The impact of violent video game play on mood and aggression

According to the famous catharsis hypothesis, anger can be vented by acting aggressively or viewing aggression. For example, playing violent video games is assumed to decrease anger, which in turn reduces aggressive behavior. However, two recent meta-analyses showed that playing violent video games significantly increases anger and aggression. Playing violent video games may have a positive impact on the player`s mood. That is, violent video game play benefits the players mood, but at the same time it leads to an increase in aggression. The proposed research aims to show that because violent video game players are in a better mood after video game play, they perceive themselves to be less aggressive (even if they are actually more aggressive). It is further assumed that the impact of the players mood on the belief in the cathartic effect of playing violent video games should hold even when controlling for the players actual level of aggression. That is, the belief of the cathartic effect of violent video game is more affected by the players mood after rather than the players actual level of aggressiveness. Five studies, employing different research designs, examine the main hypotheses that violent video game players are convinced of the cathartic effect of violent video games because they feel better and that this tendency is unaffected by the players actual level of aggressiveness. Given that a large number of individuals play violent video games, the proposed research does not only have important theoretical but also practical implications. Results of the findings will be disseminated not only in scientific journals but also to the popular media. The belief in the cathartic effect of violent video game play is shared by many players. Learning about the findings of the proposed research may lead to the insight that violent video game play is not an appropriate way to cleanse oneself from aggressive impulses, but has the opposite effect.