Effect of Violent First-Person Shooter (FPS) Video Games on Shooting Accuracy

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The present research tests the effects of violent shooting games on behavior within the game (Pilot Study) and on behavior after the game is turned off (Experiment Proper). The Experiment Proper is an exact replication of a previous study conducted in our lab that was retracted (see citation), but with a larger sample to get more reliable results (N=287 rather than N=151).

Detailed Description
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Violent shooting games are used to train soldiers and police officers. This research tests whether violent shooting can train people to shoot targets in the head, both during gameplay (Pilot Study) and after the game is turned off (Experiment Proper). Participants in both studies played a violent shooting game with humanoid targets that rewarded headshots, or a nonviolent shooting game that punished shots to bull's-eye targets with faces. Afterward, participants shot at a mannequin with a realistic CO2 gun. We anticipate that participants who play the violent game which rewards headshots to hit the mannequin's head more often than those who play the non-violent game.

Official Title
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Boom, Headshot!: Violent First-Person Shooter (FPS) Video Games That Reward Headshots Train Individuals to Aim for the Head When Shooting a Realistic Firearm

Conditions
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Gun Shot Wound

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Video game
* Behavioral: Controller


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 18 and older Ohio State participant pool Exclusion Criteria: Under age 18

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 46 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: 2 (controller type) x 3 (video game type) factorial design. Participants used either a regular or gun shaped controller while playing a non-shooting, non-humanoid shooting, or humanoid shooting game.
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Pilot Study<br>After giving their consent, participants completed a survey. Next, they were randomly assigned to play either a violent First-Person-Shooter video game or a nonviolent shooting video game for 20 minutes. Video game play was recorded. A debriefing followed. | Behavioral: Video game<br>* Participants played either a violent shooting game or nonviolent shooting game in the pilot study, and either either a violent shooting game, nonviolent shooting game, or nonviolent non-shooting game in the experiment proper.<br>Behavioral: Controller<br>* Participants used either a gun-shaped or regular controller to play the violent and nonviolent shooting video games.<br>|
| Experimental: Experiment Proper<br>After giving their consent, participants completed a survey. Next, they were randomly assigned to play either a violent First-Person-Shooter video game, a nonviolent shooting video game, or a nonviolent non-shooting video game for 20 minutes. Next, they shot a training pistol at a mannequin 20 feet (6.1 meters) away using 16 Velcro bullets. A debriefing followed. | Behavioral: Video game<br>* Participants played either a violent shooting game or nonviolent shooting game in the pilot study, and either either a violent shooting game, nonviolent shooting game, or nonviolent non-shooting game in the experiment proper.<br>Behavioral: Controller<br>* Participants used either a gun-shaped or regular controller to play the violent and nonviolent shooting video games.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hits to Head and Face | In the Pilot Study, we counted hits to the head and face for targets within the game. In the Experiment Proper, we counted hits to the head and face of the mannequin. | Up to one hour | 
| Other Hits | In the Pilot Study, we counted other hits to targets (i.e. not to a face) within the game. In the Experiment Proper, we counted other hits to the mannequin (i.e., torso instead of the head). | Up to one hour | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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First-person shooter (FPS), Violent video game, Headshot, Gun, Operant conditioning theory