Heart Rate Variability as a Function of Motivational Activation and Violent Game Exposure

• In Event: Analyses of Gaming, Mobile Devices, and Technology

Abstract

Recent studies of violent video game revealed that both trait level of motivational activation and prior exposure to violent games influence on brain responses during emotional stimuli. This study focuses on cardiac activities during emotional video clips by analyzing heart rate variability, in order to examine how individuals’ approach motivational activation interacts with their experiences with violent games on both parasympathetic and sympathetic aspects of information processing. So far the results show some predicted outcomes, such as higher cardiac vagal index (CVI) , an indicator of parasympathetic activity, for participants high in approach system activation (ASA) while watching a violent video clip. On the other hand, Cardiac Sympathetic Index (CSI) which is an indicator of sympathetic activity is turned out to vary as a function of ASA, violent game exposure and video contents. Further data collection and analyses may be added by the presentation.

Authors

• Satoko Kurita, Osaka University of Economics

• Hirokata Fukushima, Kansai U

• Harumitsu Murohashi, Hokkaido U