Aggression, competition and computer games: computer and human opponents

Violence and aggression in computer games has been a concern of social commentators and an interest of media researchers for more than 10 years. Violent content has been at the top of the agenda even though aggression and hostility have been identified as a part of competitive gaming situations. The role of the opponent in this process has been largely overlooked. We examined the difference in frustration and aggression in game play after users encountered the computer as opponent and a proximate person as opponent using the same CD-ROM version of Monopoly. We found that users experienced higher levels of aggressive feelings after playing the computer than after playing a stranger face-to-face. It appears that aggression related to computer gaming may be reduced through the humanization of computer opponents. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.