The Association between Sexist Games and Diminished Empathy Remains Tenuous: Lessons from Gabbiadini et al. (2017) and Gabbiadini et al. (2016) Regarding Sensationalism and Accuracy in Media Research

Ferguson, Christopher J.; Donnellan, M. Brent

doi:10.1007/s10964-017-0768-3

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…No direct impact of sexualised content was found, but when the authors employed a complicated multipart mediation/moderation model, they found some impact of video games. However these results were not confirmed in a reanalysis that we performed (Ferguson & Donnellan, ; see also Gabbiadini, Bushman, Riva, Andrighetto, & Volpato, ; Ferguson & Donnellan, ) and it was revealed that randomisation to condition did not, in fact, occur as was claimed. Younger players were non‐randomly assigned to sexualised game conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Sexualised video games, sexist attitudes and empathy towards victims of rape: Correlational evidence for a relationship is minimal in an online study

Ferguson

Colwell

2020

Criminal Behav Ment Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background There is continued debate about whether sexualisation in games can influence sexist attitudes and reduced empathy towards women in real life. There is research evidence both supporting and refuting the possibility. Aims Our aim was to examine the relationship between sexualised content in video games and players' sexist attitudes and empathy. Our research question was, do any such relationships exist once other factors including gender and trait aggression are controlled? Methods An online sample of 125 participants were recruited and asked to rate their video game playing experience, complete a trait aggression scale and record responses to a vignette about rape. Scores were first correlated, and then hierarchical multiple regression was employed followed by PROCESS examination of interactions between sexualised game content and trait aggression. Results Exposure to sexualised content in video games was neither correlated with higher sexist attitude ratings nor with lower empathy scores. Sexualised content in games was associated with slightly lower sexist belief scores for those with higher scores on trait aggression (the 12.8% of our current sample at one standard deviation above the mean). No effects were observed for those low in trait aggression. Conclusions and Implications While it is natural to be concerned about the impact of potentially arousing video games, actual effects may be counterintuitive, so if seeking to regulate, it is important to act from actual information. Further research with groups of particular concern will be important.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%