http://m.spp.sagepub.com/content/5/6/698?etoc&utm_content=buffer4de48&a…
Effects of Avatar Race in Violent Video Games on Racial Attitudes and Aggression
Authors
Abstract
The media often link Black characters and violence. This is especially true in video
games, in which Black male characters are virtually always violent. This research tested
the effects of playing a violent game as a Black (vs. White) avatar on racial stereotypes
and aggression. In Experiment 1, White participants (N = 126) who played a violent video
game as a Black avatar displayed stronger implicit and explicit negative attitudes toward
Blacks than did participants who played a violent video game as a White avatar or a
nonviolent game as a Black or White avatar. In Experiment 2, White participants (N = 141)
who played a violent video game as a Black (vs. White) avatar displayed stronger implicit
attitudes linking Blacks to weapons. Implicit attitudes, in turn, related to subsequent
aggression. Black violent video game avatars not only make players more aggressive than do
White avatars, they also reinforce stereotypes that Blacks are violent.
violent video games
implicit racism
prejudice
African American
Black
aggression
Article Notes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of
interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or
publication of this article.
© The Author(s) 2014
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