THE EFFECT OF GRAPHICAL QUALITY ON AGGRESSION IN VIOLENT VIDEO GAMESKyle Kollstedt & Michael Sterling

VIDEO GAME STATISTICS 98.7% of adolescents play video

games to some extent (Ferguson, John, 2007)

Violent video games seem to be the most popular (Buchman & Funk, 1996)Graphic and realistic-depictions of

physical conflict that may involve blood, gore, weapons, and depictions of human injury and death (ESRB).

VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES IN THE MEDIA

After the Columbine shootings in 1999, people have become increasingly concerned with the potential damage that violent video games may cause (Giumetti & Markey, 2007)

Many other perpetrators of high school shootings have been found to play violent video games (Anderson & Bushman, 2001)

PSYCHOLOGY OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAME USE Psychological research on the effects that

violent video games have on aggression has been mixed

Two other meta analyses showed that a positive correlation did exist between violent video game play and aggressive behaviors. (Anderson and Bushman, 2001; Anderson, et al. 2004).

The most recent meta analysis in 2007, showed that there wasn’t a correlation between violent video game play and aggressive behaviors. (Ferguson, 2007).

VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND PSYCHOLOGY

Most research on violent video game effects on aggression has been so flawed that a conclusive result cannot be obtained yet. (Zook, 2008)

Frustration of controls and game

Different games in different settings

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT Video games have been advancing for thirty

years

It has been found that as video game technology evolved there is an increase in the aggression of the user (Ivory & Kalyananaraman, 2007

A positive correlation between publication year and effect size on aggression exists (r=.39) Anderson and Bushman (2001)

HYPOTHESIS

As the graphical settings of a game are improved, the effect on aggression in the user will be increased.

PARTICIPANTS 25 participants taken from a convenience

sample 15 male 10 female Average age 19.7 Were offered extra credit in some psychology

classes Randomly assigned to low or high graphical

settings

EQUIPMENT A DNX Pixelworks XD-4800 Projector

Computer-Toshiba Satellite A200 (add stats on video card and ram)

Xbox 360

Game-Call of Duty 4

GAME INFORMATION First person shooter

Rated M for mature by the entertainment software ratings board (MSRB)

Contains blood, gore, intense violence, and strong language (www.esrb.org)

GRAPHICAL SETTINGS High Setting Low Setting

AGGRESSION QUESTIONNAIRE (BUSS & PERRY, 1992) Divides aggression into 4 subcategories

Physical aggression Hostility Verbal Aggression Anger

Each question was rated 1-5, with 5 being the highest.

Example Questions If I have to resort to violence to protect my

rights, I will. I can think of no good reason for ever hitting a

person. Has an overall internal consistency of .93

LIKERT SCALE FOR FRUSTRATION Were rated from 1-5, five being the most

frustrating.

How frustrated did you feel before playing the game?

How difficult did you find the controls?

Developed to rule out a potential confounding variable

COMPETITIVE REACTION TIME TASK (BUSHMAN & SAULTS, 2007)

Participants were given a chance to set the intensity and duration of a sound blast for a fictional student from Centre College.

If they did not react faster than the other student they were given a sound blast that the challenger set.

The challenger’s levels were randomly generated by the computer.

EXPERIMENTAL ROOM

Can have all lights blocked out in order to minimize distractions.

Blocking of windows prevented anyone else knowing about the study. Also controlled for levels of light which helped

improve image quality

PROCEDURE The Aggression questionnaire was given. Game was played until both a training level

and an intense level were completed.Half of participants will experience

maximum graphical settings, the others will be set at minimum.

Frustration Likert scale was administered. Second Aggression Questionnaire was given.

At this time one of the researchers left the room to call the fictional other participant

Competitive Reaction time task was given. Demographic information was obtained and

subjects were debriefed and thanked.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS

Men Women0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Aggression Average Sex Differences In Groups

Men had a significantly higher level of aggression (M=2.71) then women (M=2.09), t (25) =2.801, p=.01

1053

7

Chart TitleMen Women

FRUSTRATION

Low Graphical Settings High Graphical Settings0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Participants were not significantly more frustrated in the high graphical settings (M=2.10) than in the low (M=2.149), t (15) =0.098,  p=0.923  

ANGER

Low Grap

hical

Settin

gs

High Grap

hical

Settin

gs0

0.51

1.52

2.53

Before GameplayAfter Gameplay

Time X Anger F(1,15)=3.833, p=.069

HOSTILITY

Low Grap

hical

Settin

gs

High Grap

hical

Settin

gs0

0.51

1.52

2.53

Before Game PlayAfter Game Play

Time X Hostility F(1,15)=7.492, p=.015

AGGRESSION AVERAGE

Low Grap

hical

Settin

gs

High Grap

hical

Settin

gs0

0.51

1.52

2.53

Before GameplayAfter Gameplay

Time X Aggression Average F(1,15)=4.212, p=.058

DISCUSSION The low graphics setting didn’t involve the

participant at all.

Only hostility and anger were significantly affected by the game play.

Thoughts were changed but the participants actions stayed the same.

Games with sufficient graphics to involve the player may just be activating aggressive thoughts.

DISCUSSION

This research looks at effects that an ever evolving industry may have on the user.

May help researchers understand what types of aggression are affected by violent video game play.

FUTURE RESEARCH Future researchers should look for a more

reliable, objective, measure of aggression, or implement the competitive reaction time task successfully. Such as a situation where they can aggress towards a person differently.

This research may help future researchers better understand which types of aggression are activated by what types of cues. Ex. Verbal Aggression not affected by game play.

It may also be interesting to look at how long the effects on the participants thoughts last.

This research suggests that a more nuanced look at aggression may be necessary.

QUESTIONS?