Debates regarding purported negative effects of video games have raged among scholars, clinicians and in the public arena. Surveys of both scholars and the general public reveal wide discrepancies in beliefs about the potential harmfulness of video games, and some evidence suggests that a ‘‘generational divide’’ may be at play. The current study examines this in a sample of 109 clinicians and c...

The recent explosive growth of live-streaming, particularly video game streaming on Twitch.tv, has led to the development of young communities in a diverse and frequently evolving virtual social space. This study is a Social Network Analysis that aims to uncover how communities are interlocked based on attributes such as Community membership and stream style/type. Additionally, the network geog...

Research on gender and video game playing has long been interested in the question of why females play fewer video games and play video games less frequently than males do. The present study examines the immediate impacts of a negative gender stereotype on females' motivation for and performance in playing a racing video game. Exposure to a negative gender stereotype about video game playing wa...

Research examining the issue of video game violence influences on aggression continues to be debated within the scientific community. Thus far, no consensus has been reached regarding the influence of such games. This study adds to the prior literature by examining how violent video games may promote prosocial or aggressive behavior when played either cooperatively or alone. Results indicated t...

Innovative intervention programs are needed to overcome the limitations in previous programs that promoted change in diabetes risk behaviors in children. Serious video games show promise of changing dietary and physical activity behaviors, but research is needed on the optimal design of behavior-change procedures in video games, the mechanisms that account for changes obtained, and the groups i...

This study examined adolescents' attitudes about video games along with their self-reported play frequency. Ninth and eleventh grade students (N = 361), approximately evenly divided by grade and gender, were surveyed about whether video games have stereotypic images, involve harmful consequences or affect one's attitudes, whether game playing should be regulated by parents or the government, an...

Multiple factors are involved in the occurrence of aggressive behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypotheses that Latino middle school children exposed to higher levels of video game playing will exhibit a higher level of aggression and fighting compared to children exposed to lower levels and that the more acculturated middle school Latino children will play more video game...

The increasing influence of technology on sports and games is examined and the widespread popularity of video and computer games is identified as an opportunity for sport and exercise psychologists. Modern video and computer games can involve considerable physical activity and social competition and are thus a suitable subject for the application of sport psychology theories and intervention me...

The present studies investigated why video racing games increase players' risk-taking inclinations. Four studies reveal that playing video racing games increases risk taking in a subsequent simulated road traffic situation, as well as risk-promoting cognitions and emotions, blood pressure, sensation seeking, and attitudes toward reckless driving. Study 1 ruled out the role of experimental deman...