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Published on: December 16, 2010
Is basic personality related to violent and non-violent video game play and preferences?
Rebecca M Chory1, Alan K Goodboy
1Department of Communication Studies, West Virginia University , Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA. rchoryas@wvu.edu
Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking
|November 19, 2010
Summary
Personality traits influence violent video game engagement. Individuals higher in openness and extroversion, but lower in agreeableness and neuroticism, play violent video games more frequently and prefer them.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Media Studies
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- The uses and gratifications perspective suggests media choices are driven by user needs.
- Understanding the psychological underpinnings of violent video game engagement is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between personality traits and violent video game play frequency.
- To explore how personality influences preferences for violent video game content.
Main Methods:
- Participants completed validated personality assessments.
- Data on violent video game play frequency and game preferences were collected.
- Analysis explored correlations between personality dimensions and gaming behaviors.
Main Results:
- Higher openness and lower agreeableness correlated with increased violent video game play frequency.
- Openness, extroversion, lower agreeableness, and lower neuroticism predicted preferences for more violent games.
- Personality traits showed potential for greater prediction of violent video game use compared to traditional media use.
Conclusions:
- Specific personality dimensions significantly predict engagement with violent video games.
- Personality may be a more robust predictor of violent video game use than previously thought.
- The identified personality dimensions may generalize across different media types.
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