The Impact of Competitive Gaming Context on Aggressive Behavior in High School Students: The Positive Role of Cooperative Gaming Context

• Published in: Journal of adolescence (London, England.) Vol. 97; no. 6; pp. 1656 - 1666
• Main Authors: Wei, Ming‐chen, Chen, Shuai, Wang, Xu, Liu, Yan‐ling
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.08.2025
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - psychology; Aggression; Aggression - psychology; aggressive behavior; Aggressiveness; Behavior; Boys; China; Competition; Competitive Behavior; competitive context; Computer & video games; Cooperative Behavior; cooperative context; Female; Games; Girls; High School Freshmen; High School Students; Humans; Male; Passive-aggressive behavior; Questionnaires; Secondary school students; Secondary schools; Student Surveys; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; video game; Video Games - psychology; China; Sichuan China; cooperative context; high school students; competitive context; video game; aggressive behavior
• ISSN: 0140-1971; 1095-9254; 1095-9254
• DOI: 10.1002/jad.12526

ABSTRACT Introduction Interactions within gaming contexts, whether competitive or cooperative, play a pivotal role in shaping players' behavioral responses. Research suggests that competitive gaming can exacerbate aggressive behavior. However, the impact of competition on aggression among high school students and potential mitigating factors remains inadequately explored. This study examines the effects of competitive and cooperative gaming contexts on aggressive behavior in high school students through survey research and experimental studies. Methods Study 1 collected data via online questionnaires in December 2022, utilizing the Gaming Experience Questionnaire and the Aggression Questionnaire to investigate 876 first‐year high school students (455 boys, 421 girls) from Sichuan Province, China. Study 2 employed 2 (competitive context: yes/no) × 2 (cooperative context: yes/no) between‐groups experimental‐control design. In December 2022, 108 first‐year high school students (46 boys, 62 girls) from Sichuan Province, China, were recruited to participate in the study. The game material used was “Overcooked 2,” and the dependent variable was assessed using the Competitive Reaction Time Task. Results The results of Study 1 indicated that highly competitive game exposure was associated with increased aggression, while cooperative game exposure played a moderating (or mitigating) role. The results of Study 2 revealed that competitive game context significantly increased the player's aggressive behavior, whereas cooperative game context moderated (or alleviated) the influence of competitive game context on aggressive behavior. Conclusions Findings from this study indicated that competitive contexts within games amplified postgame aggressive behavior among high school students. Notably, cooperative contexts within games were found to alleviate the aggression‐enhancing effects of competition. These results present a novel avenue for exploring strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of online video games on player behavior.