Gabbiadini, A., Riva, P., Andrighetto, L., Volpato, C., & Bushman, B. J. (2022). Preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of a brief self-control intervention on reducing the short-term harmful consequences of violent video games on adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
Exploring how video games and digital platforms influence attitudes, relationships, emotions, and social behavior
Digital media and video games are an increasingly important part of everyday social life. At the Cyberpsychology Lab, we investigate how interactive digital environments influence emotions, cognition, interpersonal behavior, and broader forms of social interaction, with a particular focus on the psychological effects of video games.
One major research line examines the relationship between video game experiences and aggressive and violent behavior. In collaboration with Prof. Brad Bushman at The Ohio State University, our work contributes to the broader social psychological study of how violent media content may influence aggression, emotional responses, social cognition, and behavior. Rather than treating video games simply as entertainment products, we approach them as interactive social environments capable of shaping psychological processes through repeated exposure, identification, competition, and active participation.
At the same time, digital games can also promote positive forms of social behavior. In collaboration with Prof. Tobias Greitemeyer, we investigate the relationship between video games and prosocial behavior, examining how game content, cooperative dynamics, and social interaction can influence helping, cooperation, empathy, and other forms of positive interpersonal behavior.
This dual perspective is central to our approach. Digital media do not produce a single uniform effect on users: their psychological consequences depend on the type of content, the structure of the interaction, the social context, individual characteristics, and the goals that users pursue within digital environments.
Our research therefore uses experimental social psychology to understand how and when digital media affect social behavior, exploring both potentially harmful and beneficial outcomes. By studying violent, competitive, cooperative, and prosocial digital experiences, we aim to provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between interactive media and human behavior.
More broadly, this research contributes to the field of cyberpsychology by examining digital environments as social spaces in which attitudes, emotions, norms, and interpersonal behaviors can emerge and change.
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