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Original Articles

How Violent Video Games Communicate Violence: A Literature Review and Content Analysis of Moral Disengagement Factors

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Read on this site (12)

Teresa Lynch, Jessica E. Tompkins, Michael Gilbert & Sage Burridge. (2024) Evidence of Ambivalent Sexism in Female Video Game Character Designs. Mass Communication and Society 0:0, pages 1-26.
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Marina A. Klimenko, Kevin Kapadia & Gaillot Jr Andre. (2023) What Are the Morals of Video Game Stories? A Content Analysis of the Most Popular Video Games. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 67:4, pages 553-573.
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Michael Gilbert, Teresa Lynch, Sage Burridge & Lindsey Archipley. (2023) Formidability of male video game characters over 45 years. Information, Communication & Society 26:8, pages 1531-1547.
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Shuguang Zhao & Yiming Liu. (2023) From industry development to social influence: video games in Chinese newspaper coverage, 2010–2020. Chinese Journal of Communication 16:1, pages 35-52.
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Brendan Dwyer, Ben Larkin & Chad Goebert. (2022) Fantasy sports participation and the (de)humanization of professional athletes. Sport in Society 25:10, pages 1968-1986.
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T. Franklin Waddell, Chelsea Elizabeth Moss, Adrienne Holz & James D. Ivory. (2022) Character Portrayals in Digital Games: A Systematic Review of More than Three Decades of Existing Research. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 66:4, pages 647-673.
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Shireen Bernstein, Wayne Warburton, Kay Bussey & Naomi Sweller. (2021) “Rule 34: If It Exists, There is Porn of It…” Insights into the Content Choices, Viewing Reasons and Attitudinal Impact of Internet Pornography among Young Adults. Sexual Health & Compulsivity 28:1-2, pages 1-28.
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Johnie J. Allen & Craig A. Anderson. (2021) Does avatar identification make unjustified video game violence more morally consequential?. Media Psychology 24:2, pages 236-258.
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T. Franklin Waddell, Erica Bailey, Marcela Weber, James D. Ivory & Edward Downs. (2019) When Media Violence Awakens our Better Nature: The Effect of Unpleasant Violence on Reactivity toward and Enjoyment of Media Violence. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 63:4, pages 698-715.
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Karyn Riddle, Swee Kiat Tay & Jiaxi Wu. (2019) “It Lets Me Fight the Bad Guys”: An Exploration Into the Factors Predicting Enjoyment of Violent Video Games. Communication Studies 70:1, pages 36-58.
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Matthew Grizzard, Allison Z. Shaw, Emily A. Dolan, Kenton B. Anderson, Lindsay Hahn & Sujay Prabhu. (2017) Does Repeated Exposure to Popular Media Strengthen Moral Intuitions?: Exploratory Evidence Regarding Consistent and Conflicted Moral Content. Media Psychology 20:4, pages 557-583.
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Andrew Krantz, Vipul Shukla, Michele Knox & Karyssa Schrouder. (2017) Violent Video Games Exposed: A Blow by Blow Account of Senseless Violence in Games. The Journal of Psychology 151:1, pages 76-87.
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Articles from other publishers (56)

Rebecca Frazer & Matthew Grizzard. (2024) Reconceptualizing selective moral disengagement mechanisms as continuums of moral influence: a theoretical expansion. Communication Theory 34:2, pages 92-105.
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Damla Karşu Cesur, Doğuşcan Göker & Can Bora Gelberi. (2024) Türkiye’deki İletişim Araştırmalarına Güncel Bir Bakış: Bir Bibliyometrik İnceleme ve İçerik Analizi. Akademik İncelemeler Dergisi 19:1, pages 23-45.
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Yen-Han Lee & William DeJong. (2024) Depictions of Firearms and Other Projectile Weapons in Top-Selling Japanese Manga. Psychological Reports.
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Aileen Luo & Kay Bussey. (2023) Moral disengagement in youth: A meta-analytic review. Developmental Review 70, pages 101101.
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Yu-Hao Lee, Mo Chen, Joyce Guo & Qing Xu. (2023) Moral Balancing in Video Games: The Moderating Role of Issue Congruency. Communication Research.
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Kathryn Sharratt, Esther Nanfuka, Samantha J. Mason, Eric A. Ochen, Florence Turyomurugyendo, Melanie Barwick, John Pearson, Hayley Royston & Nadia Wager. (2023) Evaluation of a serious gaming intervention to prevent child marriage in Uganda. Computers in Human Behavior 143, pages 107627.
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Evan Jules Maier-Zucchino. (2022) Developing Meaning: Critical Violence and Eudaimonic Entertainment in the Seventh Console Generation. Games and Culture 18:3, pages 380-401.
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Sarah M. Coyne, Wayne Warburton, Cara Swit, Laura Stockdale & W. Justin Dyer. (2023) Who is Most at Risk for Developing Physical Aggression After Playing Violent Video Games? An Individual Differences Perspective From Early Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 52:4, pages 719-733.
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Tim Wulf, Daniel Possler & Johannes Breuer. 2023. Standardisierte Inhaltsanalyse in der Kommunikationswissenschaft – Standardized Content Analysis in Communication Research. Standardisierte Inhaltsanalyse in der Kommunikationswissenschaft – Standardized Content Analysis in Communication Research 287 297 .
Dan Romer & Brad J. Bushman. 2023. Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence. Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence 171 189 .
Shuai Chen, Bo Mao & Yanling Liu. (2022) The effect of justified video game violence on aggressive behavior and moderated immersion: An experimental approach. Aggressive Behavior 49:1, pages 68-75.
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Linda Dam. (2022) Primary social emotions toward a non-player character: an examination of moral decision-making in video games. Health & New Media Research 6:2, pages 189-201.
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Adam Jerrett & Peter Mark Howell. (2022) Values throughout the Game Space. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 6:CHI PLAY, pages 1-27.
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Elisabeth Holl & André Melzer. (2022) Moral Minds in Gaming. Journal of Media Psychology 34:5, pages 287-298.
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Şerife Ak, Yalçın Özdemir & Ali Serdar Sağkal. (2021) Understanding the Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement in the Association between Violent Video Game Playing and Bullying/Cyberbullying Perpetration. Contemporary School Psychology 26:3, pages 376-386.
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Dandan Li, Ofir Turel, Shuyue Zhang & Qinghua He. (2022) Self-Serving Dishonesty Partially Substitutes Fairness in Motivating Cooperation When People Are Treated Fairly. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19:10, pages 6326.
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Elisabeth Holl, Georges Steffgen & André Melzer. (2022) To Kill or Not to Kill – An experimental test of moral Decision-Making in gaming. Entertainment Computing 42, pages 100485.
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Ambra Gentile, Ivana Milovanovic, Saša Pišot, Antonino Bianco & Gioacchino Lavanco. (2022) Moral Disengagement in Youth Athletes: A Narrative Review. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology 7:2, pages 33.
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Shireen Bernstein, Wayne A. Warburton, Kay Bussey & Naomi Sweller. (2022) Beyond the Screen: Violence and Aggression towards Women within an Excepted Online Space. Sexes 3:1, pages 78-96.
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Neil C Renic & Sebastian Kaempf. (2022) Modern Lawfare: Exploring the Relationship between Military First-Person Shooter Video Games and the “War is Hell” Myth. Global Studies Quarterly 2:1.
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Jeanne Funk Brockmyer. (2022) Desensitization and Violent Video Games. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 31:1, pages 121-132.
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Dan Romer & Brad J. Bushman. 2022. Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence. Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence 1 19 .
Yanqing Sun & Mengru Sun. (2021) How peer influence mediates the effects of video games playing on adolescents’ aggressive behavior. Children and Youth Services Review 130, pages 106225.
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Daniel Pimentel, Sri Kalyanaraman, Yu-Hao Lee & Shiva Halan. (2021) Voices of the unsung: The role of social presence and interactivity in building empathy in 360 video. New Media & Society 23:8, pages 2230-2254.
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André Melzer & Elisabeth Holl. 2021. The Oxford Handbook of Entertainment Theory. The Oxford Handbook of Entertainment Theory 671 689 .
Amanda C. Cote, Stewart M. Coles & Sonya Dal Cin. (2020) The interplay of parenting style and family rules about video games on subsequent fighting behavior. Aggressive Behavior 47:2, pages 135-147.
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Lavinia McLean & Mark D. Griffiths. 2021. Research Anthology on Business Strategies, Health Factors, and Ethical Implications in Sports and eSports. Research Anthology on Business Strategies, Health Factors, and Ethical Implications in Sports and eSports 958 978 .
William T. Howe & Ioana A. Cionea. (2021) Beyond hours of video gameplay: Connections between verbal aggressiveness, genre preference, and technology used. Computers in Human Behavior Reports 3, pages 100063.
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Elisabeth Holl & André Melzer. 2021. Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2021. Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2021 88 99 .
Nicole Martins, Marie-Louise Mares, Mona Malacane & Alanna Peebles. (2016) Liked Characters Get a Moral Pass: Young Viewers’ Evaluations of Social and Physical Aggression in Tween Sitcoms. Communication Research 47:8, pages 1181-1205.
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JiaYu Li, Qian Du & Xuemei Gao. (2020) Adolescent aggression and violent video games: The role of moral disengagement and parental rearing patterns. Children and Youth Services Review 118, pages 105370.
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Sarah E. Hodge, Jacqui Taylor & John McAlaney. (2020) Is It Still Double Edged? Not for University Students’ Development of Moral Reasoning and Video Game Play. Frontiers in Psychology 11.
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Michael Shachat, Fang Hong, Yijing Lin, Helena Syna Desivilya, Dalit Yassour-Borochowitz, Jacqui Akhurst, Mark M. Leach & Kathleen Malley-Morrison. (2020) Do state governments have the right to kill civilians to defeat international terrorism? Views from US, Israel and South Africa. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research ahead-of-print:ahead-of-print.
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Rob Rhea & John Auxier. (2020) Gaming the System: Christian Leisure, the Imago Dei , and the Formational Influence of Video Games . Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 17:1, pages 145-159.
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Hanne M. Watkins. (2020) The Morality of War: A Review and Research Agenda. Perspectives on Psychological Science 15:2, pages 231-249.
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Sarah E. Hodge, Jacqui Taylor & John McAlaney. (2019) (A)morally Demanding Game? An Exploration of Moral Decision-Making in a Purpose-Made Video Game. Media and Communication 7:4, pages 213-225.
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T. Franklin Waddell, Erica Bailey & Stefanie E. Davis. (2019) Does Elevation Reduce Viewers’ Enjoyment of Media Violence?. Journal of Media Psychology 31:2, pages 103-109.
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Shashank V. Joshi, Dorothy Stubbe, Su-Ting T. Li & Donald M. Hilty. (2018) The Use of Technology by Youth: Implications for Psychiatric Educators. Academic Psychiatry 43:1, pages 101-109.
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Sarah E. Hodge, Jacqui Taylor & John McAlaney. (2019) It’s Double Edged: The Positive and Negative Relationships Between the Development of Moral Reasoning and Video Game Play Among Adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology 10.
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Brad J. Bushman. (2018) “Boom, Headshot!”: Violent first‐person shooter (FPS) video games that reward headshots train individuals to aim for the head when shooting a realistic firearm. Aggressive Behavior 45:1, pages 33-41.
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Lavinia McLean & Mark D. Griffiths. (2018) Moral Disengagement Strategies in Videogame Players and Sports Players. International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning 8:4, pages 1-25.
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Brad J. Bushman. (2018) Teaching Students About Violent Media Effects. Teaching of Psychology 45:2, pages 200-206.
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Nathan Walter & Yariv Tsfati. (2018) Interactive Experience and Identification as Predictors of Attributing Responsibility in Video Games. Journal of Media Psychology 30:1, pages 3-15.
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Toby Hopp, Scott Parrott & Yuan Wang. (2018) Use of military-themed first-person shooter games and militarism: An investigation of two potential facilitating mechanisms. Computers in Human Behavior 78, pages 192-199.
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Johanna Luanne Fraser. 2018. Youth Mediations and Affective Relations. Youth Mediations and Affective Relations 137 154 .
Zhaojun Teng, Qian Nie, Cheng Guo & Yanling Liu. (2017) Violent video game exposure and moral disengagement in early adolescence: The moderating effect of moral identity. Computers in Human Behavior 77, pages 54-62.
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Zhaojun Teng, Qian Nie, Yangu Pan, Yanling Liu & Cheng Guo. (2017) A cross-lagged model of the relationship between violent video game exposure and moral disengagement in middle school and high school students. Children and Youth Services Review 81, pages 117-123.
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Henry H. Wilmer, Lauren E. Sherman & Jason M. Chein. (2017) Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning. Frontiers in Psychology 8.
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Holger Pötzsch. (2016) Selective Realism. Games and Culture 12:2, pages 156-178.
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Robert F. MarcusRobert F. Marcus. 2017. The Development of Aggression and Violence in Adolescence. The Development of Aggression and Violence in Adolescence 27 62 .
Katrin BeckerKatrin Becker. 2017. Choosing and Using Digital Games in the Classroom. Choosing and Using Digital Games in the Classroom 25 61 .
Elena Bessarabova, Cameron W. Piercy, Shawn King, Cindy Vincent, Norah E. Dunbar, Judee K. Burgoon, Claude H. Miller, Matthew Jensen, Aaron Elkins, David W. Wilson, Scott N. Wilson & Yu-Hao Lee. (2016) Mitigating bias blind spot via a serious video game. Computers in Human Behavior 62, pages 452-466.
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Teresa Lynch, Jessica E. Tompkins, Irene I. van Driel & Niki Fritz. (2016) Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 Years. Journal of Communication 66:4, pages 564-584.
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Barrie GunterBarrie Gunter. 2016. Does Playing Video Games Make Players More Violent?. Does Playing Video Games Make Players More Violent? 147 164 .
Garry YoungGarry Young. 2016. Resolving the Gamer’s Dilemma. Resolving the Gamer’s Dilemma 83 103 .
Stefano Triberti, Daniela Villani & Giuseppe Riva. (2015) Moral positioning in video games and its relation with dispositional traits: The emergence of a social dimension. Computers in Human Behavior 50, pages 1-8.
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