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Published on: July 4, 2013
Exposure to violent video games increases automatic aggressiveness
1Department of Psychology, Yale University; 2 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. eric.uhlmann@yale.edu
Abstract:
The effects of exposure to violent video games on automatic associations with the self were investigated in a sample of 121 students. Playing the violent video game Doom led participants to associate themselves with aggressive traits and actions on the Implicit Association Test. In addition, self-reported prior exposure to violent video games predicted automatic aggressive self-concept, above and beyond self-reported aggression. Results suggest that playing violent video games can lead to the automatic learning of aggressive self-views.
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