The Fortnite social paradox: The effects of violent-cooperative multi-player video games on children's basic psychological needs and prosocial behavior

The current study examined the differential impact of playing a violent multiplayer online game in the co-player mode compared to the single mode on children's subsequent prosocial behavior. Satisfaction of the psychological needs of competence, relatedness, positive-emotions, and enjoyment was examined as possible mediator of the hypothesized effect of cooperative violent game on prosociality. The sample was composed of 845 nine to twelve-year-olds who were randomly allocated to a 2 (game content: violent versus neutral) X 2 (game mode: single-versus co-player) between-subjects design. After playing one type of video game, the participants were asked to engage in two types of prosocial tasks where they could provide assistance to the experimenter and donate money to charity. Compared to the single-player conditions, the participants in the cooperative conditions engaged in more prosocial behaviors. The violent co-player condition was associated with more helping behaviors than the neutral co-player condition. Increased satisfaction of psychological needs was shown to act as a mediator. The social context and the psychological experience influenced the participants' prosocial behavior more than the formal content of the game.

Automated summary

This study found that playing a violent multiplayer online game in the cooperative mode can enhance children's subsequent prosocial behavior compared to playing in the single mode. The satisfaction of psychological needs acts as a mediator in this relationship.