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

Linz, Donnerstein, and Penrod (1984, 1988) argue that massive exposure to graphic (i.e., blood, gore, viscera) violence can also desensitize viewers or make them emotionally numb to aggression and its real-world consequences. Research consistent with this notion shows that repeated exposure to explicit and graphic portrayals may also affect learning, and lead to easy retention and automation of violent scripts that can result in aggressive personality shifts (Huesmann, Eron, Lefkowitz, & Walder, 1984; Huesmann, Moise, Podolski, & Eron, 1998; Lefkowitz, Eron, Walder, & Huesmann, 1972). Depicting blood and gore may be provocative cues that attract viewers' attention and thus facilitate retention of the material (Anderson & Dill, 2000).

It follows then that video-game aggression may have similar effects on game players when the observed violence possesses these characteristics. Clearly, the attributes and qualities of mediated characters are an important factor to consider in evaluating the potentially harmful effects of violent video games. Understanding additional contextual features surrounding violence such as graphicness and justification may further clarify the impact of violent behaviors committed by attractive video game characters. However, to date little content analytic research has examined the characteristics of aggressive video game characters that may make them likable behavioral models, the graphicness of the violence committed by these characters, or the perceived justification for their behaviors.

Previous Content Analyses

While a substantial number of studies have examined the impact of video game play on aggressive attitudes and behaviors (Sherry, 2001), only a handful have focused solely on quantifying and describing violent content. Braun and Giroux (1989) examined the amount of violence in arcade games. To this end, 21 of the most popular video arcade games among adolescents were selected and coded for the presence vs. absence of aggression. Violence was defined as the act of destroying individuals or objects or the ingestion of individuals (p. 95). The results revealed that 71% of all video arcade games featured violence. Further, violence was most likely to be found in games featuring themes such as war, sports, ingestion (e.g., Pac-Man), and crime.

Although these findings are informative, they do not reveal the amount of violence in home gaming systems, nor do they describe violent actors or the context in which their acts take place. Based on a convenience sample, Dietz (1998) assessed the amount of violence in 33 popular Nintendo and Sega Genesis video games. The findings show that 79% of all the home video games featured aggression. Further, 21% of the games featured some type of violence against women. Again, the presence or absence of violence was assessed, but with little regard for context and character attributes.

Haninger and Thompson (2004) randomly selected 81 T-rated video game titles available in April, 2001. A research assistant videotaped at least 1 hour of play for each game, after which time the authors coded for depictions of violence graphic content, sexual themes, and substance abuse. They found that about 90% of the games required the game player to commit some kind of violence, while 69% of the games required game players to kill other characters. Although these findings are informative in suggesting the prevalence of violence related themes, they fail to identify individual violent interactions, their frequency, and the contextual characteristics that may be associated with them.