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

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 neithe...