The effects of affects on Chulalongkorn University undergraduates’ aggression in playing competitive and violent video game

Abstract

This present study investigated effects of mood induction on aggressive thought and state hostility after competitive and violent game exposure. Ninety undergraduates were randomly induced to three mood groups (e.g., positive, negative, and control affects). Positive group would see Mr Bean animate cartoon episode, negative group would do math task, and control group would not do any activity. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires (e.g., State Hostility Scale, Ambiguous Story Stems, Trait Hostility Scale) before and after game play. Results were that brief exposure to competitive and violent video game was the only significant predictor of increased aggressive thought in three conditions. However, state hostility of three mood induction groups was not significantly increased after game exposure. Other results suggested that negative mood induction group was likely to elevate more positive affect and decrease in negative affect, but outcomes were not statistically significant. Besides, the results demonstrated that there was no significant change in positive and control mood induction groups as well. Interestingly, positive and control mood induction groups tended to gain more negative affect but reduce positive affect.