A4 Refereed article in a conference publication

A toxic triad : Aggression, anger and authoritarianism - A study with multiplayer online battle arena game players




AuthorsKordyaka Bastian, Laato Samuli, Niehaves Bjoern

EditorsD'Souza Prajwal, Bujic Mila, Xi Nannan, Hamari Juho

Conference nameGamiFIN Conference

PublisherCEUR-WS.org

Publication year2024

JournalCEUR Workshop Proceedings

Book title Proceedings of the 8th International GamiFIN Conference, Ruka, Finland, April 2-5, 2024

Series titleCEUR Workshop Proceedings

Number in series3669

First page 23

Last page32

eISSN1613-0073

Web address https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3669/paper3.pdf

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/393450154


Abstract

Previous research on players’ toxic behaviors in multiplayer online battle arena games (MOBAs) has suggested that individual beliefs about how other players “ought to behave” are major contributors to how they perceive and experience toxicity. In this study, we operationalized a psychometric measure of authoritarianism as a proxy for capturing players’ beliefs about the rigidity of roles and behavioral expectations in the MOBAs League of Legends and Dota 2. Using reasoning from frustration-aggression theory, we formulated hypotheses which we tested with a cross-sectional sample (N=216). The results offered support for our hypothesis that those scoring higher on authoritarianism also reported experiencing higher levels of anger and aggression in MOBAs. This study is among the first to offer empirical support that strong beliefs about rigid roles and behavioral patterns may lead to increased frustration and, consequently, toxic behavior. © 2024 Copyright for this paper by its authors.


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Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 21:26