In this study, we aimed to examine how playing a prosocial video game (PVG) versus a neutral video game (NVG) consistently influences aggressive cognition and behavior. Participants were 208 children (Mage = 4.82, SD = 0.73) nominated as aggressive by teachers and peers from two urban kindergartens in Southwest China. Half of them were assigned to play either a PVG or an NVG for 15 min per day for five consecutive days. Results showed that repeated exposure of children to PVG (vs. NVG) decreased aggressive cognition and behavior. Specifically, male participants displayed less aggressive cognition and behavior than female participants in the PVG condition. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that the effect of PVG on aggressive behavior is partially mediated by aggressive cognition, and the moderating effect of aggression, in its various manifestations, occurred only in boys, not in girls.
AndersonC. A.AndersonK. B.DeuserW. E. (1996). Examining an affective aggression framework weapon and temperature effects on aggressive thoughts, affect, and attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(4), 366–376. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167296224004
2.
AndersonC. A.BushmanB. J. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12(5), 353–359. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00366
3.
AndersonC. A.DillK. E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 772–790. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.78.4.772
4.
AndersonC. A.ShibuyaA.IhoriN.SwingE. L.BushmanB. J.SakamotoA.RothsteinH. R.SaleemM. (2010). Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern and Western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 151–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018251
BarlettC.BranchO.RodehefferC.HarrisR. (2009). How long do the short-term violent video game effects last?Aggressive Behavior, 35(3), 225–236. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20301
BoduszekD.DebowskaA.JonesA. D.MaM.SmithD.WillmottD.JemmottE. T.BreoH. D.KirkmanG. (2019). Prosocial video game as an intimate partner violence prevention tool among youth: A randomised controlled trial. Computers in Human Behavior, 93(2), 260–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.028
9.
BöhmT.RuthN.SchrammH. (2016). “Count on me”—The influence of music with prosocial lyrics on cognitive and affective aggression. Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain, 26(3), 279–283. https://doi.org/10.1037/pmu0000155
10.
BuckleyK. E.AndersonC. A. (2006). A theoretical model of the effects and consequences of playing video games. In VordererP.BryantJ. (Eds.), Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (pp. 363–378). Erlbaum.
11.
CoyneS. M.JensenA. C.SmithN. J.EricksonD. H. (2016). Super Mario brothers and sisters: Associations between coplaying video games and sibling conflict and affection. Journal of Adolescence, 47(1), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.12.001
12.
CrickN. R.DodgeK. A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children’s social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115(1), 74–101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.115.1.74
13.
DingZ.LiuQ. X.WangZ. Y. (2023). Do violent video games reduce aggression? The roles of prosociality and cooperation. Media Psychology, 26(5), 481–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2158348
DrummondJ.WaughW. E.HammondS. I.BrownellC. A. (2015). Prosocial behavior during infancy and early childhood: Developmental patterns and cultural variations. In WrightJ. D. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of social and behavioral sciences (2nd ed., pp. 233–237). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.23173-5
16.
GanY.WangR.LiJ.WangX.ChenJ.ChenY.FanH. (2024). The effects of prosocial video games on empathy and prosocial behavior in athletes: Evidence from cross-sectional survey and experimental studies. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Advance online publication. (published online). https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2024.2432994
17.
GentileD. A.GrovesC.GentileJ. R. (2014). The general learning model: Unveiling the learning potential from video games. In BlumbergF. C. (Ed.), Learning by playing: Video gaming in education (pp. 121–142). Oxford University Press.
18.
GreitemeyerT. (2009). Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on prosocial thoughts, affect, and behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(1), 186–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.08.003
19.
GreitemeyerT. (2011). Exposure to music with prosocial lyrics reduces aggression: First evidence and test of the underlying mechanism. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(1), 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2010.08.005
20.
GreitemeyerT. (2022a). The dark and bright side of video game consumption: Effects of violent and prosocial video games. Current Opinion in Psychology, 46(8), 101326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101326
GreitemeyerT.AgtheM.TurnerR.GschwendtnerC. (2012). Acting prosocially reduces retaliation: Effects of prosocial video games on aggressive behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42(2), 235–242. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1837
23.
GreitemeyerT.MüggeD. O. (2014). Video games do affect social outcomes: A meta-analytic review of the effects of violent and prosocial video game play. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(5), 578–589. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167213520459
24.
GreitemeyerT.OsswaldS. (2009). Prosocial video games reduce aggressive cognitions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(4), 896–900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.04.005
25.
GreitemeyerT.OsswaldS. (2010a). Playing prosocial video games increases empathy and decreases schadenfreude. Emotion, 10(6), 796–802. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020194
26.
GreitemeyerT.OsswaldS. (2010b). Effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(2), 211–221. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016997
27.
GreitemeyerT.OsswaldS. (2011). Playing prosocial video games increases the accessibility of prosocial thoughts. Journal of Socical Psychology, 151(2), 121–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224540903365588
HareliS.WeinerB. (2002). Dislike and envy as antecedents of pleasure at another’s misfortune. Motivation and Emotion, 26(12), 257–277. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022818803399
30.
JonesM. N.DyeM.JohnsB. T. (2017). Context as an organizational principle of the lexicon. In RossB. (Ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation (pp. 239–283). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.plm.2017.03.008
31.
KonzokJ.KreuzpointnerL.HenzeG.-I.WagelsL.KärgelC.WeidackerK.SchifferB.EisenbarthH.WüstS.KudielkaB. M. (2020). Validation of a monetary Taylor aggression paradigm: Associations with trait aggression and role of provocation sequence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 88(1), 103960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2020.103960
32.
LiM. D.NiuY. B.WenG. H. (2006). The effect of short-term exposure to prosocial video games on aggressive behavior in primary school children. Chinese Journal of Applied Psychology, 32(1), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1006-6020.2016.03.004
33.
LiJ. J.ZhangW.ZhenS. J.LiangJ.ZhangC. (2008). Effects of violent video games on aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Chinese Journal of Psychological Development and Education, 24(2), 108–112. https://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/thesis/J0094953
34.
LucasK.SherryJ. L. (2004). Sex differences in video game play: A communication-based explanation. Communication Research, 31(5), 499–523. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650204267930
35.
MaZ. X.HuangK.-T.YaoL. (2021). Feasibility of a computer role-playing game to promote empathy in nursing students: The role of immersiveness and perspective. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 24(11), 750–755. http://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0371
36.
MeyerD. E.SchvaneveldtR. W. (1971). Facilitation in recognizing pairs of words: Evidence of a dependence between retrieval operations. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 90(2), 227–234. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0031564
37.
OrtizD.AronssonK.GriffithsM. (2011). Game transfer phenomena in video game playing. International Journal of Cyber Behavior Psychology & Learning, 1(3), 15–33. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijcbpl.2011070102
38.
RaaijmakersM. A. J.SmidtsD. P.SergeantJ. A.MaassenG. H.PosthumusJ. A.van EngelandH.MatthysW. (2008). Executive functions in preschool children with aggressive behavior: Impairments in inhibitory control. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(7), 1097–1107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-008-9235-7
39.
ReppleJ.HabelU.WagelsL.PawliczekC. M.SchneiderF.KohnN. (2018). Sex differences in the neural correlates of aggression. Brain Structure and Function, 223(9), 4115–4124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-018-1739-5
40.
SaleemM.AndersonC. A.GentileD. A. (2012). Effects of prosocial, neutral, and violent video games on children’s helpful and hurtful behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 38(4), 281–287. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21428
41.
ShoshaniA.NelkeS.GirtlerI. (2022). Tablet applications as socializing platforms: The effects of prosocial touch screen applications on young children’s prosocial behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 127(2), 107077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107077
42.
TaylorS. P. (1967). Aggressive behavior and physiological arousal as a function of provocation and the tendency to inhibit aggression. Journal of Personality, 35(2), 297–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1967.tb01430.x
43.
WhitakerJ. L.BushmanB. J. (2012). “Remain calm. Be kind.” Effects of relaxing video games on aggressive and prosocial behavior. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3(1), 88–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550611409760
44.
WuX. B. (2008). The causes and corrective strategies of aggressive behaviors in young children. Chinese Journal of Studies in Early Childhood Education, 165(9), 64–65. https://doi.org/10.13861/j.cnki.sece.2008.09.019
