Encouraging Altruistic Behavior Through the use of Video Games Marissa Holmbeck Faculty Mentor: Professor Kristen Monroe

♦ Background ∙ In recent years much controversy has arisen surrounding the use of violence in video games. The columbine massacre and other events have raised public concern, and research suggests that exposure to violence encourages aggressive behavior. This project asses the viability of creating a computer game that fosters cooperation and morality. A game encouraging these attributes has yet to be developed; research in the areas of altruism, cooperation, and social support were examined.

mholmbec@uci.edu · http://www.ethicscenter.uci.edu · www.research.calit2.net/students/surf-it2006 · www.calit2.net

S ummer U ndergraduate 2 R esearch 0 F ellowship in 0 I nformation 6 T echnology

♦ Acknowledgments∙ Professor Kristen Monroe (krmonroe@uci.edu) for her guidance and mentorship

∙ Alexis M Etow (aetow@Princeton.EDU) for her collaborative project efforts

♦ Altruism and Cooperation ∙ Altruism challenges evolutionary theory as

selection should favor selfish individuals.

∙ Primate studies have observed forms of cooperation, altruistic punishment, and reciprocal altruism → implies that altruism may be innate

∙ Within society, reciprocity norms, social norms, and superordinate goals regulate altruism

∙ conceptual models have successfully displayed the evolution of cooperation without reciprocity.

∙ Alternative View: Social Exchange Theory (Utilitarianism)-self interest underlies all human interactions. Desire to maximize rewards, minimize costs.

♦ Violence in Video Games∙ Repetitive exposure to explicit violence encourages aggressive behavior

∙ Stanford Prison experiment: Increased aggression through role play — behavioral repetition primed aggressive thoughts and hostility.

∙ Alternative view: Catharsis hypothesis — blowing off steam/venting emotions helps to calm people down.

∙Exposure to violence may first upset, but these emotions lessen over time

∙ Social scripts: mental tapes of how to act, provided by cultural/media exposure

∙ Aggression: genetic influences, neural influences (amygdale), biochemical influences (hormones-testosterone, serotonin, alcohol, drugs)

♦ Game Development∙ The next step in this project would be developing a prototype for the game and administering it to students. The game would require altruistic skills to be successful; reciprocal altruism, altruistic rewarding, and altruistic punishment could be incorporated.

♦ Implications∙ Altruism and cooperation findings suggest the feasibility of creating a game that will encourage empathic involvement and altruism.

∙Social support findings advocate the benefits of fostering empathic involvement, and the development of a game that encourages such behavior

♦ Social SupportForms: informational, emotion, perceptive, instrumental

∙Social support has been found to delay disease onset. In monitoring HIV infections, CD4 counts were maintained in individuals experiencing high levels of social support

∙ Staves off depression, reduces stress, promotes immune system function, and protects against cognitive decline in older adults.

∙ Religious social support has been found to have similar effects. Cultural differences in social support-who seeks it and why?

∙ Cortisol response to stress is reduced, while the release

of oxytocin is increased

“It’ll be like the LA riots, the Oklahoma bombing, WWI, Vietnam, Duke, and Doom all mixed together.”-Journal entry by Columbine killer Eric Harris, 1998

“Absent the combination of extremely violent video games and these boys’ incredibly deep involvement. . . This massacre would not have occurred.”-Lawsuit against video game makers by Columbine victims’ families, 2001

∙Altruism may be influenced by reciprocity, kin relations/ similarity, repeated interaction, reputation formation, and altruistic punishment.

The potential difficulty lies in transferring what has been taught in a game into real life situations and dilemmas. Psychological tests could be developed to measure changes in cooperative behavior and tolerance.