By Andrew J. Weaver, Ph.D., and Nicky Lewis, M.A.
CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING
Volume 15, Number 11, 2012
DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2012.0235
Abstract
This exploratory study was designed to examine how players make moral choices in video games and what effects these choices have on emotional responses to the games. Participants (n = 75) filled out a moral foundations questionnaire (MFQ) and then played through the first full act of the video game Fallout 3. Game play was recorded and content analyzed for the moral decisions made. Players also reported their enjoyment of and emotional reactions to the game and reflected on the decisions they made. The majority of players made moral decisions and behaved toward the nonplayer game characters they encountered as if these were actual interpersonal interactions. Individual differences in decision making were predicted by the MFQ. Behaving in antisocial ways did increase guilt, but had no impact on enjoyment.
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Discussion
As moral choices are increasingly utilized as plot devices in video games, they present a unique opportunity to examine the underlying factors involved in moral decision making. This exploratory study indicates that moral decisions in games largely play out the same way that moral judgments in real-world interactions would. The suspension of disbelief that has long been a feature of fictional entertainment consumption occurred in this game context as well, with players often interacting with nonplayer characters as if they were real people, experiencing the same emotions (e.g., guilt) that they would feel in actual interpersonal interactions. In this study, we found that not only did most players avoid antisocial behavior, but they cited moral considerations for their behavior. Although a subset of the sample did describe their choices in strategic terms, moral disengagement was not typical in this context when a player was given moral agency.
The entire paper can be found here.
