Gamers who play violent video games on a 3D screen are more likely to become angrier than gamers who play the same violent game but on a 2D screen. This is according to a new study accepted for publication in the Psychology of Popular Media Culture journal.
Researchers at Ohio State University found out that people who played violent video games such as "Grand Theft Auto" in immersive 3D were more prone to feel more aggression than gamers who played the same game in 2D or a non-violent game in 3D. Brad Bushman, communication and psychology professor at Ohio State University, says this was likely because 3D gamers are more immersed in the game than players in 2D.
"3D gaming increases anger because the players felt more immersed in the violence when they played violent games," Bushman says. "As the technology in video games improves, it has the ability to have stronger effects on players."
The researchers, led by communication graduate student Robert Lull, recruited nearly 200 college students, with women comprising 75 percent of the subjects, and instructed them to play "Grand Theft Auto IV." Half of the subjects were told to play violently, meaning they were instructed to kill as many virtual people as they can. The other half were instructed to go bowling in the game's Memory Lanes. The subjects were asked to play on three screens: a 17-inch 2D, a 96-inch 2D and a 96-inch 3D with accompanying 3D glasses.
The players were then instructed to report their moods by rating on a scale of 1 to 5 how they felt after the game. For the non-violent gamers, playing in 2D or 3D did not affect their moods, which remained relatively the same. On the other hand, subjects who played the same violent game reported higher scores in moods such as anger, frustration and irritability. However, people who played violently showed a significant increase in anger over those who also played the same but in 2D.
To explain why subjects who played violently on 3D screens felt more anger, the researchers also asked each player to rate how immersed in the game they felt. On a scale of 1 to 7, the subjects had to rate if they felt like they "were really 'there' in the game." Their answers showed that gamers who played on 3D screens were more immersed in the game's environment than those who played in flat 2D, creating a link between the level of immersion and the increased feelings of anger in subjects who played violently.
"The combination of violent content and immersive technology like 3D can be troublesome," says Bushman. "This is something that needs to be considered by everyone involved - electronics manufacturers, video game developers, consumers, parents and content ratings agencies."
The results of the study were presented at the annual ScienceWriters2014 conference hosted at Ohio State University last Sunday.
