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Effects of Playing Video Games on Perceptions of One's Humanity Tobias Greitemeyer

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University of Innsbruck Accepted author version posted online: 12 Feb 2013.Published online: 13 May 2013.

To cite this article: Tobias Greitemeyer (2013) Effects of Playing Video Games on Perceptions of One's Humanity, The Journal of Social Psychology, 153:4, 499-514, DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2013.768593 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2013.768593

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The Journal of Social Psychology, 2013, 153(4), 499–514 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

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Effects of Playing Video Games on Perceptions of One’s Humanity TOBIAS GREITEMEYER University of Innsbruck

ABSTRACT. According to self-perception theory, individuals infer their characteristics by observing their own behavior. In the present research, the hypothesis is examined whether helping behavior increases perceptions of one’s own humanity even when help is given that does not benefit a real person. In fact, two studies revealed that playing a prosocial video game (where the goal is to help and care for other game characters) led to increased perceptions of the player’s own humanity (in particular, for positive humanity traits). Results also revealed that playing a violent, relative to a neutral, video game decreased perceptions of humanity on positive humanity traits and increased perceptions of humanity on negative humanity traits. Taken together, it appears that being helpful while playing video games leads to the perception of being more human, whereas being harmful while playing video games leads players to perceive themselves negatively. Keywords: aggression, dehumanization, helping, self-perception, video game effects

MEDIA EXPOSURE HAS BEEN SHOWN to be a powerful determinant of social behavior (Bushman & Huesmann, 2006). In recent years, researchers have been particularly interested in the effects of playing video games (Anderson et al., 2010). Video game exposure differs from other forms of media exposure in that people directly control a game character, which increases identification with the media content (Fischer, Kastenmüller, & Greitemeyer, 2010; Konijn, Bijvank, & Bushman, 2007). Perhaps as a consequence, actively playing video games leads to stronger effects compared to passive media exposure (i.e., watching other individuals play video games, watching television, or listening to music) (Fischer, Greitemeyer, Kastenmüller, Vogrincic, & Sauer, 2011; Polman, Orobio de Castro, & Van Aken, 2008). Because the self is actually involved in the video game by requiring the player to actively take control of the game’s character, unique implications for the player’s self have been identified (Gentile & Gentile, 2008). For Address correspondence to Tobias Greitemeyer, University of Innsbruck, Department of Psychology, Innrain 52, Innsbruck 6020, Austria; [email protected] (e-mail). 499

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instance, Fischer and colleagues (2009) found that participants who had played a racing game were more likely to perceive themselves as reckless drivers than observers of racing games. More recently, Bastian, Jetten, and Radke (2012) found that playing violent video games diminished the players’ perception of their own humanity. These findings are in line with predictions derived from self-perception theory (Bem, 1972). According to self-perception theory, individuals infer their characteristics by observing their own behavior. The present research builds on this previous empirical and theoretical work and examines the possibility that playing a prosocial (relative to a violent and a neutral) video game leads to humanized perceptions of the self even when help is given that does not benefit a real person. Video Games and Perceptions of Humanity Playing video games is an important determinant of social behavior. Abundant evidence has been collected that playing violent video games (with the game’s aim of harming other game characters) increases the accessibility of aggressive thoughts (Anderson & Dill, 2000), state hostility (Anderson & Ford, 1986), and aggressive behavior (Möller & Krahé, 2009), and decreases cooperative (Sheese & Graziano, 2005) and helping behavior (Bushman & Anderson, 2009). A recent meta-analysis (Anderson et al., 2010) reveals that playing violent video games is significantly associated with increased antisocial and decreased prosocial responses. But clearly not all video games contain violence and playing video games may even have positive effects on social behavior. In fact, prosocial video game play (with the game’s aim of benefiting other game characters) appears to increase prosocial and to decrease antisocial responses (Greitemeyer, 2011). For instance, playing a prosocial (relative to a neutral) video game increases empathy (Greitemeyer, Osswald, & Brauer, 2010), the accessibility of prosocial thoughts (Greitemeyer & Osswald, 2011), and helping behavior (Gentile et al., 2009; Greitemeyer & Osswald, 2010), and decreases state hostility (Saleem, Anderson, & Gentile, 2012), the accessibility of aggressive thoughts (Greitemeyer & Osswald, 2009), and aggressive behavior (Greitemeyer, Agthe, Turner, & Gschwendtner, 2012). The present research addresses the effects of playing prosocial, violent, and neutral video games on perceptions of one’s own humanity (i.e., qualities that set humans apart from animals or objects). In the last 15 years, there has been growing research into how individuals deny humanness to others. For instance, research by Leyens and colleagues showed that outgroup members are perceived as relatively more animal-like, in that individuals attribute fewer uniquely human emotions to outgroup members as opposed to ingroup members (e.g., Leyens et al., 2000; 2001). In contrast, emotions that are common to both humans and non-human animals are typically attributed to ingroup members and outgroup members to a similar extent.

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Dehumanization of outgroups has been shown to be associated with discrimination of outgroup members (Vaes, Paladino, Castelli, Leyens, & Giovanazzi, 2003) and partly explains why individuals are less likely to help outgroup members (Cuddy, Rock, & Norton, 2007) and more likely to behave aggressively toward outgroup members (Struch & Schwartz, 1989). However, dehumanization does not only occur in an inter-group context, but also in an interpersonal context. In fact, individuals commonly see others as less human than themselves (Haslam, Bain, Douge, Lee, & Bastian, 2005). Interpersonal dehumanization is also associated with aggression and appears to partly underlie the finding of increased aggressive behavior after violent video game play (Greitemeyer & McLatchie, 2011). Considerably less research has been devoted to when individuals perceive themselves as being less human. In one study (Bastian & Haslam, 2010), participants felt dehumanized after they had been socially excluded. In other work, which is most relevant for the present research, Bastian and colleagues (2012) examined the notion that playing violent video games diminishes the players’ perception of their own humanity. They referred to research showing that perpetrators of violence do not only dehumanize their victims but also themselves (Kelman, 1976) and indeed found that participants viewed themselves as less human when engaged in violent video game play (relative to neutral video game play). The present research addresses whether video game play may not only be associated with decreased perceptions of one’s humanity, but may also lead to increased humanized perceptions of the self. Concretely, it is assumed that participants who play a prosocial video game in which they help and care for other game characters attribute greater humanness to themselves. For comparative reasons, it was also examined whether playing violent video games decreases perceptions of one’s humanity (which is a replication of Bastian et al., 2012). Note that Bastian and colleagues asked their participants to rate their video game play behavior. In order to facilitate comparisons, the present research adopted this procedure and also asked participants to rate their video game play behavior. It is noteworthy that Bastian and colleagues as well as the present research remain mute in terms of the extent to which video game play affects perception of traits more generally (i.e., unrelated to video game play behavior). This is an important endeavor for future research. The Present Research In two studies, participants either played a prosocial, a neutral, or a violent video game. Afterwards, they rated themselves on measures assessing two dimensions of humanness that may be denied to others (Bastian & Haslam, 2010; Haslam et al., 2005): Human Uniqueness and Human Nature. Human Uniqueness involves attributes that are seen as distinguishing humans from animals, whereas Human Nature involves attributes that are seen as fundamental to humanity (Haslam, 2006). In addition to trait humanness, trait valence was independently manipulated. That is, some of the traits were positive, whereas others

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were negative. By so doing, one can distinguish whether playing prosocial video games indeed leads people to humanize themselves or simply makes people to perceive themselves more positively (i.e., increased perceptions of positive humanity and decreased perceptions of negative humanity). The former predicts a main effect of video game condition, in that playing a prosocial (relative to a neutral) video game increases perceptions of humanity when controlling for trait valence and makes no prediction in terms of the interaction. The latter predicts a nonsignificant main effect of video game condition. Instead, results should reveal a significant interaction between video game condition and valence, in that playing a prosocial video game increases perceptions of positive humanity and decreases perceptions of negative humanity. However, it may well be that both predictions are partly right, in that a significant main effect as well as a significant interaction are to be observed. This pattern of finding may suggest that playing a prosocial (relative to a neutral) video game increases perceptions of humanity, but that this effect is particularly pronounced for positive traits of humanity. It is also hypothesized that playing a violent video game decreases perceptions of the player’s humanity (which is a replication of Bastian et al., 2012). Note that Bastian and colleagues did not differentiate between perceptions of positive and negative humanity. Thus, it is unknown whether violent video game play affects perceptions of humanity for only positive, only negative, or both characteristics. Because trait valence was fully crossed with trait humanness in the present research, we are able to examine whether playing violent video games leads to decreased perceptions of humanity when controlling for trait valence or makes people to perceive themselves more negatively (i.e., decreased perceptions of positive humanity and increased perceptions of negative humanity). Again, the former predicts a main effect of video game condition, in that playing a violent (relative to a neutral) video game decreases perceptions of humanity when controlling for trait valence and makes no prediction in terms of the interaction. The latter predicts a non-significant main effect of video game condition, but a significant interaction between video game condition and valence, in that playing a violent video game decreases perceptions of positive humanity and increases perceptions of negative humanity. Finally, both predictions may be partly right, in that playing a violent (relative to a neutral) video game decreases perceptions of humanity (significant main effect), but that this effect is particularly pronounced for positive traits of humanity (significant interaction). Study 1 Method Participants and Design Participants were 60 community members (mean age: 27 years, SD = 12). They were personally contacted and invited to take part in a study about the

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perceptions of video games. Participants played one of three video games. There were 20 participants (10 women, 10 men) in the prosocial video game condition, 20 participants (10 women, 10 men) in the neutral video game condition, and 20 participants (10 women, 10 men) in the violent video game condition. All participants were tested individually. Among all participants two prizes of 25 Euros were raffled. Note that the prosocial video game condition was run after data collection of the other two conditions was completed. Thus, random assignment of participants to the experimental conditions was only given for the neutral and the violent video game condition. We will return to this point in the discussion of Study 1. Procedure and Materials Participants in the prosocial video game condition played “Pingus” in which the player guides penguins through different levels. The goal is to take care of the penguins and to save them by leading them to the exit. We employed an online version of this video game (http://pingus.seul.org/welcome.html). Participants in the neutral video game condition played an online version of Tetris (http://www. gamesbasis.com/tetris.html). The player has to correctly position falling geometrical figures. Participants in the violent video game condition played a demo version of “Call of Duty 2,” which is a shooter game (http://www.apple.com/ downloads/macosx/games/demos_updates/callofduty2.html). We employed a third person version. All participants played the video game for 15 minutes. Participants were then asked to indicate their liking (α = .95), the perceived difficulty (α = .74), and the arousal properties of the video game (α = .53). There were two items for each construct. All items were assessed on a 7-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very). Participants also indicated how they felt at the moment. The use of this one-item to measure mood was adapted from previous studies on affective forecasting (e.g., Gilbert, Pinel, Wilson, Blumberg, & Wheatley, 1998; Greitemeyer, 2009). This item was assessed on a 7-point LIkert-type scale, ranging from 1 (bad) to 7 (good). Afterwards, they received a list of 16 traits that included four positive human uniqueness traits (broadminded, conscientious, humble, thorough; α = .64), four negative human uniqueness traits (disorganized, hard-hearted, ignorant, rude; α = .75), four positive human nature traits (active, curious, friendly, helpful; α = .58), and four negative human nature traits (impatient, impulsive, nervous, shy; α = .37). The same traits have been successfully employed in previous research (e.g., Bastian & Haslam, 2010; Haslam et al., 2005). Haslam and colleagues (2005) made sure that the positive and negative traits clearly differed in valence. Note that Haslam, Bastian, and colleagues employed five traits for each scale. We decided to drop some items because we thought them implausible for the current context (i.e., the items polite, stingy, fun-loving, and jealous have been dropped). As in Bastian and colleagues (2012), participants were asked to think about the experience of playing the video game and to rate the degree to which

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each trait characterizes their video game play. All items were assessed on a 7-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very). Finally, to make sure that the prosocial, neutral, and violent video game indeed differed in perceived content (how prosocial and how violent), participants indicated how prosocial the video game was and how violent the video game was. These items were assessed using a 7-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very). They also indicated how many of their actions during game play were prosocial and violent, respectively. These items were assessed using a percentage scale. Finally, participants were thanked, probed for suspicion, and fully debriefed. None of the participants indicated any suspicion of a relationship between playing the video game and our measure of humanization. Results The manipulation checks were successful. The content of the prosocial video game (M = 3.90, SD = 1.74) was perceived as being more prosocial than the content of the neutral (M = 2.15, SD = 1.76) and the violent video game (M = 1.45, SD = 0.83), F(2, 57) = 14.04, p < .001, η2 = .33, whereas the content of the violent video game (M = 6.60, SD = 1.00) was perceived as being more violent than the content of the neutral (M = 1.10, SD = 0.45) and the prosocial video game (M = 3.30, SD = 2.00), F(2, 57) = 88.42, p < .001, η2 = .76. Moreover, participants in the prosocial video game condition (M = 59.0, SD = 28.8) reported performing more prosocial acts than participants in the neutral (M = 15.0, SD = 24.0) and violent video game condition (M = 11.5, SD = 20.8), F(2, 56) = 22.17, p < .001, η2 = .44, whereas participants in the violent video game condition (M = 93.5, SD = 10.4) reported performing more violent acts than participants in the neutral (M = 3.0, SD = 8.0) and prosocial video game condition (M = 18.0, SD = 23.1), F(2, 57) = 200.22, p < .001, η2 = .88. As Bastian and colleagues (2012), and for ease of presentation, ratings of human uniqueness traits and human nature traits were combined into an overall humanity value, using the mean of the single items (positive humanity: α = .77; negative humanity: α = .62). Note that scale reliabilities for some of the single scales were poor (see the Method section), with combining both ratings into an overall scale markedly increased scale reliabilities. Previous research has shown that traits of human uniqueness and human nature can be contrasted, with distinct effects. For instance, Haslam and colleagues (2005) found that participants attributed more human nature traits to themselves than to others, but this tendency did not occur for human uniqueness traits. In the present research, however, the pattern of findings was very similar for both dimensions of humanness. Mean ratings as well as standard deviations of positive and negative humanity traits are presented in Table 1. Humanity values were analyzed in a 3 (video game condition: prosocial vs. neutral vs. violent) × 2 (valence: positive vs. negative)

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TABLE 1. Means and Standard Deviations (in Parentheses) for Perceptions of Humanity as a Function of Video Game Condition

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Video game

Study 1 Positive humanity Negative humanity Study 2 Positive humanity Negative humanity

Prosocial

Violent

Neutral

4.53a (1.06) 3.44ab (1.03)

2.88b (1.14) 3.86a (1.05)

3.94a (0.92) 2.89b (0.76)

4.78a (1.06) 2.35b (0.91)

3.79b (0.91) 4.31a (0.82)

3.76b (0.83) 2.68b (1.01)

Note: Means not sharing a common subscript differ at the .05 level according to Fisher LSD (least significant difference) test. Means sharing a common subscript do not differ.

analysis of variance (ANOVA), with repeated measures on the latter factor. Most importantly, results revealed a significant main effect of video game condition, F(2, 57) = 4.96, p = .010, η2 = .15. When controlling for trait valence, participants in the prosocial video game condition perceived themselves as more human (M = 3.98, SD = 0.64) than participants in the neutral video game condition (M = 3.41, SD = 0.64), F(1, 38) = 7.40, p = .008, η2 = .17. Moreover, the violent video game condition (M = 3.37, SD = 0.77) did not significantly differ from the neutral video game condition, F(1, 38) = 0.04, p = .853, η2 = .00. Finally, participants in the prosocial video game condition perceived themselves as more human than participants in the violent video game condition, F(1, 38) = 7.47, p = .009, η2 = .16. The ANOVA also revealed a significant interaction, F(2, 57) = 13.14, p < .001, η2 = .32. Participants who had played the prosocial video game tended to rate themselves higher on both the positive and negative humanity traits than participants who had played the neutral video game, t(38) = 1.87, p = .069, d = 0.59, t(38) = 1.92, p = .063, d = 0.61, respectively. Participants who had played the violent video game rated themselves lower on the positive and higher on the negative humanity traits than participants who had played the neutral video game, t(38) = 3.23, p = .003, d = 1.02, t(38) = 3.36, p = .002, d = 1.06, respectively. Finally, participants in the prosocial video game condition rated themselves higher on the positive humanity traits than participants in the violent video game condition, t(38) = 4.74, p < .001, d = 1.50. With regard to ratings of negative traits of humanity, the prosocial and violent video game conditions did not differ, t(38) = 1.29, p = .205, d = 0.40, respectively. There were no significant effects on mood, F(2, 57) = 0.82, p = .447, η2 = .03. In contrast, ratings of difficulty marginally significantly differed, F(2, 57) = 3.12, p = .052, η2 = .10. Moreover, video game liking, F(2, 57) = 3.67,

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TABLE 2. Means and Standard Deviations (in Parentheses) for Video Game Ratings as a Function of Video Game Condition Video game

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Prosocial Study 1 Mood Difficulty Liking Arousal Study 2 Mood Difficulty Liking Arousal

Violent

Neutral

5.65a 3.08ab 3.58ab 2.93a

(1.23) (1.13) (1.58) (1.07)

5.20a (1.70) 3.98a (1.96) 2.80a (1.77) 4.40b (1.43)

5.70a (1.08) 2.83b (1.39) 4.28b (1.80) 3.03a (1.45)

5.68a 2.66a 5.08a 2.63a

(1.16) (1.18) (1.45) (1.56)

5.35a (0.81) 4.28b (1.52) 4.05b (1.99) 5.05b (0.97)

5.16a (1.21) 2.11a (1.32) 3.87b (1.14) 3.63a (1.44)

Note: Means not sharing a common subscript differ at the .05 level according to Fisher LSD (least significant difference) test. Means sharing a common subscript do not differ.

p = .032, η2 = .11, and arousal properties, F(2, 57) = 7.73, p = .001, η2 = .21, significantly differed. All means and standard deviations are presented in Table 2. As can be seen, liking of the violent video game was lower than liking of the neutral video game; the violent video game was perceived as more difficult than the neutral video game, and the violent video game was perceived as more arousing than the other video games. However, when controlling for liking, difficulty, and arousal properties of the video game, as well as mood and participant sex, the effect of video game condition on ratings of humanity remained significant, F(2, 52) = 7.61, p = .001, η2 = .23. Discussion Study 1 provides initial support for the hypothesis that playing prosocial video games leads to humanized perceptions of the self. Relative to those who had played a neutral video game, participants who had played a prosocial video game perceived themselves as more human. Importantly, this effect occurred even when valence was statistically controlled. It is noteworthy that this effect remained reliable when controlling for liking, difficulty, and arousal properties of the video game, reported mood, and participant sex. Moreover, playing a violent (relative to neutral) video game decreases perceptions of positive humanity and increases perceptions of negative humanity. We will return to this latter finding in the General Discussion. As indicated above, the prosocial video game condition was run after completion of the other two conditions and thus no complete random assignment of

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participants to the experimental conditions can be ensured. Although all participants were from the same participant pool, we still felt it important to replicate Study 1. Moreover, because we used only one prosocial and one neutral video game, it is conceivable that the finding that playing a prosocial video game leads players to humanize themselves is due to specific features of the particular video games used. Thus, in Study 2, we employed different prosocial and neutral video games, which helps to draw more general conclusions. Study 2 Method Participants and Design Participants were 60 community members (mean age: 26 years, SD = 13). Recruitment was done as in Study 1. All participants were randomly assigned to one of three video game conditions (prosocial vs. neutral vs. violent). There were 20 participants (11 women, 9 men) in the prosocial video game condition, 20 participants (14 women, 5 men, one participant did not respond to this item) in the neutral video game condition, and 20 participants (9 women, 11 men) in the violent video game condition. Procedure and Materials The procedure was very similar to Study 1, with the following modifications. Participants in the prosocial video game condition played “Sheep” in which the player takes care of a sheep and guides it through different levels (http://www.chilloutzone.net/game/friday-flash-game-home-sheephome.html). Participants in the neutral video game condition played “Flipper,” which is a pinball game (http://www.online-pinball.de/megamind-pinball/). Scale reliabilities of our measures of humanity were: positive human uniqueness traits: α = .55; negative human uniqueness traits: α = .86; positive human nature traits: α = .57; negative human nature traits: α = .69. Results The manipulation checks were successful. The content of the prosocial video game (M = 4.85, SD = 2.06) was perceived as being more prosocial than the content of the neutral (M = 1.05, SD = 0.22) and the violent video game (M = 3.00, SD = 1.78), F(2, 57) = 29.09, p < .001, η2 = .51, whereas the content of the violent video game (M = 6.05, SD = 0.83) was perceived as being more violent than the content of the neutral (M = 1.00, SD = 0.00) and the prosocial video game (M = 1.15, SD = 0.49), F(2, 57) = 537.81, p < .001, η2 = .95. Moreover, participants in the prosocial video game condition

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(M = 66.0, SD = 30.2) reported performing more prosocial acts than participants in the neutral (M = 0.5, SD = 2.2) and violent video game condition (M = 21.5, SD = 21.1), F(2, 57) = 49.37, p < .001, η2 = .63, whereas participants in the violent video game condition (M = 70.5, SD = 23.5) reported performing more violent acts than participants in the neutral (M = 3.0, SD = 6.6) and prosocial video game condition (M = 1.0, SD = 4.5), F(2, 57) = 152.56, p < .001, η2 = .84. As in Study 1, ratings of human uniqueness traits and human nature traits were combined into an overall humanity value, using the mean of the single items (positive humanity: α = .74; negative humanity: α = .83). Mean ratings as well as standard deviations of positive and negative humanity traits are presented in Table 1. Humanity values were then analyzed in a 3 (video game condition: prosocial vs. neutral vs. violent) × 2 (valence: positive vs. negative) ANOVA, with repeated measures on the latter factor. Results revealed a significant main effect of video game condition, F(2, 57) = 7.04, p = .002, η2 = .20. When controlling for trait valence, there was a nonsignificant tendency that participants in the prosocial video game condition perceived themselves as more human (M = 3.56, SD = 0.82) than participants in the neutral video game condition (M = 3.22, SD = 0.74), F(1, 38) = 1.96, p = .170, η2 = .05. In contrast to Study 1, participants in the violent video game condition perceived themselves as more human (M = 4.05, SD = 0.51) than participants in the neutral video game condition, F(1, 38) = 16.99, p < .001, η2 = .31. Finally, participants in the violent video game condition perceived themselves as more human than participants in the prosocial video game condition, F(1, 38) = 5.03, p = .031, η2 = .12. As in Study 1, the ANOVA revealed a significant interaction, F(2, 57) = 29.83, p < .001, η2 = .51. Participants who had played the prosocial video game rated themselves higher on the positive humanity traits than participants who had played the neutral video game, t(38) = 3.37, p = .002, d = 1.07. Ratings of negative humanity did not differ across the prosocial and neutral video game conditions, t(38) = 1.07, p = .292, d = 0.34. Participants who had played the violent video game rated themselves higher on the negative humanity traits than participants who had played the neutral video game, t(38) = 5.62, p < .001, d = 1.77. Ratings of positive humanity did not differ across the violent and neutral video game conditions, t(38) = 0.10, p = .922, d = 0.03. Finally, participants in the prosocial video game condition rated themselves higher on the positive humanity traits and lower on the negative humanity traits than participants in the violent video game condition, t(38) = 3.13, p = .003, d = 1.00, t(38) = 7.13, p < .001, d = 2.26, respectively. There were no significant effects on mood, F(2, 55) = 1.17, p = .317, η2 = .04. In contrast, ratings of liking, F(2, 55) = 3.27, p = .046, η2 = .11, difficulty, F(2, 55) = 13.71, p < .001, η2 = .33, and arousal properties, F(2, 55) = 15.99, p < .001, η2 = .37, of the video game significantly differed. All means and standard deviations are presented in Table 2. As can be seen, liking

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of the prosocial video game was greater than liking of the other video games; the violent video game was perceived as more difficult and more arousing than the other video games. When controlling for liking, difficulty, and arousal properties of the video game, as well as mood and participant sex, the effect of video game condition on ratings of humanity was no longer significant, F(2, 49) = 1.32, p = .278, η2 = .05. Most importantly, however, the tendency that participants in the prosocial video game condition perceived themselves as more human than participants in the neutral video game condition was unaffected, F(1, 30) = 1.97, p = .171 (effect size without the covariates: η2 = .05, with covariates: η2 = .06). In contrast, the contrast between the violent video game condition and the neutral condition was no longer significant, F(1, 31) = 1.92, p = .176, and the effect size was considerably reduced (without the covariates: η2 = .31, with covariates: η2 = .06). Discussion Study 2 replicated some of the findings from Study 1, but there were also some inconsistencies among both studies. As in Study 1, playing a prosocial video game, compared to playing a neutral video game, led to humanized perceptions of the self. Unlike Study 1, this effect only occurred on the positive humanity traits but not on the negative humanity traits. That is, in both studies, positive humanity was increased after playing a prosocial video game, whereas negative humanity was increased in Study 1 but not in Study 2. This could be due to the prosocial video game employed in Study 1, but not the prosocial video game employed in Study 2, containing a certain degree of violent content (in addition to its prosocial content). In Study 1, the manipulation check of perceived violent content of the prosocial video game revealed a rating of 3.30; in Study 2, the corresponding value was 1.15. Also as in Study 1, playing violent (relative to neutral) video games increased perceptions of negative humanity, but, unlike Study 1, did not affect perceptions of positive humanity. General Discussion Two studies examined the notion that prosocial video game play is associated with perceptions of the player’s own humanity. Study 1 revealed that playing a prosocial (relative to a neutral) video game leads to humanized perceptions of both positive and negative traits of humanity. This pattern of findings was partially replicated in Study 2. Again, perceptions of positive traits of humanity were increased after prosocial video game play. However, perceptions of negative traits of humanity were unaffected. The present two studies thus provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that prosocial video game play leads players to perceive themselves more human on positive humanity traits. With regard to negative humanity traits, the evidence is mixed. Overall, however, it appears that prosocial

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video game play indeed is associated with increased perceptions of the player’s own humanity. When combining both Studies 1 and 2 into an overall sample, a 3 (video game condition) × 2 (valence) ANOVA, with repeated measures on the latter factor, revealed a significant main effect of video game condition, F(1, 117) = 29.74, p < .001, η2 = .20, as well as a significant interaction, F(1, 117) = 34.98, p < .001, η2 = .37. Comparing the prosocial video game condition with the neutral video game condition showed that participants in the prosocial video game condition perceived themselves as more human (M = 3.77, SD = 0.76) than participants in the neutral video game condition (M = 3.32, SD = 0.69), F(1, 78) = 7.97, p < .001, η2 = .09. It thus appears that being helpful while playing leads to the perception of being more human, even when controlling for trait valence. There was also a significant interaction between video game condition and trait valence, F(1, 78) = 5.35, p = .023, η2 = .06. Participants who had played the prosocial video game rated themselves higher on the positive humanity traits (M = 4.65, SD = 1.05) than participants who had played the neutral video game (M = 3.85, SD = 0.87), t(78) = 3.37, p < .001, d = 0.83. In contrast, ratings of negative humanity were relatively similar across video game conditions (prosocial video game condition: M = 2.89, SD = 1.11; neutral video game condition: M = 2.78, SD = 0.89), t(78) = 0.50, p = .621, d = 0.11. Taken together, playing prosocial (relative to neutral) video games increases perceptions of one’s humanity. This effect, however, is reliable for positive traits but not for negative traits. That is, after prosocial video game play individuals perceive themselves more human on positive traits of humanity, whereas negative traits of humanity are unaffected by previous video game play. It thus appears that there are two tendencies. Prosocial video games a) increase perceptions of one’s humanity and b) make individuals to perceive themselves more positively. Because valence was fully crossed with humanity traits, these tendencies emerge independently of each other. Moreover, in both studies the effect of prosocial vs. neutral video game play was unaffected by a host of other variables (liking, difficulty, arousal properties of the video game, mood, and participant sex) suggesting that it is indeed the content of prosocial video games that accounts for the effect of video game play on perceptions of humanity. Both studies revealed that playing violent (relative to neutral) video games increased the perception of humanity on negative humanity traits. With regard to positive humanity traits, the evidence was mixed, with Study 1 showing that self-perceptions of positive humanity were decreased, and Study 2 showing no effects. Previous work (Bastian et al., 2012) has shown that playing violent video games leads to dehumanized perceptions of the self. Note that Bastian et al. did not examine valence of humanity. Thus, it was unknown whether violent video game play would affect perceptions of humanity for only positive, only negative, or both characteristics. When comparing the violent video game condition with the neutral video game condition in the meta-analysis noted above, results revealed

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that participants in the violent video game condition rated themselves lower on the positive (M = 3.33, SD = 1.11) and higher on the negative humanity traits (M = 4.09, SD = 0.96) than participants in the neutral video game condition, F(1, 78) = 5.29, p = .024, η2 = .06, F(1, 78) = 39.87, p < .001, η2 = .34, respectively. Finally, when comparing the prosocial video game condition with the violent video game condition, ratings of humanity did not differ, F(1, 78) = 0.14, p = .710, η2 = .00. In contrast, there was a significant interaction between video game condition and trait valence, F(1, 78) = 54.95, p < .001, η2 = .41. Participants who had played the prosocial video game rated themselves higher on the positive humanity traits and lower on the negative humanity traits than participants who had played the violent video game, t(78) = 5.44, p < .001, d = 1.22, t(78) = 5.15, p < .001, d = 1.16, respectively. It thus appears that compared to both neutral and prosocial video game play violent video game play decreases perceptions of humanity on positive humanity traits and increases perceptions of humanity on negative humanity traits. The present findings mirror previous work showing that the effects of video game play on social responses depend to a large extent on the content of the video game. Whereas playing violent video games increases aggression and aggression-related variables and decreases prosocial outcomes (Anderson et al., 2010), playing prosocial video games has the opposite effects (Greitemeyer, 2011). The findings that (a) playing violent video games increases perceptions of one’s humanity on negative humanity traits; and (b) playing prosocial video games increases perceptions of one’s humanity on positive humanity traits may even account for the effects of violent and prosocial video game play on social behavior. Indeed, self-perception theory does not only postulate that individuals infer their characteristics from an observation of their behavior but also that these altered self-perceptions may then affect subsequent behavior in that one behaves in ways that maintain this new self-image. For instance, giving individuals a helpful or altruistic label increases the likelihood that they will later provide help (Burger & Caldwell, 2003; Kraut, 1973). In one study (Strenta & DeJong, 1981), participants completed a personality inventory and learned (the bogus feedback) that they were more kind and thoughtful than other respondents. Those participants were then more willing than other participants to help a confederate who dropped a large number of cards. It is thus conceivable that playing video games alters the perception of one’s own humanity, which in turn may affect subsequent social behavior. Violent video game play increases perceptions of humanity on negative humanity traits, which may then evoke increased aggressive behavior and decreased prosocial behavior (Anderson et al., 2010). In contrast, playing prosocial video games increases perceptions of one’s positive humanity, which may account for the finding that prosocial video game play is negatively associated with aggression and positively associated with helping (Greitemeyer, 2011). However, whether altered

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self-perceptions of one’s (de)humanity indeed underlie the effects of video game play on social behavior is an important avenue for future research. AUTHOR NOTE Tobias Greitemeyer is affiliated with the Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck.

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Received July 17, 2012 Accepted January 15, 2013

Effects of playing video games on perceptions of one's humanity.

According to self-perception theory, individuals infer their characteristics by observing their own behavior. In the present research, the hypothesis ...
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