Abstract :
[en] Playing non-violent video games has been shown to reduce perceived levels of stress (Pallavicini et al., 2021). A recent study by Wagener and colleagues (2023) suggested that although playing a violent video game does not affect aggressive cognition, it can induce physiological relaxation. Also, personality-related factors, such as the Dark Tetrad (i.e., Machiavellianism, everyday sadism, subclinical psychopathy, and narcissism) can have a moderating effect. Individuals with greater Dark Tetrad expressions deliberately prefer and play more violent video games (e.g., Greitemeyer et al., 2019; Greitemeyer & Sagioglou, 2017). In Wagener et al. (2023), physiological relaxation when playing violent video games was even greater for participants with greater Machiavellianism expressions. In contrast, these individuals felt significantly more stressed when playing a non-violent video game (Wagener et al., 2023). The present lab experiment aimed to further investigate the relaxation effects of violent and non-violent video games. The study also addressed shortcomings in Wagener et al. (2023), namely (1) its small sample size, (2) that only male participants had been tested, (3) that cortisol was the only measure for relaxation, and (4) that there was no true control condition, in which participants did not play a video game.
In the present study, participants (N = 106) either played a violent game or a non-violent game (Assassin’s Creed Valhalla; Ubisoft Montreal, 2020) for 25 minutes or completed a jigsaw puzzle. Whereas participants in the non-violent condition played the discovery mode, in which they explored the environment, participants in the violent condition had to fight non-player characters in violent combat. In the control condition, a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle was used. Cortisol levels, heart rate variability (HRV), and self-reported stress levels were assessed before, during, and after gameplay/puzzle task. Dark Tetrad traits were assessed using the Short Dark Tetrad scale (SD4; Paulhus et al., 2021).
Playing violent and non-violent video game passages both significantly decreased cortisol levels. Violent gameplay also significantly increased HRV (i.e., decreasing the ratio of low frequency power to high-frequency power), thus providing additional support for physiological relaxation. In contrast, trying to complete the puzzle did not increase physiological relaxation, but even decreased HRV (i.e., increasing the ratio of low-frequency power to high-frequency power and decreasing high-frequency power). Control questions suggested that, regardless of condition, playing a video game was generally considered more cognitively engaging than trying to complete the puzzle. We might speculate that playing a video game provides greater distraction and therefore greater physiological relaxation compared to other tasks like engaging with a puzzle. High levels of immersion, cognitive engagement, and presence in the virtual world might be important aspects leading to relaxation effects of gaming, regardless of violent content. The surprising finding that Dark Tetrad expressions did not affect stress indicators were possibly due to low variance in Dark Tetrad levels in the present sample.
The present results indicate that both playing violent or non-violent video games can lead to physiological relaxation. This seems important for future research on the potential of video games for stress relief interventions.
