Role-Playing Video Games and Emotion: How Transportation Into the Narrative Mediates the Relationship Between Immoral Actions and Feelings of Guilt

Several studies have shown that exposure to media violence can lead to strong emotional reactions. This may be particularly true for video game violence and anger. Yet, few studies have explored the relationship between video game play and more complex emotions, such as guilt and shame. Further, prior research has not explored how exposure to the narratively rich violence found in role-playing video games may cause feelings of guilt. The research experiment presented here (n = 184) aims to fill this gap in the literature by explaining how the immoral actions of a video game character impact the player’s feelings of guilt. Specifically, results show that playing as a video game character that has committed immoral actions caused players to feel guilty and ashamed, especially if they felt transported or “wrapped-up” in the narrative. Exposure to immoral actions also caused players to show increases in aggressive behavioral tendencies.