of
playing violent video games or watching violent television programs is how to
measure the childrens subsequent aggressive mood or aggressive behavior.
There is a real scarcity of self-reportmeasures available for this age group. More-
over, the available measures only gauge short-term aggressive ideations, and it is
not known whether this effect can be generalized to aggressive behavior. It is
possible that in the short term a violent game may make children feel aggressive,
but it may well depend on the childrens scripts for social interactions as to
whether they then subsequently behave aggressively in the short term. In the long
term, these games may both desensitize children to observed violence and teach
them aggression through observational learning. In addition to developing appro-
priate self-report measures of aggressive mood for children, a suggestion for
future research would be to measure both post-game affect and post-game
behavior. Ideally, both the short-term and the long-term effects of violent video
game play should be assessed.
Another limitation of the study is the time available to conduct the research.
This resulted in a shorter trial time for each child than was considered ideal,
although other studies have used very short playing periods to assess childrens
aggression after video game play (e.g., Schutte, Malouff, Post-Gorden, &
Rodasta, 1988; Silvern & Williamson, 1987). It is possible that if playing time
were increased from 4 min, the effects may have been stronger.
2066 FLEMING AND RICKWOOD

It may be possible to question the ecological validity of this research on the

grounds that children do not typically play video games in an experimental set-
ting being observed by a researcher. However, rather than this setting leading to
more pronounced findings of aggressive mood, it is more likely that the chil-
drens self-reports of aggressive mood have been attenuated as a result of experi-
mental demands. In a more natural setting and with friends, they may reinforce
each others aggressive responses, particularly boys.
Although the two video games were assessed for difficulty level, noise level,
and game preference during pilot testing, it is recommended that future studies
have each child rate both game preference and difficulty level as part of the study.
It is possible that because the violent game was more social than either the other
video game or the paper-and-pencil game, it may have created greater involve-
ment in the story line, and in this way may have caused greater arousal. It is also
possible that if one game is considered more difficult than are the others, then the
result could be frustration and therefore possibly greater feelings of aggression.
This needs to be assessed in order to examine any potential confounding effects
of frustration (see Berkowitz, 1989, for details of the frustration-aggression
hypothesis). The ideal games would be comparable on everything except vio-
lence.
Future studies could also address implications as to how much identification
takes place dependent on whether characters in the game are reality based or fan-
tasy based. Moreover, the use of male or female role models in video games
needs further examination in terms of childrens identificationwith the model, as
most games portray male heroes and many have no female characters at all
(Dietz, 1998). A greater overall understanding of childrens interpretations of the
scripts of various violent video games would be a useful subject for future
research.
The implication of the present study, that violent video games may result in
greater arousal in children than nonviolent games, is cause for concern as it goes
some way toward explaining their attractiveness. It is now possible to play the
video game, see the movie, and buy the toy hero, thus enhancing and consolidat-
ing existing learning and scripts. There is an increasing trend toward marketing
toys based on film, television, and video-game characters. Research has shown
that the combination of viewing aggressive cartoons and playing with the toys
associated with them can result in increased aggressive behavior (Sanson &
DiMuccio, 1993).
Some reviewers of existing studies in the area of video and computer games
have pointed to the positive as well as negative effects of the games (e.g., Durkin,
1995; Emes, 1997). While not denying that these games can have a beneficial
educational effect, it is important to be aware of the potential for aggressive
learning fiom these games. It is imperative that further empirical research be con-
ducted to ascertain whether this suspected deleterious effect on children exists.
 EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VERSUS NONVIOLENT VIDEO GAMES 2067

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