Comfortably Numb? Violent Video Games and Their Effects on Aggression, Mood, and Pain-Related Responses

• Published in: Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2022 pp. 18 - 38
• Main Authors: Wagener, Gary L., Melzer, André
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Desensitization; Mood; Pain; Pain perception; Violent video games
• ISBN: 3031202112; 9783031202117
• ISSN: 0302-9743; 1611-3349
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-20212-4_2

In contrast to findings that violent video game (VVG) exposure has a desensitizing effect on empathy and physiological reactivity to scenes of violence [1], no desensitization was found for player responses to pain stimuli in three lab experiments. Compared to a non-violent game, VVG exposure neither affected physiological responses, nor participants’ self-reports of perceived pain caused by thermal stress. In addition, the level of game immersion did not affect pain perception, pain tolerance, or aggressive behavior (study 3). In contrast, violent game preference was associated with lower reports of perceived proximal pain, distal pain, and greater antisocial behavior. However, all studies confirmed the detrimental effect of VVG on emotion: participants reported lower positive and greater negative affect after playing the violent compared to the nonviolent game. In sum, the present findings speak against a generalized desensitization effect of VVG on the player. Rather, our findings further support the notion of pain and pain-related responses as complex and multidimensional, modulated by individual, physiological, and contextual factors [2].