Models for Aggressive Behavior: The Attributes of Violent Characters in Popular Video Games

Communication Studies

Volumn 56, Issue 4, 2005, Pages 313-329

  Lachlan, Kenneth A ^a   Smith, Stacy L ^b   Tamborini, Ron ^c  

^a BOSTON COLLEGE   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^c MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Aggression; Content; Video games; Violence

Indexed keywords

EID: 36949015397     PISSN: 10510974     EISSN: 17451035     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10510970500319377     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. Agresti, A., and Finlay, B., 1997. Statistical methods for the social sciences, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
2. Anderson, C. A., and Dill, K. E., 2000. Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78: 772–790.
3. Anderson, C. A., and Ford, C. M., 1986. Affect of the game player: Short-term effects of highly and mildly aggressive video games. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12: 390–402.
4. Ballard, M. E., and Lineberger, R., 1999. Video game violence and confederate gender: Effects on reward and punishment given by college males. Sex Roles, 41: 541–558.
5. Bandura, A., 1986. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
6. Bandura, A., 1990. Selective activation and disengagement of moral control. Journal of Social Issues, 46: 27–46.
7. Bandura, A., Ross, D., and Ross, S. H., 1963. Imitation of film-mediated aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66(1): 3–11.
8. Berkowitz, L., and Geen, R. G., 1967. Stimulus qualities of the target of aggression: A further study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13: 71–80.
9. Berkowitz, L., and Powers, P. C., 1979. Effects of timing and justification of witnessed aggression on the observers’ punitiveness. Journal of Research in Personality, 13: 71–80.
10. Berndt, T. J., and Berndt, E. G., 1975. Children’s use of motives and intentionality in person perception and moral judgement. Child Development, 46: 904–912.
11. Braun, C. M. J., and Giroux, J., 1989. Arcade video games: Proxemic, cognitive, and content analyses. Journal of Leisure Research, 21: 92–105.
12. Dietz, T., 1998. An examination of violence and gender role portrayals in video games: Implications for gender socialization and aggressive behavior. Sex Roles, 38: 425–442.
13. Dominick, J. R., 1984. Videogames, television violence, and aggression in teenagers. Journal of Communication, 34: 136–147.
14. Elmer-Dewitt, P., 1993, September 27. The amazing video game boom. Time,: 67–72.
15. Federal Trade Commission. 2000. Marketing violent entertainment to children: A review of self regulation and industry practices in the motion picture, music recording, and gaming industries Retrieved from http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/09/youthviol.htm
16. Flatin, P., 2000, July 31. Do video games trigger violence? Retrieved from http://www.policy.com/news/dbrief/dbriefarc578.asp
17. Geen, R. G., and Stonner, D., 1973. Context effects in observed violence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 25: 145–150.
18. Geen, R. G., and Stonner, D., 1974. The meaning of observed violence: Effects on arousal and aggressive behavior. Journal of Research in Personality, 8: 55–63.
19. Gegax, T. T., Adler, J., and Pedersen, D., 1998, April 6. The boys behind the ambush. Newsweek,: 21–26.
20. Gunter, B., 1985. Dimensions of television violence, Aldershot, U.K: Gower.
21. Haninger, K., and Thompson, K. M., 2004. Content and ratings of teen-rated video games. Journal of the American Medical Association, 291(7): 856–865.
22. Hicks, D., 1965. Imitation and retention of film-mediated aggressive peer and adult models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2: 97–100.
23. Hoffner, C., and Cantor, J., 1985. Developmental differences in response to a television character’s appearance. Developmental Psychology, 21: 1065–1074.
24. Hoyt, J. L., 1970. Effect of media violence “justification” on aggression. Journal of Broadcasting, 14(4): 455–464.
25. Huesmann, L. R., Eron, L. D., Lefkowitz, M. M., and Walder, L. O., 1984. Stability of aggression over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20: 1120–1134.
26. Huesmann, L. R., Moise, J., Podolski, C. L., and Eron, L., Longitudinal relations between children’s exposure to television violence and their later aggressive and violent behavior into adulthood: 1977–1992. Paper presented at the annual conference of the International Society for Research on Aggression. New Jersey.
27. Jose, P. E., and Brewer, W. F., 1984. Development of story liking: Character identification, suspense, and outcome resolution. Developmental Psychology, 20: 911–924.
28. Kaiser Family Foundation. 1999. Kids & media @ the new millennium: A comprehensive national analysis of children’s media use, Menlo Park, CA: Author.
29. Lachlan, K. A., and Maloney, E., 2004. Individual differences and behavior in interactive environments, Unpublished data set: Boston College.
30. Lefkowitz, M. M., Eron, L. D., Walder, L. O., and Huesmann, L. R., 1972. “ Television violence and child aggression: A follow up study ”. In Television and social behavior: Vol. III. Television and adolescent aggressiveness, Edited by: Comstock, G. A., and Rubinstein, E. A., 35–135. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
31. Lin, S., and Lepper, M. R., 1987. Correlates of children’s usage of videogames and computers. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17: 72–93.
32. Linz, D., Donnerstein, E., and Penrod, S., 1984. The effect of multiple exposures to filmed violence against women. Journal of Communication, 34: 130–147.
33. Linz, D., Donnerstein, E., and Penrod, S., 1988. Effects of long-term exposure to violence and sexually degrading depictions of women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55: 758–768.
34. Liss, M. B., Reinhardt, L. C., and Fredrickson, S., 1983. TV heroes: The impact of rhetoric and deeds. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 4: 175–187.
35. Meyer, T. P., 1972. Effects of viewing justified and unjustified real film violence on aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 23: 21–29.
36. Potter, W. J., and Levine-Donnerstein, D., 1999. Rethinking validity and reliability in content analysis. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 27: 258–284.
37. Sherry, J., 2001. The effects of violent video games on aggression: A meta-analysis. Human Communication Research, 27: 409–431.
38. Sherry, J., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., and Lachlan, K. A., “ Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference ”. In Playing computer games: Motives, responses, and consequences, Edited by: Vorderer, P., and Bryant, J., Cresskill, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. (in press)
39. Shutte, N. S., Malouf, J. M., Post-Gordon, J. C., and Rodasta, A. L., 1987. Effects of playing videogames on children’s aggressive and other behaviors. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18: 454–460.
40. Smith, S. L., Lachlan, K. A., and Tamborini, R., 2003. Popular video games: Quantifying the presentation of violence and its context. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 47: 58–76.
41. Smith, S. L., Nathanson, A., and Wilson, B., 2002. Prime-time television: Assessing violence during the most popular viewing hours. Journal of Communication, 52(1): 84–111.
42. Smith, S. L., Wilson, B. J., Kunkel, D., Linz, D., Potter, W. J., Colvin, C. M., and Donnerstein, E., 1998. National Television Violence Study: Vol. 3. Violence in television programming overall: University of California, Santa Barbara study, 5–220. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
43. Wiegman, O., and van Shie, E. G. M., 1998. Video game playing and its relations with aggressive and prosocial behavior. British Journal of Social Psychology, 37: 367–378.
44. Wilson, B., Colvin, C., and Smith, S. L., 2002. Engaging in violence on American television: A comparison of child, teen, and adult perpetrators. Journal of Communication, 52(1): 36–60.
45. Wilson, B. J., Kunkel, D., Linz, D., Potter, W. J., Donnerstein, E., Smith, S. L., 1997. National Television Violence Study: Vol. 1. Violence in television programming overall: University of California, Santa Barbara study, 3–268. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
46. Wilson, B. J., Kunkel, D., Linz, D., Potter, W. J., Donnerstein, E., Smith, S. L., 1998. National Television Violence Study: Vol. 2. Violence in television programming overall: University of California, Santa Barbara, 3–204. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
47. Zillmann, D., and Cantor, J., 1977. Affective responses to the emotions of a protagonist. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13: 155–165.