title: Effect of playing violent video games cooperatively or competitively on subsequent cooperative behavior.
abstract: Research on video games has yielded consistent findings that violent video games increase aggression and decrease prosocial behavior. However, these studies typically examined single-player games. Of interest is the effect of cooperative play in a violent video game on subsequent cooperative or competitive behavior. Participants played Halo II (a first-person shooter game) cooperatively or competitively and then completed a modified prisoner's dilemma task to assess competitive and cooperative behavior. Compared with the competitive play conditions, players in the cooperative condition engaged in more tit-for-tat behaviors-a pattern of behavior that typically precedes cooperative behavior. The social context of game play influenced subsequent behavior more than the content of the game that was played.
authors.affiliation: School of Communication and Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Ewoldsen
authors.forename: Cassie A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Eno
authors.forename: Bradley M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Okdie
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Velez
authors.forename: Rosanna E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Guadagno
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: DeCoster
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*