Like the Good or Bad Guy—Empathy in antisocial and prosocial games

in Psychology of Popular Media Culture (2014)

Evidence suggests that violent media influence users’ cognitions, affect, and behavior in a negative way, whereas prosocial media have been shown to increase the probability of prosocial behavior. In the ... [more ▼]

Evidence suggests that violent media influence users’ cognitions, affect, and behavior in a negative way, whereas prosocial media have been shown to increase the probability of prosocial behavior. In the present study, it was tested whether empathy moderates these media effects. In two experiments (N = 80 each), inducing empathy by means of a text (Study 1) or a video clip (Study 2) before playing a video game caused differential effects on cognitions and behavior depending on the nature of the subsequent video game: The induction had positive effects on participants’ behavior (i.e., decreasing antisocial and increasing prosocial behavior) after a prosocial game (Study 1), or when participants played a positive hero character in an antisocial game (Study 2). In contrast, empathy increased antisocial behavior and reduced prosocial behavior after playing a mean character in an antisocial game (Study 1 and 2). These findings call attention to the differential effects of empathy depending on game type and game character, thereby questioning the unconditional positive reputation of empathy in the context of video game research. [less ▲]

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Scientific Conference (2011, May)

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Poster (2011, May)

Bringing empathy into play: On the effects of empathy in violent and nonviolent video games

in Anacleto, J.L.; Fels, S.; Graham, N. (Eds.) et al Entertainment Computing - ICEC 2011: 10th International Conference, ICEC 2011, Vancouver, BC, Canada, October 5-8, 2011, 6972 (2011)

While violent media has adverse effects on cognition, emotion and behavior, prosocial content promotes these variables in a prosocial way. Greater individual levels of empathy as well as increasing the ... [more ▼]

While violent media has adverse effects on cognition, emotion and behavior, prosocial content promotes these variables in a prosocial way. Greater individual levels of empathy as well as increasing the level of empathy in media content typically foster prosocial behavior and reduce aggression. Two experiments replicated game content findings, and also showed that inducing empathy prior to a video game had a positive influence on behavior. However, under certain circumstances, inducing empathy before playing a violent video game may even have negative effects on behavior. As empathy is a common tool in prevention programs, the implications of these findings are discussed. [less ▲]

Mitleid mit dem Gegner: Fällt das Spielen schwer? Wirkung einer Empathie-Induktion auf Erleben und Verhalten in einem gewalthaltigen Videospiel

Scientific Conference (2010, September)

Empathy for the devil? Empathy and prosocial behavior in violent video games

Scientific Conference (2010, July)