Do Modern Video Games Cause more Cognitive Aggression than their Prequels?

Previous research has found a connection between realism in violent video game play and levels of cognitive aggression in the player. Research shows that playing a violent video game with a more realistic gun controller... [ view full abstract ]

Previous research has found a connection between realism in violent video game play and levels of cognitive aggression in the player. Research shows that playing a violent video game with a more realistic gun controller leads to higher levels of aggression after gameplay (McGloin, Farrar & Fishlock, 2015). Do newer games that have better graphics and higher levels of realism cause higher levels of cognitive aggression than their older, less realistic prequels?

This study measured the amount cognitive aggression in participants who either played the old Mortal Kombat (Midway Games, 1992) or the new Mortal Kombat X (NetherRealm Studios, 2015). Forty-seven students played either the old or the new game for 15 minutes and then did a word completion task for three minutes to assess their level of cognitive aggression. It was hypothesized that those who played the newer, more realistic game would elicit more cognitive aggression than those who played the older game. There was no significant difference between the older and newer game conditions t (45) = 1.27, p = .212. Even though the results were not significant, it provides insight into what types of realism may affect aggression levels in video game players. It is possible that the violence in a video game is more important than the realism of the video game.