Gun Shot Wound
Conditions
Keywords
First-person shooter (FPS), Violent video game, Headshot, Gun, Operant conditioning theory
Brief summary
The present research tests the effects of violent shooting games on behavior within the game (Pilot Study) and on behavior after the game is turned off (Experiment Proper). The Experiment Proper is an exact replication of a previous study conducted in our lab that was retracted (see citation), but with a larger sample to get more reliable results (N=287 rather than N=151).
Detailed description
Violent shooting games are used to train soldiers and police officers. This research tests whether violent shooting can train people to shoot targets in the head, both during gameplay (Pilot Study) and after the game is turned off (Experiment Proper). Participants in both studies played a violent shooting game with humanoid targets that rewarded headshots, or a nonviolent shooting game that punished shots to bull's-eye targets with faces. Afterward, participants shot at a mannequin with a realistic CO2 gun. We anticipate that participants who play the violent game which rewards headshots to hit the mannequin's head more often than those who play the non-violent game.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALVideo game
Participants played either a violent shooting game or nonviolent shooting game in the pilot study, and either either a violent shooting game, nonviolent shooting game, or nonviolent non-shooting game in the experiment proper.
BEHAVIORALController
Participants used either a gun-shaped or regular controller to play the violent and nonviolent shooting video games.
Sponsors
Ohio State University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
2 (controller type) x 3 (video game type) factorial design. Participants used either a regular or gun shaped controller while playing a non-shooting, non-humanoid shooting, or humanoid shooting game.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 46 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* 18 and older * Ohio State participant pool
Exclusion criteria
* Under age 18
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hits to Head and Face | Up to one hour | In the Pilot Study, we counted hits to the head and face for targets within the game. In the Experiment Proper, we counted hits to the head and face of the mannequin. |
| Other Hits | Up to one hour | In the Pilot Study, we counted other hits to targets (i.e. not to a face) within the game. In the Experiment Proper, we counted other hits to the mannequin (i.e., torso instead of the head). |
Participant flow
Recruitment details
Participants were college students who completed the study as part of a course requirement.
Pre-assignment details
After giving their consent, participants completed a survey. Next, they were randomly assigned to play either a violent First-Person-Shooter video game or a nonviolent shooting video game for 20 minutes. Video game play was recorded. A debriefing followed.
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Pilot Study: Violent Shooter Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, a violent shooter game which rewards players for shooting realistic human targets. Headshots are rewarded. | 20 |
| Pilot Study: Non-violent Shooter Wii Play, a non-violent shooter which punishes players for hitting bull's-eye targets with faces on them and rewards players for shooting other targets (e.g., balloons, clay discs, bull's-eye targets without faces). | 20 |
| Study Proper: Violent Shooter Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, a violent shooter game which rewards players for shooting realistic human targets. Headshots are rewarded. | 113 |
| Study Proper: Non-violent Shooter Wii Play, a non-violent shooter which punishes players for hitting bull's-eye targets with faces on them and rewards players for shooting other targets (e.g., balloons, clay discs, bull's-eye targets without faces). | 115 |
| Study Proper: Non-violent Game Super Mario Galaxy, a non-violent game which rewards players for collecting stars and completing challenging levels in a creative, animated world. Does not involve shooting a weapon. | 59 |
| Total | 327 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Pilot Study: Violent Shooter | Pilot Study: Non-violent Shooter | Study Proper: Violent Shooter | Study Proper: Non-violent Shooter | Study Proper: Non-violent Game | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Categorical <=18 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical >=65 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years | 20 Participants | 20 Participants | 113 Participants | 115 Participants | 59 Participants | 327 Participants |
| Age, Continuous | 19.5 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.32 | 19.1 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.07 | 21.39 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.27 | 20.70 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.34 | 20.24 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.81 | 20.68 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.06 |
| Gun Attitudes Scale | — | — | 3.00 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.7 | 2.96 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.63 | 2.97 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.8 | 2.98 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.69 |
| Number of guns owned | — | — | 0.24 Number of guns owned STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.88 | 0.23 Number of guns owned STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.69 | 0.25 Number of guns owned STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.21 | 0.24 Number of guns owned STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.89 |
| Number of times shot gun | — | — | 7.20 number of times shot gun STANDARD_DEVIATION 27.55 | 6.15 number of times shot gun STANDARD_DEVIATION 20.88 | 14.17 number of times shot gun STANDARD_DEVIATION 73.65 | 8.23 number of times shot gun STANDARD_DEVIATION 39.88 |
| Number of violent video games among 3 favorites | — | — | 0.72 Number of games STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.91 | 0.83 Number of games STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.92 | 0.78 Number of games STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.91 | 0.78 Number of games STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.91 |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 20 participants | 20 participants | 113 participants | 115 participants | 59 participants | 327 participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 10 Participants | 10 Participants | 59 Participants | 61 Participants | 32 Participants | 172 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 10 Participants | 10 Participants | 54 Participants | 54 Participants | 26 Participants | 154 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk | EG003 affected / at risk | EG004 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 20 | 0 / 20 | 0 / 113 | 0 / 115 | 0 / 59 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 20 | 0 / 20 | 0 / 113 | 0 / 115 | 0 / 59 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 20 | 0 / 20 | 0 / 113 | 0 / 115 | 0 / 59 |
Outcome results
Primary
Hits to Head and Face
In the Pilot Study, we counted hits to the head and face for targets within the game. In the Experiment Proper, we counted hits to the head and face of the mannequin.
Time frame: Up to one hour
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot Study: Violent Shooter Game | Hits to Head and Face | 132.7 headshots | Standard Error 2.68 |
| Pilot Study: Non-violent Shooter Game | Hits to Head and Face | 3.88 headshots | Standard Error 37.86 |
| Experiment Proper: Violent Shooter Game | Hits to Head and Face | 5.33 headshots | Standard Error 4.07 |
| Experiment Proper: Non-violent Shooter Game | Hits to Head and Face | 4.41 headshots | Standard Error 3.77 |
| Experiment Proper: Non-violent Game | Hits to Head and Face | 3.86 headshots | Standard Error 3.26 |
p-value: 0.04ANCOVA
p-value: 0.0001ANCOVA
Primary
Other Hits
In the Pilot Study, we counted other hits to targets (i.e. not to a face) within the game. In the Experiment Proper, we counted other hits to the mannequin (i.e., torso instead of the head).
Time frame: Up to one hour
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot Study: Violent Shooter Game | Other Hits | 1509.25 shots not at head or face | Standard Deviation 432.41 |
| Pilot Study: Non-violent Shooter Game | Other Hits | 586.10 shots not at head or face | Standard Deviation 145.83 |
| Experiment Proper: Violent Shooter Game | Other Hits | 6.74 shots not at head or face | Standard Deviation 4.47 |
| Experiment Proper: Non-violent Shooter Game | Other Hits | 7.70 shots not at head or face | Standard Deviation 4.39 |
| Experiment Proper: Non-violent Game | Other Hits | 8.03 shots not at head or face | Standard Deviation 5.56 |
Comparison: Hypothesis: Participants who played a violent FPS game were expected to have more hits to targets with heads or faces than were participants who played a nonviolent shooting game.p-value: <0.001ANCOVA
Comparison: Hypothesis: Participants who played a violent FPS game were expected to hit the mannequin's head more often than were participants who played either the nonviolent shooting game or the nonviolent non-shooting game Covariates: participant gender, number of guns owned over their lifetime, attitudes toward guns, and number of times they had fired a gun.p-value: 0.044ANCOVA
Comparison: Hypothesis: Because the nonviolent shooting game rewards other shots, participants who played a nonviolent shooting game were expected to hit the mannequin's torso more often than were participants who played the nonviolent non-shooting game.~Covariates: participant gender, number of guns owned over their lifetime, attitudes toward guns, and number of times they had fired a gun.p-value: 0.17t-test, 2 sided
Comparison: Hypothesis: participants who played a nonviolent shooting game were expected to hit the mannequin's head less often than were participants who played the nonviolent non-shooting game Covariates: participant gender, number of guns owned over their lifetime, attitudes toward guns, and number of times they had fired a gun.p-value: 0.449t-test, 2 sided
Comparison: Hypothesis: participants who played a nonviolent shooting game were expected to hit the mannequin's torso more often than were participants who played the nonviolent non-shooting game.~Covariates: participant gender, number of guns owned over their lifetime, attitudes toward guns, and number of times they had fired a gun.p-value: 0.645t-test, 2 sided
Comparison: Hypothesis: A positive correlation was expected between the number of violent shooting games participants listed among their three favorite video games and hits to the mannequin's head.p-value: 0.032Zero-order correlation