The Unexpected Comfort of Wearing Headphones: Emotional and Cognitive Effects of Headphone Use When Playing a Bloody Video Game

• In Event: On the Technical Side of Digital Games

Abstract

This study tests the theory of vivid media violence (TVMV), exploring whether contextual features related to video game presentation affect viewers’ psychological states. In an experiment, we tested whether the presence of blood in a violent game or the use of headphones among players impacted emotions (frustration, fear, anxiety) and the level of cognitive elaboration. Contrary to expectations, results suggest participants felt more frustration, fear and anxiety when playing a bloody game with the headphones off (versus on). When the video game was not bloody, on the other hand, the use of headphones did not affect emotions. In addition, player frustration was related to cognitive elaboration whereas fear and anxiety were not. Implications for research exploring discrete emotions, as well as the intersection between auditory and visual features in video games, are discussed.

Authors

• Karyn E. Riddle, U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Zhen Di, U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Sunghak Kim, University of Wisconsin, Madison

• Eunyoung Myung, U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Swee Kiat Tay, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Fangxin Xu, U of Wisconsin-Madison