Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 31, No. 9, 2012, pp.

952-971

Video Games
CHONG ET AL.

Cultivation Effects of Video Games:

A Longer-Term Experimental Test of
First- and Second-Order Effects
Yew Mun Gabriel Chong
Media Development Authority, Singapore

Kie Zin Scott Teng

Flamingo Research Asia Pacific, Singapore

Sok Cheng Amy Siew and Marko M. Skoric

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

This experiment examined cultivation effects resulting from a repeated, longer-

term exposure to a violent video game, Grand Theft Auto IV. Over a period of
three weeks, participants in the treatment condition played a violent video game
in a controlled laboratory setting for a total of 12 hours. Following this period,
participants completed a questionnaire which included demographics as well as
first- and second-order cultivation measures and their scores were compared with
the control group of participants who did not play the game. The findings provide
some support for first-order effects, but only very limited support for second-
order cultivation effects. Unexpectedly, second-order effects were in the opposite
direction from a theorized one, suggesting a possible counter-cultivation mecha-
nism at work. The theoretical implications of the findings for cultivation research
are discussed.

A previous version of this manuscript was presented at the annual conference of the
International Communication Association, Singapore, June 22–26, 2010
Address correspondence to Marko M. Skoric, Wee Kim Wee School of
Communication and Information, 31 Nanyang Link, Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore 637718; E-mail: marko@ntu.edu.sg

© 2012 Guilford Publications, Inc.

952
VIDEO GAMES 953

While a steadily growing body of research has been dedicated to the

study of the effects of playing video games, much of that attention
has been spent exploring the potential link between playing violent
video games and real-life aggression. Far fewer studies, however,
have attempted to use cultivation theory, originally developed to
describe the long-term impact of television, to study the impact of
video games on our perceptions of social reality (Mierlo & Van den
Bulck, 2004; Williams, 2006).
In its most basic form, cultivation theory suggests that exposure
to television viewing over time “cultivates” viewers’ perception of
reality; in the words of its original proponents, “television is the
medium of the socialization of most people into standardized roles
and behaviors. Its function is, in a word, enculturation” (Gerbner
& Gross, 1976, p. 174). The central hypothesis behind cultivation is
that heavy television viewers’ conceptions of social reality are more
in line with what’s portrayed on television than is the case with
the reality conceptions of light television viewers. Applied to video
gaming, cultivation theory suggests that through continuous expo-
sure to the video game world, players’ views of their real world will
become more akin to that of the game world.
There are appears to be merits to studying the effects of video
games through the lens of cultivation theory. Firstly, studying the
effects of playing video games through cultivation theory affords
a long-term perspective which the current body of research into
video games emphasizing short-term effects lacks. Secondly, there
appears to be a single-minded focus on aggression and aggression-
related effects of playing video games. While cultivation theory has
indeed generated a vast literature on the effects of watching vio-
lent television programs, its implications extend far beyond aggres-
sion and therefore provide a more holistic perspective on studying
the impact of video games (Gerbner, 1998). Lastly, studying culti-
vation effects on a different medium/platform (i.e. video games)
may bring deeper understanding of its applications and underlying
mechanisms.
This study therefore aims to extend the body of cultivation re-
search into the medium of video games and explore if playing video
games leads to cultivation effects.
954 CHONG ET AL.

Literature Review

Most research on cultivation effects has focused on the effects of

exposure to television programs. An example of this is the mean
world syndrome coined by Gerbner and his colleagues. For in-
stance, while the official statistics from FBI show that fewer than
1% of people in the United States in a year are victims of criminal
violence, analyses done by Gerber and his colleagues over three de-
cades show that more than half of television characters are involved
in violent action each week (Gerbner et al., 2002). Research shows
that heavy viewers of television are more suspicious of the world,
believing that most people cannot be trusted, that one cannot be too
careful and that most people are just looking out for themselves, as
compared to light viewers of television (Gerbner, Gross, Signorielli,
& Shanahan, 2002; Shanahan & Morgan, 1999; Signorielli, 1990)—
hence the term the “mean world syndrome.”
Besides examining the effects of violent television programming,
cultivation has also been applied to other aspects of television view-
ing. Appel (2008), for example, explored the relationship between
viewing of fiction on television and beliefs in a just world (BJW), be-
cause fictional narratives tend to follow a meta-story whereby good
characters get rewarded with a good ending and bad characters are
suitably punished with a bad ending. Using cultivation theory, it
was proposed that heavy viewers of fiction were more likely to be-
lieve in a just world than light viewers, and the results confirmed
this prediction (Appel, 2008).

Types of Cultivation Judgments

Two types of cultivation judgments have been discussed in the lit-

erature. The first type of judgment are those made with regards to
the perceptions of probability of situations and prevalence of issues,
while the second type are judgments that indicating people’s belief
and attitudes (Shrum, 1995, 2004). Those types were termed by Ger-
ber and his colleagues as first-order and second-order judgments,
respectively (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1986).
In the case of first-order judgments, a person provides a numeri-
cal yardstick of certain issues; this numerical yardstick can be in
absolute numbers or expressed as a percentage. An example of this
VIDEO GAMES 955

may be the number of rape crimes in a city in a given year, or the

percentage of students that make it through university education.
This is not limited to judgments about the external world; it could
also be judgments about the individual’s own environment. For ex-
ample, an individual could ask to estimate the chances of him/her
being robbed while walking on the street.
In contrast to first-order judgments, second-order judgments are
attitude or belief judgments. Examples of such judgments can in-
clude “Most men are cheating behind their wives’ back” or “Judges
should punish criminals more severely.” Again, this can also be ap-
plied to judgments about the self in statements such as “I am afraid
of being raped.” In contrast to first-order effects, which refer to the
estimates of probability and frequency of specific events in the real
world, second-order judgments are not directly referencing the ev-
eryday reality, but rather reflecting individual beliefs, attitudes, and
opinions (Mierlo & Van den Bulck, 2004).
Studies of cultivation effects have produced mixed and rather in-
consistent findings for second order judgments—few have found
support (see Shrum, Burroughs, & Rindfleisch, 2005), while others
have not (see Doob & Macdonald, 1979; Tyler & Cook, 1984; Mierlo
& Van den Bulck, 2004), leading Shanahan and Morgan (1999) to
conclude that such findings are:

fully congruent with cultivation theory, which posits that television

will teach us societal-level lessons about what the world is like, but not
necessarily impact our perceptions of our own personal reality, where
a much wider range of influences and everyday non-mediated experi-
ences may play a stronger role. (p. 66)

It is important to note that for all the research done to demonstrate

cultivation effects, less effort has been devoted to understanding
the underlying processes that may explain such effects. One of the
more credible theoretical frameworks for understanding cultivation
is Shrum’s (1995) social cognition approach. Shrum (1995) proposes
that cultivation effects can be understood through the use of men-
tal processing strategies in making judgments typically assessed in
cultivation research. Specifically, the use of heuristic processing is
posited as a mechanism to understand how television viewing can
affect social judgments. However, Shrum draws a distinction be-
tween the heuristics used in making first-order and second-order
judgments.
956 CHONG ET AL.

Shrum (2004) proposes that first-order judgments are memory-

based judgments, meaning that such judgments are constructed
based on the recall of information from memory (Reid & Park,
1986). This would imply that cultivation for first-order judgments
happens at the time such judgments are required. Shrum (2004)
suggests that cognitive heuristics, particular availability, and simu-
lation heuristics are used heavily in making first-order judgments.
Television hence influences cultivation by increasing the accessibil-
ity of examples that a person might recall to make such a judgments
(Shrum, 2004), and this is aided by the frequency, recency, vivid-
ness, and distinctiveness of such examples (Shrum, 1995).
For second-order judgments, Shrum (2004) proposes that they
are constructed through an on-line process, meaning that they are
formed as the information is encountered (McConnell, Rydell, &
Leibold, 2002; Reid & Park, 1986). For example, a viewer forms an
impression about doctors while viewing medical drama serials. This
process differs from memory-based first-order judgment in that
memory does not play a role in the process of forming such a belief
or attitude. Instead people recall their attitudes when they are asked
about them rather than forming them on the spot (Shrum, 2004). In
second-order judgments, media exposure can thus be viewed as an
attempt at persuasive communication where particular messages
can have an impact on attitudes and beliefs following repeated ex-
posure (Shrum, 2004). Since such judgments are made in an on-line
fashion, factors at the time of media exposure (as opposed to recall
for first-order judgments) play an important role in their formation.
These factors include message repetition, and the motivation and
ability to elaborate on the messages presented.
Busselle, Ryabovolova, and Wilson (2004) suggest that on-line
processes underlying cultivation are better understood if we focus
our attention on how people process the narrative or story, rather
than how they process individual images and messages. The em-
phasis in on the level of involvement in the narrative, and how
much the person’s attention is absorbed by the viewing activity (see
Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Narrative engagement has been linked to
more story-consistent beliefs and attitudes (Green & Brock, 2000;
Green, Brock, & Kaufman, 2004) since it leads to less counterargu-
ing with the premises of the story (Green & Brock, 2002) and greater
elaboration of story-related information (Slater, 2002; Slater, Rouner,
VIDEO GAMES 957

& Long, 2006). On the other hand, every encounter with unrealis-
tic, illogical, or implausible elements in the narrative may preclude
involvement and hence limit cultivation effects (Busselle, Ryabovo-
lova, & Wilson, 2004). Shrum, Lee, Burroughs, & Rindfleisch (2011)
provided an experimental demonstration of the effect of narrative
engagement on cultivation, and found that people who were more
engaged in the narrative of a movie exhibited stronger cultivation
effects of materialism than those who were less engaged.
The idea of involvement as an important factor in cultivation un-
derlines the active nature of media use in which individuals are en-
gaged in actively constructing a story rather than being passively
exposed to it. This may be of particular importance when it comes
to interactive media platforms such as video games. Involvement
in avatar-based narrative games has been linked to focused atten-
tion, which in turn corresponds with greater empathy with the role-
played character and greater self-presence, described as “an affec-
tive reaction to the mentally created or visually represented virtual
self” (Jin, 2011).

Cultivation and Video Games

The limited research on cultivation impact of video games suggests

that cultivation may still occur but to a much more limited extent.
One of the first studies to investigate the impact of video games on
perceptions of the world and attitude of gamers is Anderson and
Dill’s (2000) correlational study on the measures of crime likelihood
and feelings of safety. The authors found no significant relationship
between either of the measures and amount of video game play af-
ter controlling for the effect of gender.
More recently, researchers have found some evidence of cultiva-
tion effects associated with video game playing. A correlational
study by Mierlo and Van den Bulck (2004) found a relationship only
between violent game play and game-related first-order measures
(i.e., higher estimates of the prevalence of violent crime and of the
number of policemen in the total workforce), but no relationship
between violent game play with first-order and second order mea-
sures typically used for television. Similarly, in Williams’ (2006) field
experiment, cultivation was only found for one first-order measure
related to the game world following a month-long exposure to an
online game (i.e., the participants in the treatment condition were
958 CHONG ET AL.

more likely than those in the control group to say that people
would experience robbery with weapons in the real world). Thus,
studies done on cultivation effects of video games have demonstrat-
ed that cultivation occurs only for first-order measures and only
so for the measures directly related to the content of video games
played.

Research Questions and Hypotheses

The aim of this experiment is to examine if cultivation effects can re-

sult from a repeated exposure to a video game. Like previous stud-
ies, this experiment explores both first-order and second-order ef-
fects and aims to improve the level of experimental control by using
a laboratory setting, instead of a field experiment design employed
by Williams (2006). Given the relatively weak support for cultiva-
tion effects of video games in the literature, we posit the following
research questions:

RQ1: Does playing video games result in first-order cultivation?

RQ2: Does playing video games result in second-order cultiva-
tion?

Method

We conducted a post-test only laboratory-based experiment to ex-

amine potential cultivation effects resulting from playing a violent
video game over a period of three weeks. Participants were random-
ly assigned to either the experimental group (where they played a
video game) or the control group (where they did not play).
The chief reasoning behind choosing only game-no game condi-
tion is in the fact that unlike most studies of violent video games,
we did not aim to examine how the presence of violence within
the game context impacts the participants’ thoughts and behavior.
Rather, our aim was to examine how an entry of a new interactive
storytelling platform in the lives of participants who were not usu-
ally exposed to similar contents would affect their estimates of the
events in the real-world and their beliefs and attitudes about it. For
that reason, having a control group playing a different type of game
would not have provided an optimal test of cultivation effects, al-
VIDEO GAMES 959

though having that group in addition to no-game condition would

have likely yielded more nuanced insights about content-specific
cultivation effects.
The exposure-no exposure design of this experiment was similar
to that adopted by other researchers to study media effects such as
violent music lyrics (Anderson, Carnagey, & Eubanks, 2003; John-
son, Jackson, & Gatto, 1995), violent films (Mullin & Linz, 1995),
thin-ideal images (Stice, Spangler, & Agras, 2001) and video games
(Williams, 2006). For the reason of avoiding any pre-test sensitiza-
tion of participants, we had chosen a post-test only design (instead
of a pre-test-post-test design) with random assignment to condi-
tions.

Design and Procedure

To ensure that any subsequent cultivation effects observed would

be due to participants’ exposure to the stimulus, we selected only
participants who were not regular consumers of violent media.
A screener survey focusing on media habits, namely the genre of
television, movies, and video games watched/played most often
as well as the average number of hours per week, was distributed
to 593 undergraduate students at a large public university in Singa-
pore.
From the screeners, we selected participants who had minimal
previous exposure to playing violent media fare; i.e., less than
2 hours a week watching violent TV, movies, or playing violent
games. Of the 593 respondents, 311 fulfilled our requirements and
subsequently were invited to participate in this study. Out of 311 re-
spondents, a total of 135 students agreed to participate. There were
no significant differences in age, gender, or media habits observed
between those who agreed to take part and those who did not. All
participants in the experimental group had to sign an informed con-
sent form, and were made aware of the potential risks that were
associated with playing the game.
Participants in the experimental group had to play a violent vid-
eo game individually twice a week, with each session lasting two
hours, bringing the total amount of violent video game exposure
to 4 hours per week. In all, 87% of participants were exposed to 12
hours of game play throughout the study, and 13% were exposed
to 8 hours of game play due a minor clerical error. Since we made
960 CHONG ET AL.

sure that all our participants were not heavy consumers of violent
media, an exposure of four hours of violent game play per week
was at least double of what is usually contained in their regular
media diet.
The gaming sessions were held in one of the Macintosh computer
labs within the university. This allowed us to carefully control the
environment in which all participants in the experimental group
played the game as well as to keep the amount of game play con-
stant for all participants in the treatment condition.
Following three weeks of game play, participants in the experi-
mental condition were asked to come for another scheduled ses-
sion, but instead of playing the game they were asked to fill out a
questionnaire. This is to ensure that any effects observed were of
a longer-term nature and not the short-term effects of playing the
game immediately before filling out the questionnaire.
Participants in the control group also filled out a questionnaire
within the same week as the participants in the experimental group.
Given the short duration between the survey of their gaming habits
(or lack thereof) and that when they answered the questionnaire, it
was unlikely that they would have since become avid gamers.

Participants

Of the 135 participants, 66 were assigned to the experimental group.

Retention rate for the experimental group was 95%. Hence, the final
sample contained 63 participants in the experimental group (43%
male and 57% female) and 69 participants in the control group (38%
male and 62% female). The mean age of participants in the experi-
mental group was 21.1 years (SD = 1.65) and that for the control
group was 20.9 years (SD = 1.96).
In exchange for their voluntary participation, the participants
were given one extra course credit and paid an hourly rate of about
$5 for their time. Hence, the participants in the experimental group
received $60 at the end of the study, while those in the control group
received $5 for filling out the questionnaire.
VIDEO GAMES 961

Stimulus

The stimulus chosen as the violent video game was Grand Theft
Auto IV (GTA IV)—Liberty City. The game has been rated Mature
(17+) by the ESRB for its intense violence, blood, strong language,
strong sexual content, partial nudity, and use of drugs and alcohol.
The game also received a rating of Mature-18 (M18) in Singapore
by the Media Development Authority for its mature themes and
strong language. Unlike the game used in the longitudinal field ex-
periment by Williams (2006) which featured fantasy violence, our
stimulus presents players with a realistic and violent urban envi-
ronment.
The game was also chosen because it had only been recently re-
leased commercially in December 2008 in Singapore so few would
have played this game before. Also, being the latest addition into
the popular GTA franchise, it will likely be exciting enough to sus-
tain the interests of the participants. Moreover, the game is also rela-
tively easy for nongamers to learn as players are guided through
the game with constant onscreen instructions as to which button to
press and what to do.
GTA IV is a role-playing game (RPG) whereby the player assumes
a character and maintains this character throughout the game. GTA
IV is also a nonlinear game set in an open environment, Liberty City
that is based on New York City. The core game play can be thought
of as a combination of a third-person shooter game and a driving
game.
In the game, players assume the character of Niko Bellic, an illegal
immigrant from Eastern Europe, as he explores Liberty City and
goes on different missions. These missions are tasks that other char-
acters require him to complete to advance the storyline and unlock
parts of the maps. Being nonlinear, one can have multiple missions
active at the same point of time. The choices that players make dur-
ing the game affect the trajectory of the game as well as the ending.
GTA IV revolves around violence and drugs, and it features very
strong language. The missions players begin with simple tasks,
such as driving Niko’s cousin, Roman, home or picking up passen-
gers for Roman, and get progressively violent. Mostly the missions
revolve around a drug syndicate that Niko is involved in. In later
missions, players are almost always required to kill someone, or a
group of people. The character can do this either by unarmed com-
962 CHONG ET AL.

bat, using a weapon, or even running his vehicle over them. If play-
ers fail to do so, or are killed in a mission, they have to repeat the
mission from the beginning.
Players can choose to navigate the city in several ways—by foot,
by driving a car, or by hailing a cab. In particular, to steal a car, the
player simply has to walk up to his car of choice, whether parked by
the road or driven by someone, and press a key. If the player is spot-
ted stealing the car by the police, he simply needs to drive around to
escape the police radar. Getting caught means having to restart the
mission and losing some cash (for bribing the police) and weapons
that the player may have.
The game world of GTA IV is therefore fraught with violence and
players are rewarded and reinforced for their use of violence in or-
der to advance in the game. From a cultivation perspective, GTA IV
contains multiple meta-messages from its central themes of the ne-
cessity of violence to achieve one’s goals and the rampant nature of
violence and drugs to subtler ideas such as the types of advertising
one hears on the radio while driving in the game.

Measures

Participants in both the experimental and control group filled out

a questionnaire with demographic, first and second-order related
cultivation measures, and other measures not reported here.
The first-order measures were derived from three broad catego-
ries of first-order measures—perception of violence (Hawkins &
Pingree, 1981), causes of death (Van den Bulck, 1995), and likelihood
of crime (Sparks & Ogle, 1990)—and were also used previously in
applying cultivation research to video games (Mierlo & Van den
Bulck, 2004). Causes of death were measured using the same items
Mierlo and Van den Bulck (2004) had used in their study, with an
additional two items for drug overdose and physical assault espe-
cially pertinent to the game. Similarly, by its relevance to the game,
perception of violence was assessed by the following item: “As a
percentage of the total crime rate within the past year, what is the
proportion of serious crime, e.g., rape, murder, assault, robbery.”
Likelihood of crime was assessed with the item “How likely do you
think you will be of a victim of crime within the following year?”
Participants were told to answer the questions with respect to their
VIDEO GAMES 963

living environment and to provide their best estimate if they were

unsure of the exact figures.
As for the second-order measures, we decided to construct several
measures and scales to tap on ideas and themes related to the game,
which were partially based on the measures used in previous re-
search. For all measures, participants rated how much they agreed
or disagreed with the statement on a 7-point scale (1 = strongly dis-
agree and 7 = strongly agree).
Law and Order. This scale consisted of six items (Cronbach’s α =
.67) typically used in measuring cultivation of the “mean world
syndrome” in television, and more recently in video-game research
(Mierlo & Van den Bulck, 2004). The items were: “Judges should
punish criminals more severely,” “A person who is arrested should
be kept in jail until he can appear in court,” “Criminals have too
many rights,” “If the police were to shoot sooner, there would be
fewer innocent victims,” “In order to catch criminals, the police
should have more powerful weapons,” and “There are too many
restrictions on what the police can do.”
Fear of Crime. This scale consisted of four items (Cronbach’s α
= .89) modified from Mierlo and Van den Bulck (2004). The items
were: “I am afraid that a stranger will threaten me with a weapon,”
“I am afraid that a stranger will physically assault me,” “I am afraid
of getting murdered,” and “I am afraid of being robbed.”
Car Theft. The measure contained two indicators, r(132) = .37, p
< .001, assessing participants’ attitudes regarding car theft: “Cars
parked out in the open are likely to be stolen” and “It is easy to steal
a car.”
Drug Problem. The measure was created combining two indicators,
r(132) = .26, p < .005, assessing participants’ attitudes towards illicit
drugs: “Drugs are readily available if you know where to look” and
“Drugs are one of the main problems of crime.”
Traffic Accidents. The measure contained two indicators, r(132) =
.67, p < .001, assessing participants’ beliefs about their personal traf-
fic safety: “I am worried that I will be knocked down by a car while
walking along the road” and “I am fearful of being in a road traffic
accident.”
964 CHONG ET AL.

TABLE 1. Means and Standard Deviations for First-Order Cultivation Measures

Experimental Group Control Group
Item M SD M SD t
Causes of death (Van den Bulck, 1995)
Percentage of deaths in the past year from car 24.7 20.2 18.2 14.4 2.12*
accidents while driving
Percentage of deaths in the past year from car 17.6 20.0 14.4 15.0 1.08
accidents while walking along the road
Percentage of deaths in the past year by heart 28.7 21.5 23.8 15.4 1.51
attack
Percentage of deaths in the past year from 9.23 9.03 8.80 7.09 .31
physical assault
Percentage of deaths in the past year from drug 10.8 14.0 7.10 5.50 2.06*
overdose
Perception of Violence (Hawkins & Pingree, 1981)
Proportion of serious crime among total crime 22.6 16.6 20.3 14.7 .86
rate in the past year
Fear of crime (Sparks & Ogle, 1990)
Chances of being a victim of crime in the 10.1 13.6 12.7 15.7 -1.00
following year
* p < .05

Results

A series of independent-samples t-tests were run to assess the dif-

ferences between the experimental and control group.
Out of the seven first-order measures tested, significant differ-
ences were found for two first-order measures (Table 1).
When asked what they thought was the percentage of people who
died in car accidents while driving along the road, participants in
the experimental condition (M = 24.7, SD = 20.2) compared to the
control group (M = 18.2, SD = 14.4) were more likely to give a sig-
nificantly higher percentage, t(130) = 2.12, p < .05, d = .37.
Similarly, when asked what they thought was the percentage of
people who died from overdose in drugs within the past year, par-
ticipants in the experimental condition (M = 10.8, SD = 14.0) com-
pared to the control group (M = 7.10, SD = 5.50) were more likely to
give a significantly higher percentage, t(130) = 2.06, p < .05, d = .36.
Of the five second-order measures used, we found significant
differences on only one measure. Unexpectedly, participants in the
control group believed that car theft was more likely (M = 3.11, SD
VIDEO GAMES 965

TABLE 2. Means and Standard Deviations for Second-Order Cultivation Measures

Experimental group Control group
Item M SD M SD t
1. Law and order 3.80 .85 3.67 .79 .86
2. Fear of crime 3.69 1.45 3.81 1.59 -.48
3. Car theft 2.71 1.11 3.11 1.04 -2.13*
4. Drug problem 4.82 4.76 4.76 1.16 .31
5. Traffic accidents 4.27 1.46 4.18 1.43 .35
* p < .05

= 1.04) than participants in the experimental group (M = 2.71, SD =

1.11), t(130) = -2.13, p < .05, d = -.37. All the comparisons for second-
order measures are presented in Table 2.

Discussion

Similar to the previous studies of cultivation in video games, our

study found some evidence of first-order cultivation effects. As
suggested by earlier research, the first-order cultivation effects were
specific to the meta-narratives of the video game (Williams, 2006).
In the game we used in this study, the players often had to embark
on high-speed car chases during their missions. During these mis-
sions, players had a high likelihood of being injured or killed in car
accidents. Hence, it is not surprising that those who had played the
game estimated a higher incidence of people dying in car accidents
while driving compared to individuals who had not played the
game. Similarly, the fact that the drugs were rampant in the game
world and that almost all missions revolved around drug dealing
and drug syndicates meant that those who played the game were
more likely to give a higher estimate when asked the percentage of
people who died from drug overdose among all deaths within the
past year.
It is just as important to note that although physical assault and
other serious crimes were also part of the meta-messages of the
game, no first-order cultivation effects were observed here. Accord-
ing to Shrum’s social cognition model (2004), first-order cultivation
effects are formed by memory-based processes that depend on the
accessibility and relevance of examples called to mind. It is possible
that the lack of perceived realism between the game world and the
966 CHONG ET AL.

real world meant that those who had played the game did not use
examples in the game world to form such first-order judgments—
like estimating the prevalence of serious crimes or physical assault
cases in Singapore. Moreover, given Singapore’s well-known and
well-publicized low crime rate, this likely made the game world
even farther removed from reality for those playing the game. This
can also explain why those who had played the game are no more
likely to give a higher estimate of crime likelihood than those who
had not played the game.
With respect to second-order judgments, our study found only
very limited support for cultivation effects. Indeed, only one atti-
tudinal measure specific to the meta-narratives of the game yielded
significance and it was in the opposite direction of what would have
been expected for cultivation. The findings indicate that although
car theft was widespread in the game, those who had played the
game were more likely to think that stealing cars is difficult, when
compared to participants in the control group. What explains this
counter-cultivation process?
Shrum’s (2004) social cognition approach offers a possible inter-
pretation; according to this perspective, second-order effects such
as attitudes and beliefs are formed in an online fashion; i.e., as the
information is encountered, in this case while playing the game.
Therefore, factors such as the level of engagement in the narrative
may influence information processing during the viewing experi-
ence and hence affect the extent to which second-order cultivation
effects are observed. In this instance, the environment of the game,
and consequently the attitudes that the game is attempting to culti-
vate (i.e., it is very easy to steal a car), are likely to be jarringly dis-
cordant from players’ experience and beliefs living in a low crime
environment like Singapore. Indeed, in GTA IV stealing any car is
incredibly easy and takes only couple of seconds. We suggest that
these elements in the game narrative are likely to be perceived by
most people as unrealistic and illogical, thereby reducing the play-
ers’ involvement in the game. In turn, this could reduce cultivation
effects (Shrum et al., 2011) and possibly reinforce and strengthen
players’ existing attitudes about car theft in their own environment
(see Busselle, Ryabovolova, & Wilson, 2004). This would be similar
to an unsuccessful persuasion attempt actually strengthening our
own beliefs rather than changing them.
The second-order effect observed here indicates the presence of
some type of counter-cultivation mechanism at work. This stands
VIDEO GAMES 967

in contrast with the studies on television in which cultivation ef-

fects have been traditionally understood as a straightforward trans-
ference of messages from media to audiences; by this logic, meta-
messages contained within the media should also be reflected in
audiences’ attitudes and beliefs. However, our study found quite
the opposite. So rather than accepting the meta-message within the
game that stealing a car was very easy, players seemed to have a
developed belief in the reverse; i.e., that stealing a car was more
difficult. Still, as this effect was observed on only one of the five
second-order measures, it may be premature to speculate too much
about the potential mechanisms at work.
Nonetheless, the findings suggest that many of the conclusions
about possible cultivation effects derived from the rich literature on
cultivation effects of television cannot be simply extended to video
games. One key difference is that unlike video gamers, television
viewers have been assumed to be both passive and non-selective
(Gerbner, 1998). However, video games are not only an interactive
form of entertainment, but also a largely “on-demand” medium.
Indeed, gamers are more selective regarding the games that they
play (Mierlo & Van den Bulck, 2004), as they have to actively seek
and even purchase the games they want to play. Moreover, unlike
the passive television viewer, the gamer is actively involved in in-
teracting with the medium he/she is using. In case of GTA IV, the
third-person perspective combined with a wide variety of user-con-
trolled behaviors of the main character definitely create a different
experience compared to watching a regular violent action fare on
television.
Given that the strength of cultivation effects has been shown to be
dependent on narrative engagement, the immersive, interactive en-
vironment of video games could moderate the effects of cultivation
observed in the spectator-like environment in television (Shanahan
& Morgan, 1999, p. 37). Furthermore, video games also differ from
television in terms of realism. Early video game research (Domi-
nick, 1984) suggested that there was a difference between the effects
of violence in video games and that on television because video
games were a lot less realistic and were therefore unlikely to have
the same impact. In recent years, advances in computer technology
have no doubt allowed game developers to create more photorealis-
tic environments for video games. Nonetheless, one must acknowl-
edge that there is still a difference between the level of reality in
video games and the almost “perfect” realism of television (Mierlo
968 CHONG ET AL.

& Van den Bulck, 2004). As Shanahan and Morgan (1999) point out,
television is geared towards the highest possible illusion of real-
ism. Arguably, most video games have not been able to achieve the
same level of photorealism yet, although this is likely to be achieved
within a next decade or so. Still, it is important to note that per-
ceived realism is a multi-dimensional construct that, in addition to
photorealism, includes factors such as plausibility and probability
of actions observed as well as users’ involvement with and utility of
observed content in real life (see Busselle, Ryabovolova, & Wilson,
2004).
The results from our study indicate that the cultivation effects ob-
served from video games and television, especially the second-or-
der effects, are likely to be different. As suggested earlier, this may
be due to the different affordance of the above media platforms.
Therefore, how a gamer’s perception of reality is changed through
playing video games may be different from how a television view-
er’s perception is altered through watching television. In order to
better understand possible cultivation effects of video games, the
process by which cultivation effects are formed, and its applicabil-
ity to television and video games needs to be more closely studied
in the future.
Though first-order cultivation effects were observed, these were
also limited and specific to the contents of the game, GTA IV. More-
over, we found some evidence that second-order cultivation effects
could go in the opposite direction of the meta-messages present
within the game. Thus, this study shows that not only may the ef-
fects of playing violent video games, or for that matter, video games,
differ from watching television, the processes involved may be dif-
ferent as well.

Limitations and Future Research

Using Cohen’s (1988) power analysis, our study was only able to
detect medium or large effects with alpha set at .05. Hence our
study would not have been able to detect any cultivation effects of
small effect sizes. It is important to note that the significant effects
obtained in the study are within the small-to-medium range (d =
.36–.37).
VIDEO GAMES 969

Another limitation of our study is the number of hours of violent

gameplay that participants in the experimental group were exposed
to. While a total of 12 hours of gameplay over 3 weeks (or 4 hours
each week) is more than double the amount of time participants
usually spent playing such games or watching violence on TV/
movies, we cannot be sure how a longer exposure would affect their
beliefs and attitudes. Most studies on television effects have been
correlational in nature, where viewers reported much longer hours
of exposure. Nevertheless, a high amount of control was maintained
in this study by carrying out this study in a laboratory environment.
Certainly, future experimental studies may use higher levels of
exposure to video games to determine if the length of exposure af-
fects the extent of cultivation effects. In addition, as our study has
suggested, it may be interesting to compare an individual’s experi-
ence with the medium to explore how this may affect cultivation.
Although our study was a post-test only experiment, future re-
search could combine pre- and post-test, as well as between- and
within-subjects designs while carefully controlling for the threat of
testing effects.
Our findings regarding cultivation effects of video games sug-
gest that while such effects are still present, caution must be taken
in extending the findings of research studies done on television.
Not only are there differences between the two media platforms,
the type of first-order and second-order effects seen may also differ
from what may be inferred through studies on television. Future
studies should aim to compare the cultivation effects of television
and video games, given that our research suggests that the active
role of game players may result in inconsistent, unrealistic, and il-
logical elements within the narrative to interfere with cultivation
processes typically associated with the passive nature of television
watching (Busselle, Ryabovolova, & Wilson, 2004). This should be
complemented by research into the mechanisms behind cultivation
effects, and like this study has demonstrated, Shrum’s approach
(1995, 2004) offers a promising theoretical framework for future
work on cultivation. Through better understanding of such under-
lying processes, one could make more reasoned predictions at what
types of first-order and second-order effects may be observed from
playing video games.
970 CHONG ET AL.

References
Anderson, C. A., Carnagey, N. L., & Eubanks, J. (2003). Exposure to violent media:
The effects of songs with violent lyrics on aggressive thoughts and feelings.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 960–971.
Anderson, C. A., & Dill, K. E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feel-
ings and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 78, 772–790.
Appel, M. (2008). Fictional narratives cultivate just-world beliefs. Journal of Com-
munication, 58, 62–83.
Busselle, R., Ryabovolova, A., & Wilson, B. (2004). Ruining a good story: Cultiva-
tion, perceived realism and narrative. Communications: The European Journal of
Communication Research, 29, 365–378.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hills-
dale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York:
Harper and Row.
Dominick, J. R. (1984). Videogames, television violence and aggression in teenagers.
Journal of Communication, 34, 136–147.
Doob, A. N., & Macdonald, G. E. (1979). Television view and fear of victimization:
Is the relationship causal? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 170–
179.
Gerbner, G. (1998). Cultivation analysis: An overview. Mass Communication & Soci-
ety, 1, 175–194.
Gerbner, G., & Gross, L. (1976). Living with television: The violence profile. Journal
of Communication, 26, 172–194.
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., & Signorielli, N. (1986). Living with television:
The dynamics of cultivation process. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Per-
spective on media effects. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Signorielli, N., & Shanahan, J. (2002). Growing up with tele-
vision: Cultivation processes. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects:
Advances in theory and research (pp. 43–67). Mahwah, NJ: Elbaum.
Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000). The role of transportation in the persuasiveness
of public narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 701–721.
Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2002). In the mind’s eye: Transportation-imagery mod-
el of narrative persuasion. In M. C. Green, J. J. Strange & T. C. Brock (Eds.),
Narrative impact: Social and cognitive foundations (pp. 315–341). Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
Green, M. C., Brock, T. C., & Kaufman, G. F. (2004). Understanding media enjoy-
ment: The role of transportation into narrative worlds. Communication Theory,
14, 311–327.
Hawkins, R. P., & Pingree, S. (1981). Using television to construct social reality. Jour-
nal of Broadcasting, 25, 347–364.
Jin, S. A. (2011). ‘‘I feel present. Therefore, I experience flow:’’ A structural equation
modeling approach to flow and presence in video games. Journal of Broadcast-
ing & Electronic Media, 55, 114–136.
Johnson, J. D., Jackson, L. A., & Gatto, L. (1995). Violent attitudes and deferred aca-
demic aspirations: Deleterious effects of exposure to rap music. Basic and Ap-
plied Social Psychology, 16, 27–41.
VIDEO GAMES 971

McConnell, A. R., Rydell, R. J., & Leibold, J. M. (2002). Expectations of consistency

about the self: Consequences for self-concept formation. Journal of Experimen-
tal Social Psychology, 38, 569–585.
Mierlo, J. V., & Van den Bulck, J. (2004). Benchmarking the cultivation approach to
video game effects: A comparison of the correlates of TV viewing and game
play. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 97–111.
Mullin, C. R., & Linz, D. (1995). Desensitization and resensitization to violence
against women: Effects of exposure to sexually violent films on judgments
of domestic violence victims. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69,
449–459.
Reid, H., & Park, B. (1986). The relationship between memory and judgment de-
pends on whether the judgment task is memory-based or on-line. Psychologi-
cal Review, 93, 258–268.
Shanahan, J., & Morgan, M. (1999). Television and its viewers: Cultivation theory and
research. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Shrum, L. J. (1995). Assessing the social influence of television: A social cognition
perspective on cultivation effects. Communication Research, 22, 402–429.
Shrum, L. J. (2004). The cognitive processes underlying cultivation effects are a
function of whether the judgements are on-line or memory-based. Communi-
cations: The European Journal of Communication Research, 29, 327–344.
Shrum, L. J., Burroughs, J. E., & Rindfleisch, A. (2005). Television’s cultivation of
material values. Journal of Consumer Research, 32, 473–479.
Shrum, L. J., Lee, J., Burroughs, J. E., & Rindfleisch, A. (2011). An on-line process
model of second-order cultivation effects: How television cultivates material
values and its consequences for life satisfaction. Human Communication Re-
search, 38, 34–57.
Signorielli, N. (1990). Television’s mean and dangerous world: A continuation of the
cultural indicators perspective. In N. Signorielli & M. Morgan (Eds.), Culti-
vation analysis: New directions in media effects research (pp. 85–106). Newbury
Park, CA: Sage.
Slater, M. D. (2002). Entertainment education and the persuasive impact of narra-
tives. In M.C. Green, J. J. Strange, & T. C. Brock (Eds.), Narrative impact: Social
and cognitive foundations. (pp. 157–181). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Slater, M. D., Rouner, D., & Long, M. (2006). Television dramas and support for
controversial public policies: Effects and mechanisms. Journal of Communica-
tion, 56, 235–252.
Sparks, G. G., & Ogle, R. M. (1990). The difference between fear of victimization
and the probability of being victimized: Implication for cultivation. Journal of
Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 34, 351–358.
Stice, E., Spangler, D., & Agras, W. S. (2001). Exposure to media-portrayed thin-ideal
images adversely affects vulnerable girls: A longitudinal experiment. Journal
of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 270–288.
Tyler, T. R., & Cook, F. L. (1984). The mass media and judgments of risk: Distinguish-
ing impact on personal and societal level judgments. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 47, 693–708.
Van den Bulck, J. (1995). The selective viewer: Defining (Flemish) viewer types. Eu-
ropean Journal of Communication, 10, 147–177.
Williams, D. (2006). Virtual cultivation: Online worlds, offline perceptions. Journal
of Communication, 56, 69–87.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.