Psychological Development and Education ›› 2018, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (1): 49-57.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2018.01.06

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Effect of Justification of Video Game Violence on Aggression: A Mediated Moderation Model

HENG Shupeng, ZHOU Zongkui, SUN Lijun, LI Junyi   

  1. Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education;School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, and Hubei Human Development and Mental Health Key Laboratory, Wuhan 430079, China
  • Online:2018-01-15 Published:2018-01-15

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Abstract: The present study tested whether individuals would show less aggression and more guilt when virtual violence was unjustified and players were inexperienced, and whether guilt mediated the association between justification of violence and aggression.The experiment employed a 2 (justified/unjustified violence)×2 (experienced/inexperienced players) between-subjects design. Participants (n=62) were dichotomized into inexperienced (n=32) and experienced (n=30) players, and randomly assigned to play either a justified violent game (n=31) or an unjustified violent game (n=31). Game play lasted for approximately 20 minutes. After game play, guilt was tested through self-report method, and aggression was measured by the amount of hot sauce which the participant gave to an ostensible partner who hated spicy food. Results of ANOVAs showed that there were main effects for justification of violence and for video game experience on both guilt and aggression, and there was also a significant interaction between justification and experience for both dependent variables.The results also revealed a mediated moderation.Video game experience moderated the effect of justification of violence on aggression, and the moderating effect of game experience was mediated by guilt.

Key words: violent video game, justification of violence, video game experience, guilt, aggression

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