New Delhi: What happens when white video game players see themselves as black characters in a violent game?
A study shows that it makes the white players act more aggressively after the video game is over, have stronger explicit negative attitudes toward blacks and display stronger implicit attitudes linking blacks to weapons.
"These results are the first to link avatar race in violent video games to later aggression," said Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University.
It raises another troubling impact that violent video games can have on players, he said.
Playing a violent video game as a black character reinforces harmful stereotypes that blacks are violent.
"We found there are real consequences to having these stereotypes - it can lead to more aggressive behaviour," Bushman noted.
