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REVISED PROOF
J Youth Adolescence
DOI 10.1007/s10964-017-0731-3
EDITORIAL
Grand Theft Auto is a “Sandbox”Game, but There are Weapons,
Criminals, and Prostitutes in the Sandbox: Response to Ferguson
and Donnellan (2017)
Alessandro Gabbiadini
1
●Brad J. Bushman
2
●Paolo Riva
1
●Luca Andrighetto
3
●
Chiara Volpato
1
Received: 25 July 2017 / Accepted: 27 July 2017
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017
Abstract In this issue, (Ferguson, C. J., & Donnellan, B.
D., Journal of Youth and and Adolescence, published online
21 June 2017) criticize one of our studies (Gabbiadini, A.,
Riva, P., Andrighetto, L., Volpato, C., & Bushman, B. J.,
PLoS ONE, 11: 1–14, 2016) that found violent sexist video
games can reduce empathy for female violence victims in
male players who identify with violent male game char-
acters, and do so by increasing masculine beliefs. Their
main criticism is a “straw person”argument built on a claim
that we never made (i.e., a direct effect of sexist-violent
video games on empathy). They also made several other
criticisms of our article. We appreciate the opportunity to
respond to their criticisms in this article. We also point out
some flaws in their reanalysis. Despite their criticisms, the
core contributions of our original article remain intact.
Keywords Violent video games ●Sexist video games ●
Empathy ●Sexism ●Child development ●Reanalysis
Introduction
In 2016, we published a study (Gabbiadini et al. 2016)
showing that playing the violent-sexist video game Grand
Theft Auto (GTA) increases the endorsement of masculine
beliefs, especially among male players who highly identify
with violent male game characters. We also found that the
endorsement of masculine beliefs, in turn, reduced the
empathy toward female violence victims.
Ferguson and Donnellan (2017) raised some concerns
about our article, and reanalyzed our data. They created a
“straw person”claim that we never made (i.e., a direct effect
of sexist-violent video games on empathy), and then they
criticized us based on that claim. They also made seven
additional criticisms, which we respond to in this article.
First, they question whether GTA is a sexist video game.
Second, they criticize our random assignment approach.
Third, they argued that gender should not be a moderator.
Fourth, they criticize our use of video game violence ratings
as a covariate. Fifth, they criticize our measure of masculine
beliefs. Sixth, they criticize our measure of identification
with game characters. Seventh, they criticize our failure to
pre-register our study. We appreciate this opportunity to
respond to these criticisms. We believe it can be productive
to have an open debate on such issues.
It is Easy to Knock Down a Straw Person
In their reanalysis, Ferguson and Donnellan (2017)
expressed concern about how moderated mediation models
are used to support causal inferences. It is crucial to note
that conditional process models focus on the conditional
nature of an indirect effect. In other words, how an indirect
effect is moderated by another variable. As Hayes (2013)
notes, “moderated mediation means moderated indirect
effects”(p. 387). Interpretive focus in a conditional model is
directed at estimating the indirect effect, and how that effect
varies as a function of one or more moderators (i.e., levels
of individual differences). Specifically, if we conceptualize
the indirect effect of an independent variable (X) on a
dependent variable (Y) through a mediator (M) as
*Alessandro Gabbiadini
ale.gabbiadini@gmail.com
1
University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
2
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
3
University of Genova, Genoa, Italy
REVISED PROOF
depending on the level of a moderator (W), we are assessing
how the size of the indirect effect linking X to Y through M
differs between groups when increasing of one unit the
value of W. In light of these assumptions, we do not see the
reanalysis reported by Ferguson and Donnellan (2017)tobe
particularly relevant, because direct effects are not a
necessary condition for indirect effects (see Hayes 2013).
Ferguson and Donnellan (2017) reported that the intent
of their reanalysis was to examine the robustness of the
claims about media effects made in light of the effects that
would be expected by theory. However, we never theorized
a direct effect of exposure to sexist videogames on empathy
toward female violence victims. Instead, throughout our
article we consistently talked about conditional indirect
effects of exposure to violent-sexist video games on
empathy, which we hypothesized (and found) to emerge
through the mediation of masculine beliefs on different
levels of identification with the game character, especially
for male players (i.e., gender was the moderator). Accord-
ingly, the main analyses presented in Ferguson and Don-
nellan just confirm what we found and already reported in
our original article (i.e., no direct effects of type of video
games on empathy).
In their reanalysis, Ferguson and Donnellan (2017) tested
a basic model (PROCESS Model 1) in which game con-
dition (the X variable in the Process Model) led to reduced
empathy (Y) moderated by masculine beliefs (M). Indeed,
we proposed that the exposure to violent and sexist video
games could reinforce masculine beliefs. As discussed in
our article, masculine norms are reinforced in GTA video
games. Thus, we proposed (and found) that GTA gameplay
increased masculine beliefs. Masculine beliefs, in turn, were
negatively related to empathy for female violence victims
(see Gabbiadini et al. 2016, p. 3). No clear theoretical
rationale is given by Ferguson and Donnellan for testing
this alternative model. Thus, we have concerns about why
they considered masculine beliefs as a moderator. We the-
orized masculine beliefs to be a mediator rather than a
moderator.
Ferguson and Donnellan (2017) also tested a second
alternative model in which identification with the game
character moderated the effect of type of video game on
empathy. In our original article, we hypothesized that the
identification with the game character would moderate the
effects of the type of video games on masculine beliefs—
not on empathy. Thus, we have concerns about this analysis
as well.
To test our assumptions in an alternative way, it is pos-
sible to run a simple mediation model (PROCESS model 4)
with type of video game (i.e., violent-sexist vs. violent or
neutral) as the predictor, masculine beliefs as the mediator,
and empathy as the outcome. Violent-sexist games
increased masculine beliefs (b=0.21, SE =0.07, t(152)
2.85, p=.005), and masculine beliefs were negatively
related to empathy for female violence victims (b=−0.48,
SE =0.10, t(151) =−4.69, p<.001). As expected, the
direct effect of type of video game on empathy was not
significant (p=.29), whereas the indirect effect was sig-
nificant (b=−0.10, 95% CI =−0.22 to −0.030). The
model remained significant even after controlling for par-
ticipants’age, frequency of video game play, and violence
ratings. Adding the covariates, violent-sexist games
increased masculine beliefs (b=0.50, SE =0.15, t(147) =
3.28, p=.001), and masculine beliefs were negatively
related to empathy for female violence victims (b=−0.47,
SE =0.10, t(146) =−4.34, p<.001). The direct effect of
type of video games on empathy was not significant (p
=.48), whereas the indirect effect was still significant (b=
−0.23, 95% CI =−0.49 to −0.075).
Although we agree with Ferguson and Donnellan (2017)
that our hypothesized model was rather complex, we
believe that the theoretical rationale underlying each aspect
of our model was clearly articulated in our article. As
already pointed out, we never claimed a direct association
between exposure to violent-sexist video games and
empathy. Accordingly, the alternative models tested and
proposed in Ferguson and Donnellan (2017) could be
misleading for readers, as they are not theoretically well-
anchored and are distant from our original hypotheses.
Indeed, our findings are entirely consistent and sustained by
previous research in the field of media effects (see Dill et al.
2008; Dill and Thill 2007; Fox et al. 2013,2014).
Classification of GTA as a Sexist Game
In their title, Ferguson and Donnellan (2017) put the word
“sexist”in quotation marks, called “scare quotes.”Scare
quotes are often used to call out nonstandard or unusual
terms, or merely to convey irony or skepticism about a term.
The term sexist is not a nonstandard or unusual term. The
term sexism generally refers to hostility toward females
(i.e., hostile affect and negative stereotypes) and the
endorsement of traditional gender roles (i.e., confining
women to roles accorded less status and power than those of
men; see Glick and Fiske 1997). Thus, it is surprising that
Ferguson and Donnellan claimed that there is little con-
sensus on what defines a sexist game, and questioned
whether GTA was a sexist video game. GTA certainly
meets this definition of a sexist game. In almost all chapters
of GTA game series, players can pick up female prostitutes
and pay to have sex with them. Such behavior is encouraged
by tips on many YouTube clips and forums. In fact, players’
life points go up when they have sex with a prostitute (see
for an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_
Tb7HIKThkU - 4:11 min). Then, it is common practice
J Youth Adolescence
REVISED PROOF
among GTA players to kill the prostitute after having sex
with her, so they can get their money back. Nevertheless,
we do not have to rely on YouTube clips to establish that
GTA is a violent-sexist game series. The violent-sexist
games that we used in our study, GTA San Andreas and
GTA Vice City, are described in the PEGI database (Pan
European Game Information) as “suitable for persons aged
18 years and over only”. The PEGI webpage also reported
that both these video games contain “extreme violence,
violence toward defenseless people, sexual violence, and
strong language”. PEGI is the organization that rates video
games for European countries, including Italy where our
participants were from. PEGI is similar to the Entertainment
Software Rating Board (ESRB) system used in the U.S.,
which gives GTA similar ratings. Both games are rated M
for Mature players 17 and older. GTA San Andreas contains
the following content descriptors: “Blood and Gore, Intense
Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of
Drugs.”Similarly, GTA Vice City contains the following
content descriptors: “Blood and Gore, Strong Language,
Strong Sexual Content, Violence”. Thus, it is not just our
opinion that the GTA games we used are violent and sexist.
They are labelled as such by PEGI and ESRB.
Instead of defining GTA as a sexist video game, Fer-
guson and Donnellann (2017)defined GTA as a “sandbox
game”. The terms “sandbox,”“open world,”and “free roam”
are used to describe video games where a player can move
freely through a virtual world, rather than in a linear fash-
ion. Yet, all the chapters of GTA develop around a storyline
and allows players to take on the role of a criminal who
plans to rise through the ranks of organized crime. Players
are given various missions that must be completed to pro-
gress through the storyline and complete the whole game.
For instance, in GTA Vice City, players have to buy a strip
club in order to please a criminal boss. By spending a total
of $300 on the strip-tease dances, the player will complete
the club’s asset mission. Although GTA can be considered
as a “sandbox game,”the sandbox is full of prostitutes, pole-
dancers, weapons, and criminals.
Is Playing with Sexist Video Games Just Harmless
Fun?
Our work (see Gabbiadini et al. 2016) is certainly not the
first to suggest that violent sexist video games such as GTA
can influence the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of
players. In fact, a scientific consensus is beginning to
emerge around the potentially harmful effects of sexist
violent video games on players. For example, one study
found that exposure to images of sex-typed video game
characters from GTA (vs. images of professional men and
women) increased judgments and attitudes supporting
aggression against women (Dill et al. 2008). Another recent
study (Fox et al. 2014) found that female participants who
played with sexualized characters in a video game reported
higher rape myth acceptance scores than participants in
other conditions. They also had increased body-related
thinking, which can lead to increased self-objectification.
The authors suggested that those who use sexualized char-
acters in video games are more likely to develop harsh
attitudes toward women and to blame a rape victim for the
act (Fox et al. 2014). Another study found that violent video
games can be a risk factor for individuals who are already
prone to sexually violent fantasy, offering a safe place to
‘practice’the activity in ways that feed fantasy and pre-
existing cognitive scripts (Helfgott 2015).
Modern video games are saturated with stereotypes of
women, and these games may cultivate sexism (Bègue et al.
2017). One content analysis found that female characters
are far more likely to be portrayed as more sexualized than
male characters (60 to 1%; see Dill and Thill 2007). Female
characters often have a huge bust with disproportionally
small waist and hips. In addition, female characters tend to
play minor roles. These games not only affect the way
young women view themselves, they also encourage young
men to look at women as sex objects (Dill and Thill 2007).
Confirming these findings, another recent study (Lynch
et al. 2016) evaluated 571 playable female characters in
video games released from 1989 to 2014 and concluded that
despite an increase in games featuring playable female
characters, games still depict female characters as sex-
ualized and in more minor roles.
Randomization in Real-World Contexts
Recently, some scholars (e.g., Ferguson 2015) have pointed
out that most video game studies rely on college student
samples, and that these studies are arguably not illuminating
for answering questions about harm to minors, which is the
population of primary interest to the general public, parents,
and policy makers. It is noteworthy that our study was
conducted with minors in a real context (i.e., high school)
rather than with college students in a lab context.
As suggested by Ferguson (2015), the adoption of a
sample of the population of interest allows researchers to
generate evidence with a greater external validity. We agree
with this point; however, working in a field setting with
adolescents sets some limits over the experimenter’s free-
dom. In our study (Gabbiadini et al. 2016), the internal
committee of the high school in which data were collected
prevented us from using some items due to ethical reasons
(see section on Masculine Beliefs Measure), gave us a 1-h
time limit for each experimental session, and gave us only
one week to collect all data. Moreover, other practical limits
J Youth Adolescence
REVISED PROOF
related to time management of each classroom at school did
not allow us to assign participants to group conditions in a
complete randomized way. Instead, we had to randomly
assign classrooms to conditions. As suggested by the Editor
of PLOS ONE, we discussed this issue on the webpage
(http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?id=10.
1371/journal.pone.0152121). That is why we used partici-
pants’age as a covariate in our analyses. Importantly, both
in our analyses and in Ferguson and Donnellan reanalysis,
participants’age, when entered as covariate, did not affect
any of the results.
Gender as a Moderator
Ferguson and Donnellan (2017) tested a third alternative
model (PROCESS Model 7) that excluded gender as a
moderator, claiming that such a model would have been
theoretically defensible because theories regarding the
effects of video games do not typically hypothesize gender
differences. However, given that our original article deals
with violence toward women, we believed that gender was
an important moderator. Considering the gendered phe-
nomenon under investigation, our original work reported
our expectations of different effects for males and females.
It is hard to understand how collapsing males and females
together could be considered as an appropriate analytical
strategy for our data set.
Video Game Violence as Covariate
Ferguson and Donnellan (2017) said it was unclear why
video game violence ratings should be used as a covariate.
As we reported in our original article (Gabbiadini et al.
2016; p. 6), post-hoc comparisons indicated that the violent-
sexist games had higher violence ratings than the violence-
only games. Because it is crucial to disentangle violent
content from sexual content, we included the violence rat-
ings as a covariate (for a similar approach, see Bushman and
Anderson 2002; Anderson and Carnagey 2009; Barlett and
Rodeheffer 2009).
Masculine Beliefs Measure
The high school internal committee imposed a number of
limitations on the wording of items from the Male Role
Norms Inventory (MRNI; Levant et al. 2010). The MRNI
assesses seven theoretically derived traditional norms: (1)
Avoidance of Femininity, (2) Fear and Hatred of Homo-
sexuals, (3) Self-Reliance, (4) Aggression, (5) Achieve-
ment/Status, (6) Non-relational Attitudes toward Sexuality,
and (7) Restrictive Emotionality. It also includes a Non-
traditional Attitudes toward Masculinity scale, which
includes items that reflect violations of traditional male
norms. After a careful analysis, the committee asked us to
adapt or to drop some items that were considered too
explicit for minors, considering that some of the participants
were as young as 15 years old (i.e., “Men should always
take the initiative when it comes to sex”).
Moreover, the maximum available length of our experi-
mental session to one hour further limited the number of
items we could include in the original questionnaire. Given
these restrictions, we selected a pool of five subscales from
the original MRNI and considered three items for each
subscale (i.e., Self-Reliance, Aggression, Achievement/
Status, Non-relational Attitudes toward Sexuality and
Restrictive Emotionality).
When selecting the items, we chose items more appro-
priate for minors. The wording of items was also adapted to
our sample. For instance, the original item “Men should
always take the initiative when it comes to sex”was adapted
as “Guys should always take the initiative when it comes to
love relationships”. All the 15 selected items were adapted,
except for the items composing the self-reliance subscale,
which accidentally were reported as they are in the original
scale. Thus, these items were excluded from the analyses
(see note 3 in Ferguson and Donnellan 2017). Although our
article should have contained a more detailed discussion of
the items we selected and changes, there were valid reasons
for making these selections and changes.
Nevertheless, given the concerns raised by Ferguson and
Donnellan (2017, see note 3), we performed additional
analyses considering all the 15 items collected for the
masculine beliefs scale (Cronbach α=.79). Thus, we con-
sidered a conditional process model (PROCESS model 11)
in which the type of video game was entered as the pre-
dictor, gender, and the identification with the game char-
acter as the moderators, masculine beliefs (computed
considering all the 15 available items) as the mediator, and
empathy toward female violence victims as the outcome. As
in the original model, participants’age, video game violence
rating, and frequency of video game play were included as
covariates. The predicted 3-way interaction between type of
video game played, participants’gender, and identification
with the game character on masculine beliefs was sig-
nificant (b=.24, SE =.10, t(140) =2.35, p=.020; 95%
CI =0.039 to 0.45). Thus, our finding was robust to how
masculine beliefs were operationally defined.
Identification with the Game Character
Adolescents seem more likely than adults to identify with
their avatars (Blinka 2008), and in our study we assumed
J Youth Adolescence
REVISED PROOF
the identification with the game character as one possible
mechanism for better understand the process leading from
violent sexist games play to reduced empathy for female
violence victims. In order to assess the individual level of
identification with the game character, we adapted the scale
proposed by Van Looy et al. (2012), which is composed of
three subscales: (1) Wishful Identification, (2) Similarity
Identification, and (3) Embodied Presence.
To keep our study within the 1-h time limit given to us
by the high school, we dropped the “Similarity Identifica-
tion”subscale, which is defined as “the degree to which the
player sees their avatar as similar to him/herself”(Van Looy
et al. 2012, p.129). This subscale was considered less
relevant because it is typically used for MMORPG (Mas-
sively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) virtual
environments rather than stand-alone games like the ones
we used (Van Looy et al. 2012). Because the reliability for
the five-item wishful identification subscale was rather low
(Cronbach α=.67), we also decided to drop it from our
analyses and to consider only the embodied presence sub-
scale that was much more reliable (Cronbach α=.92).
Theoretically, it is also a better measure. Indeed, embodi-
ment creates a powerful and very realistic experience for the
players and it represents the strongest mechanism for
identification with a virtual representation (Biocca 1997;
Klimmt et al. 2010). Such a detailed procedure could have
been mentioned in the original article and indeed, it was
subsequently amended through a specific comment made in
accordance with the PLOS ONE editor on the website of the
journal (http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?
id=10.1371/journal.pone.0152121).
Furthermore, Van Looy and colleagues (2012), estab-
lished the nomological validity of their proposed scale.
Nomological validity has an external orientation, referring
to the degree to which constructs accurately predict other
constructs, within a shared theoretical model. After vali-
dating the avatar identification scale, Van Looy et al. also
assessed separate measures for the Empathy toward the
avatar and for the Proteus effect (see Tables 4 and 5). The
four items present in our published data set (labeled as
avatar_id_char_empathyXX), were derived from a 4-item
scale used in Van Looy et al. (2012) and adapted to the
context of video games (Cohen 2001; Davis 1980).
Following the rationale proposed by Van Looy et al.
(2012), we ran a series of analyses considering identifica-
tion with the game character as the predictor and empathy
toward the game character as the outcome. Identification
with the game character significantly predicted the empathy
toward the game character β=.40, t(152) =5.35, p<.001,
even when controlling for participants’age, violence rating,
and frequency of game play. A second analysis, revealed
that the identification with the character—computed as the
mean of the items for embodied presence and wishful
identification—still significantly predicted empathy toward
the game character, β=.50, t(152) =7.06, p<.001, even
when controlling for participants’age, violence rating, and
frequency of game play.
To support our conclusions and following the theoretical
rationale explained in our original article, we modified our
proposed model by including a composite index for iden-
tification with the game character, computed as the average
of the embodied presence 6-item subscale plus the 5-item
wishful identification subscale. Thus, conditional process
model by using the PROCESS macro Model 11 for SPSS
with 5000 bootstrapping samples was computed. In this
model, the type of video game was entered as the predictor,
gender and the identification with the game character as the
moderators, masculine beliefs (15 items) as the mediator,
and empathy toward female violence victims as the out-
come. As in the original model, participants’age, video
game violence rating, and frequency of video game play
were also included as covariates. Analyses confirmed the
predicted 3-way interaction between type of video game,
participants’gender, and identification with the game
character on masculine beliefs, even when considering all
the available set of items for the avatar identification con-
struct (b=0.27, SE =0.11, t(140) =2.46, p=.015; 95%
CI =0.055 to 0.50). Thus, the three-way interaction we
reported in the original article appears to be robust and
insensitive to how identification with the game character is
measured. This boosts confidence in the reliability of the
three-way interaction.
Even though the empathy toward the game character
should not be included in the avatar identification construct
and scale (see Van Looy et al. 2012), Ferguson and Don-
nellan (2017) included it. Surprisingly, they sometimes
computed identification with the game character as the
mean of wishful identification, embodied presence, and
empathy toward the character. Theoretically, identification
with the game character is not the same as empathy for the
game character and should therefore not be combined.
Pre-Registration of Studies
Psychological science, along with other scientific dis-
ciplines, has begun to adopt practices aimed at reducing the
frequency of publishing poor quality research. We agree
with Ferguson and Donnellan (2017) that more and more
studies would benefit from pre-registration, with the aim of
preventing publication bias and practices that can increase
the likelihood of making Type I errors (Gonzales and
Cunningham 2015). However, we are not sure why Fer-
guson and Donnellan targeted only our article as an
example of failure to pre-register a study. Researchers have
only recently begun to pre-register studies. For example, Dr.
J Youth Adolescence
REVISED PROOF
Ferguson seems to have started pre-registering some of his
studies in 2017, whereas Dr. Donnellan seems to have
started pre-registering his studies in 2016. Our data were
collected in 2014. Thus, it seems unfair for the them to
criticize us for doing something that they perhaps were not
doing themselves at the time our data were collected.
Conclusion
The implications of the Ferguson and Donnellan (2017)
reanalysis did not significantly differ from those reported in
our original article. Both analyses highlighted the lack of a
direct effect of violent-sexist video games playing on
empathy. Our original study carefully avoided making such
a claim. Furthermore, in our original article, we have never
suggested that exposure to violent sexist video games is a
necessary or a sufficient cause of decreased empathy for
female violence victims. To our knowledge, no media-
violence researcher has ever made such a claim.
As researchers in the field of media effects, we strongly
believe that an open and constructive debate on the effects
of violent and sexist video games can contribute to the
improvement of research in this area. Modern video games
present hyper-realistic environments, complex plots, struc-
tured narratives, and immersive virtual world. Because of
this complexity, researchers in the media field need to dig
deeper into the understanding of underlying processes and
mechanisms underlying exposure to modern video games.
Human thought, emotion, and behavior is often complex,
and complex models are therefore required to understand
this complexity.
The effect of violent video games exposure on adolescent
development continues to be urgent. We believe that more
research is needed to understand how video games affect
youth. It is therefore important to identify factors—includ-
ing media exposure—that, singly and together, may influ-
ence how youth view the world and others.
Author Contributions All the authors contributed to the con-
ceptualization, data analysis and writing of the final draft manuscript.
All the authors read and approved the final draft of this manuscript.
Compliance with Ethical Standards All procedures described
within were developed to comport with APA standards for ethical
human participant research.
Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no compet-
ing interests.
Ethical Approval The original procedures described within
received local ethical approval as described in Gabbiadini et al. (2016).
Informed Consent The original procedures described within were
conducted with informed consent provided to participants as described
in Gabbiadini et al. (2016).
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Alessandro Gabbiadini received his PhD in Quality of life in the
Information Society at the University of Milano-Bicocca in 2012. He
is now a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Milano-
Bicocca. His main research interests focus on morality and violent
videogames, social identity in virtual environments, new technologies
and social interaction.
Brad J. Bushman is full-professor of communication and psychology
at The Ohio State University. He holds the Margaret Hall and Robert
Randal Rinehart Chair of Mass Communication. He studies the causes,
consequences, and solutions to the problem of human aggression and
violence.
Paolo Riva is an assistant professor at University of Milano-Bicocca.
His research interests lie broadly in social influence processes with a
specific focus on social exclusion. Specifically, he examines the
consequences of exclusion and the possible strategies that can buffer
against and reduce its effects. In a related vein, he is also interested in
the neuromodulation of emotion regulation processes.
Luca Andrighetto received his PhD in Social Psychology from the
University of Padova in 2008 and he was then a post-doctoral research
fellow at the University of Milano-Bicocca. Currently, he is Associate
Professor at the University of Genova. His work centers around issues
of social relations and prejudice, with a focus on intergroup and
interpersonal attributions of humanity. Currently, he is also exploring
real-life consequences of video-game exposure. He is also Editor of In-
Mind Italy.
Chiara Volpato is full-professor of Social Psychology at the
university of Milano-Bicocca. Her main research interests focus on
intergroup relationships, psychosocial analysis of historical texts,
collective emotions and colonialism, sexism and dehumanization.
J Youth Adolescence
