The Association between Competitive Video Game Play and Aggression among Adolescents and

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Demolishing the Competition: The Association between Competitive Video Game Play
and Aggression among Adolescents and Young Adults

by
Paul J. C. Adachi

A thesis
Submitted in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy

Department of Psychology
Brock University
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

April 28, 2015
© Paul Adachi
Abstract
The link between video game play and aggression is an important issue as video games
are the fastest growing form of entertainment in the world. Past research on this
association has been focused primarily on the link between video game violence and
aggression; however, this research has confounded the effect of video game violence
versus competition on aggression. The main goal of the current dissertation, therefore,
was to examine the short- and long-term associations between competitive video game
play and aggression. In addition, the longitudinal work on this association to date has
been limited to adolescent samples, but not young adults. Thus, the second goal of the
dissertation research was to investigate whether video game play predicts aggression in
the long-term among young adults in addition to adolescents. To address these goals,
three studies were conducted. Study 1 consisted of a series of experiments examining the
short-term effect of video game violence versus competition on aggression. Study 2
examined the long-term association between competitive video game play and aggression
among adolescents, and Study 3 examined this long-term link among young adults, in
addition to adolescents. Taken together, the results of the three dissertation studies
converged to suggest that video game competition, rather than violence, may be a
stronger predictor of aggression in both the short- and long-term. Overall, the current
research represents an important advance in our understanding of the association between
video game play and aggression, and leads to a new direction in the video game and
aggression literature.

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Acknowledgements
I am extremely grateful for all of the mentorship and support that I have received
from my Ph.D. supervisor Dr. Teena Willoughby. You have played an integral role in my
development as a researcher, and I will be forever thankful for your guidance and
support. In addition to providing me with excellent training in research and teaching, you
helped me persevere through the tough times and you always encouraged me to savor my
accomplishments (usually with good wine). I look forward to continuing to collaborate
with you throughout my career as a researcher.
I am also very thankful for the guidance and support of my Ph.D. committee
members, Dr. Gordon Hodson and Dr. Zopito Marini. In addition to receiving excellent
feedback and guidance from you regarding my dissertation work, I have had the pleasure
of collaborating with each of you on side research projects. You have played a critical
role in my development as a researcher, and I hope to continue to collaborate with you in
the future.
I also would like to thank Dr. Michael Busseri for his dedication to statistical
training and mentorship. Through your statistical courses in longitudinal data analysis
and structural equation modeling, I developed the knowledge and ability to conduct
complicated longitudinal analyses, including those in Study 2 and Study 3 of my
dissertation.
I am also honored to have been a member of the Adolescent Development Lab. I
would like to offer a special thank you to all of the members of this lab, especially Marie
Good, Chloe Hamza, Royette Tavernier, Thalia Semplonius, and Tina Brook for all of
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your encouragement and support over the years. I look forward to watching your careers
develop and I hope that we continue to collaborate in the future.
I want to offer my deepest gratitude to my parents for their unconditional love and
support, and their encouragement to pursue my intrinsic interests in psychology. Thank
you for always believing in me and for showing me what a strong work ethic is all about.
And of course, I want to thank the number 1 person in my life, my loving wife
Ashlynn for all of her love and support through this journey. You have put up with many
late nights in the lab, research discussions, and even sat through many of my practice
presentations. You encouraged me to persevere through the tough times, and you are
always excited to celebrate my accomplishments. I can’t imagine the past six and a half
years without you.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: General Introduction…………..…………………………………………........1
Theoretical Background: The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis and Self-
Determination Theory……………………………………………………………..3
The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis…………………………………..3
Self-Determination Theory………………………………………………..4
The Effect of Video Game Violence versus Competition on Aggression: A Case
for the Existence of a Competitive Confound……………………...……………..5
Developmental Context: Adolescents and Young Adults………………………...8
Overview of the Current Studies…………………………………………………..9
References………………………………………………………………………..13
Chapter 2 (Study 1): The Effect of Video Game Competition and Violence on Aggressive
Behavior: Which Characteristic has the Greatest Influence?............................................21
The General Aggression Model……………………………………………….…22
Empirical Background…………………………………………………………...22
Differences between Violent and Non-Violent Video Games other than
Violence……………………………………………………………….....23
Problems with Measures of Aggression………………………………....25
Aggression-Related Video Game Characteristics……………..…………26
The Current Studies………………………………………………………..…….28
Pilot Study 1a……………………………………………………………….……28
Experiment 1a……………………………………………………………………30
Method………………………………………………………………...…32
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Participants……………………………………………………….32
Materials…………………………………………………………32
Demographics……………………………………………32
Video Games and Equipment……..……………………..33
Aggressive Behavior……..………...…………………….33
Ratings of the Video Game Characteristics……………...33
Food Preference………………………………………….33
Suspiciousness…………………………………………...34
Trait Aggression………………………………………….34
Procedure……………………………………………………...…34
Results and Discussion…………………………………………………..36
Suspiciousness…………………………………………………...36
Experience………………………………………………….……36
Video Game Ratings……………………………………….…….36
Aggressive Behavior…………………………………………..…37
Convergent Validity of the Hot Sauce Paradigm……………...…37
Pilot Study 1b…………………………………………………………………….39
Experiment 1b……………………………………………………………………43
Method…………………………………………………………………..46
Participants……………………………………………………....46
Materials……………………………………………………..…..46
Demographics………………………………………...….46
Video Games and Equipment……………………………46
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Aggressive Behavior……………………………………..46
Ratings of the Video Game Characteristics……………...46
Food Preference…………………………………….……46
Suspiciousness……………………………………...……47
Trait Aggression………………………………………....47
Heart Rate……………………………………………….47
Procedure…………………………………………………….….47
Results and Discussion……………………………………………..……47
Suspiciousness………………………………………...………....47
Experience……………………………………………………….47
Video Game Ratings……………………………………………..48
Aggressive Behavior……………………………………………..48
Trait Aggression………………………………………………….49
Heart Rate………………………………………………………..49
General Discussion………………………………………………………………52
Limitations…………………………………………………………….…53
Research Implications……………………………………………………54
Conclusion……………………………………………………………….55
References…………………………………………………………………..……56
Chapter 3 (Study 2): Demolishing the Competition: The Longitudinal Link between
Competitive Video Games, Competitive Gambling, and Aggression………………...…60
Theories of Competition and Aggression………………………………………..62
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The Link between Video Game Play and Aggression, and between Gambling and
Aggression………………………………….……………………………………63
Video Game Competition and Aggression……………………….……...64
Gambling and Aggression……………………………………………..…67
The Present Study……………………………………………………………..…68
Method…………………………………………………………………………...71
Participants……………………………………………………………….71
Procedure………………………………………………………………...73
Measures…………………………………………………………………73
Demographic Factors…………………………………………….74
Sports Involvement……………………………………………....74
Direct Aggression………………………………………………..74
Competitive Video Game Play…………………………………..76
Non-Competitive Video Game Play……………………………..76
Playing of Violent Video Games over the Four Years (Moderator
Variable)……………………………………………………...….76
Frequency of Competitive Gambling……………………………77
Frequency of Non-Competitive Gambling………………………77
Results…..……………………………………………………………………….77
Preliminary Analyses…………………………………………………….77
Assessment of the Socialization and Selection Hypotheses……………..78
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Association between Aggression, Competitive Video Game Play
and Frequency of Competitive Gambling from Grades 9 through
12…………………………………………………………………78
Association between Aggression and Frequency of Competitive
Video Game Play and Frequency of Competitive Gambling in
Grades 11 and 12…………………………………………..….....81
Violent Video Game Play as a Moderator…………………….…………84
Gender as a Moderator……………..…………………………………….85
Discussion……………………………………..…………………………………85
References………………………………………………………………………..93
Chapter 4 (Study 3): The Long-Term Associations between Competitive Video Game
Play, Aggressive Affect, and Aggressive Behavior: Theoretical and Developmental
Implications for Adolescents and Young Adults………………...………………………99
The Long-Term Association between Video Game Play and Aggression among
Adolescents and Young Adults…………………………………………………101
Research on the Effects of Video Game Violence versus Competition on
Aggression……..……………………………………………………………….103
The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis………………………………………..106
The Commonality between Action/Fighting (Violent) Video Game Play and
Sports/Racing (Non-Violent) Video Game Play……………………………….109
Third Variable Framework……………………………………………………..110
Study 3a………………………………………………………………………...110
Method………………………………………………………………….112
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Participants……………………………………………………...112
Procedure……………………………………………………….113
Measures………………………………………………………..114
Aggressive Behavior……………………………………114
Aggressive Affect………………………………………114
Competitive and Non-Violent (Sports/Racing) Video Game
Play………………………………………………….….115
Competitive and Violent (Action/Fighting) Video Game
Play………………………………………………..……115
Third Variables that were Controlled………………..…115
Demographics……………………………..……115
Involvement in Sports………………………….116
Alcohol Consumption……………………….…116
Online Gambling…………………………….…116
Plan of Analyses: General Overview of the Manifest and Latent Path
Models………………………………………………………………….116
Results and Discussion…………………………………………………119
Preliminary Analyses…………………………………………...119
The Long-Term Bidirectional (Cross-Lagged) Associations
between Aggressive Behavior and Action/Fighting Video Game
Play, and between Aggressive Behavior and Sports/Racing Video
Game Play, Among Young Adults…………………….……….121
The Long-Term Bidirectional (Cross-Lagged) Associations
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