The influence of risky and sexy video game content on motivational activation, emotional responding and cognition

Humans are limited in what they can encode, store and retrieve. Humans also enjoy media such as video games, and usually video games contain the same type of information as other media do, including television, film, magazines and billboards. The Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing (LC4MP) offers a theoretical framework in explaining the approach and avoid systems within human beings, as well as their ability to encode, store and retrieve such information. This study examined both risky and sexy content within video games and asks how it influences the encoding of the content as well as the motivational activation of the content within video games. The results were gathered from 69 participants and proved interesting results. It seems that video game characters and situations may give off separate meanings of sexy and risky than do human characters and situations from other types of media. Similar studies have been used in looking at other sources such as television, film, magazines and billboards to understand how sexy content and/or risky content influence individuals in various ways. However, video games are a somewhat neglected part of our world within these realms, as violence seems to dominate the study of video games. Further testing should allow for in depth analysis in categories of violence with other variables, such as risky and sexy. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries