Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Stereoacuity Improvement using Random-Dot Video Games
Published on: January 14, 2020
Are everyday sadists specifically attracted to violent video games and do they emotionally benefit from playing those
Tobias Greitemeyer1, Niklas Weiß1, Tobias Heuberger1
1Institut für Psychologie, Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Abstract:
The present research tested the hypothesis that everyday sadists show a distinct preference for violent video games and examined the relationship between everyday sadism and participant's mood after violent video game play. In Study 1, participants watched three trailers for video games that differed in their level of violent content. Whereas everyday sadists were attracted to a violent video game, there was no significant positive association between everyday sadism and attraction to the nonviolent video games. Study 2 showed that after playing a violent video game, there was a significant positive relationship between everyday sadism and participant's positive mood and a negative relationship between everyday sadism and participant's negative mood. In contrast, after playing a nonviolent video game, the relationship between everyday sadism and participant's negative mood was less pronounced. Overall, these studies show that everyday sadists specifically like to play violent video games and suggest that this tendency is adaptive in that they emotionally benefit from playing violent video games.
Related Concept Videos
Social Foundations of Self I: Play and Game
Noncovalent Attractions in Biomolecules
Four types of noncovalent interactions are hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions.
Hydrogen bonding results from the electrostatic attraction of a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to a strong-electronegative atom like oxygen,...
Benefits of Self-Esteem
Factors Influencing Attraction II: Physical Attraction
Local Attraction
Physiology of Emotion
Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a critical role in emotional responses by regulating involuntary physiological functions. It consists of two main components: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system...

