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Category: Project

Description: We identified participants in the United States (N = 302) who believed that they are vulnerable to becoming more aggressive after playing a violent video game (a vulnerability belief) and those who believed that playing violent video games will not make them more aggressive (an immunity belief). Participants played either a violent or a nonviolent video game and then competed with a fictional opponent in a competitive reaction time task. Results revealed that those with an immunity belief did not behave more aggressively after playing a violent video game. Unexpectedly, those with a vulnerability belief behaved less aggressively after playing a violent video game. We discuss implications for future research and media literacy education.