Effect of Violent First-Person Shooter (FPS) Video Games on Shooting Accuracy

Ohio State University327 enrolled

Overview

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 The Experiment Proper is an exact replication of a previous study conducted in our lab that was retracted (see citation), but with a larger sample to get more reliable results (N=287 rather than N=151).

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.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

327

Conditions

Gun Shot Wound

Interventions

Video gameBEHAVIORAL

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.

ControllerBEHAVIORAL

Participants used either a gun-shaped or regular controller to play the violent and nonviolent shooting video games.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 46 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * 18 and older * Ohio State participant pool Exclusion Criteria: * Under age 18

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

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

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

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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