How Watching the Cooperative Play of Violent Video Games Can Positively Influence Dyadic Relationships Matthew Er
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PLAY TOGETHER: HOW WATCHING THE COOPERATIVE PLAY OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES CAN POSITIVELY INFLUENCE DYADIC RELATIONSHIPS MATTHEW ERXLEBEN Bachelor of Science in Psychology The Ohio State University May 2017 submitted in partial fulfillment of requirement for the degree MASTER OF ARTS IN COMMUNICATION THEORY AND METHODOLOGY at the CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY May 2021 We hereby approve this thesis for MATTHEW ERXLEBEN Candidate for the Master of Arts in Communication Theory and Methodology degree for the Department of Communication and the CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY’S College of Graduate Studies by _________________________________________________________________ Thesis Chairperson, Anup Kumar, Ph.D. _____________________________________________ Department & Date _________________________________________________________________ Thesis Committee Member, Kimberly Neuendorf, Ph.D. _____________________________________________ Department & Date _________________________________________________________________ Thesis Committee Member, Eryn Bostwick, Ph.D. _____________________________________________ Department & Date Student’s Date of Defense: April 30th, 2021 PLAY TOGETHER: HOW WATCHING THE COOPERATIVE PLAY OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES CAN POSITIVELY INFLUENCE DYADIC RELATIONSHIPS MATTHEW ERXLEBEN ABSTRACT Media effects research has shown that video games can have both antisocial and prosocial effects, depending on the content of the game. Individuals who play violent video games tend to display more aggressive attitudes and behaviors, while those who play games with prosocial content tend to display more prosocial, or helping, attitudes and behavior. The context in which a video game is played has also been shown to influence media effects, with competitive play leading to increased aggression while cooperative play leads to increased prosociality. However, the existing literature has not examined how these effects might influence the interpersonal relationships between those playing the video game. To test the effects of gaming context on interpersonal relationships, an experiment was conducted that compared two groups of participants exposed to two levels (competitive or cooperative) of a single factor (gaming context). In the competitive condition, participants watched gameplay footage of two individuals playing a video game competitively, while those in the cooperative condition watched gameplay footage of two individuals playing the same game cooperatively. After exposure, five dependent variables were examined to see how they differed between the two groups: state hostility, prosocial score, positive affect change, negative affect change, and change in perceived relationship quality. iii Upon initial analysis, only negative affect change was shown to significantly differ between the two conditions. However, this effect was actually due to an interaction between condition and sex. This study also identified that sex, personality, and media usage habits significantly covaried to some degree with all five dependent variables. These covariates provide evidence for how individual differences might influence the effects that result from watching a video game being played in different multiplayer contexts and, as an extension, how individual differences might influence the effects of gaming context in general. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................5 Violence and Aggression .......................................................................5 History in Media .....................................................................6 General Learning Model. ........................................................9 Violence and Video Games. .................................................10 Prosocial Behavior ...............................................................................11 Prosocial Behavior and Video Games. .................................14 Effects of Cooperative Play. .................................................14 Identification. ........................................................................14 Hypotheses. ...........................................................................18 Prosocial Tendencies. ...........................................................18 Relationship Effects .............................................................................19 Physical Violence and Verbal Aggression. ...........................20 Prosocial Behavior and Mood. ..............................................20 v Cooperation in Interpersonal Relationships. .........................24 Hypotheses. ...........................................................................25 Relational Maintenance. .......................................................27 Demographics ......................................................................................28 Personality............................................................................................31 III. METHODS ...................................................................................................37 Participants ...........................................................................................37 Procedure .............................................................................................38 Covariates ............................................................................................41 Measures and Scales ............................................................................42 Personality.............................................................................42 Partner Sex. ...........................................................................42 Relationship Type. ................................................................43 Relationship Quality Change. ...............................................43 Relational Maintenance Gaming. ..........................................45 Relational Maintenance. .......................................................46 Positive and Negative Affect Change. ..................................47 State Hostility........................................................................48 Prosocial Tendencies. ...........................................................48 Prosocial Behavior. ...............................................................49 vi Online Video Viewing Habits. ..............................................50 Individual Gaming Habits. ....................................................53 Interpersonal Gaming Habits. ...............................................55 Video Violence. ....................................................................57 Perceptions of Cooperative and Competitive Behavior. .......57 Enjoyment. ............................................................................59 Frustration. ............................................................................59 Identification. ........................................................................59 Statistical Tests ....................................................................................60 IV. RESULTS .....................................................................................................63 Descriptive Analysis ............................................................................63 Manipulation Check .............................................................................65 State Hostility.......................................................................................67 Prosocial Behavior ...............................................................................70 Positive Affect .....................................................................................74 Negative Affect ....................................................................................77 Relationship Quality ............................................................................81 V. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS ...............................................................85 State Hostility.......................................................................................86 Prosocial Behavior ...............................................................................91 vii Positive Affect .....................................................................................97 Negative Affect ..................................................................................103 Relationship Quality ..........................................................................108 Personality..........................................................................................114 Conclusions ........................................................................................117 Limitations .........................................................................................123 Directions for Future Research ..........................................................125 Theoretical Implications. ....................................................127 Practical Implications..........................................................127 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................128