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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Computers in Human Behavior
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh
Full length article
Prosocial video game as an intimate partner violence prevention tool among
youth: A randomised controlled trial
Daniel Boduszek
a,b,∗
, Agata Debowska
c
, Adele D. Jones
a
, Minhua Ma
d
, David Smith
a
,
Dominic Willmott
a
, Ena Trotman Jemmott
e
, Hazel Da Breo
f
, Gillian Kirkman
a
a
University of Huddersfield, Department of Psychology, Huddersfield, UK
b
SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Katowice, Poland
c
The University of Sheffield, Department of Psychology, Sheffield, UK
d
Staffordshire University, School of Computing and Digital Technologies, Stoke on Trent, UK
e
Independent Researcher, Barbados
f
Sweet Water Foundation, Grenada
ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:
Prosocial video game
Intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention
Affective and cognitive responsiveness
Youth
Randomised controlled trial
Caribbean
ABSTRACT
Evidence demonstrates that exposure to prosocial video games can increase players' prosocial behaviour, pro-
social thoughts, and empathic responses. Prosocial gaming has also been used to reduce gender-based violence
among young people, but the use of video games to this end as well as evaluations of their effectiveness are rare.
The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a context-specific, prosocial video game, Jesse, in
increasing affective and cognitive responsiveness (empathy) towards victims of intimate partner violence (IPV)
among children and adolescents (N= 172, age range 9–17 years, M= 12.27, SD = 2.26). A randomised con-
trolled trial was conducted in seven schools in Barbados. Participants were randomly assigned to an experi-
mental (prosocial video game) or control (standard school curriculum) condition. Experimental and control
group enrolled 86 participants each. Girls and boys in the experimental condition, but not their counterparts in
the control condition, recorded a significant increase in affective responsiveness after intervention. This change
was sustained one week after game exposure. No significant effects were recorded for cognitive responsiveness.
Findings suggest that Jesse is a promising new IPV prevention tool among girls and boys, which can be used in
educational settings.
1. Introduction
1.1. The effect of prosocial video game exposure on prosocial outcomes
Although much of the research on video gaming has focused on the
negative impact of violent video games, in recent years researchers and
educators have become increasingly aware of the potential benefits of
prosocial/serious video games (Gentile et al., 2009; Harrington &
O'Connell, 2016; Whyte et al., 2015). In such games, participants as-
sume the roles of characters and try out new prosocial behaviours in a
fictional setting (Dickey, 2006; Koo & Seider, 2010). Unlike other media
which rely predominantly on the mere presentation of facts, video
games scaffold children's experience using narrative and audio-visual
content, as well as rules and objectives regulating players' behaviour.
Appropriately designed prosocial video games can therefore be used as
teaching tools, to enhance moral reasoning, prosocial cognitions,
helpful behaviour, positive affect, as well as to foster empathy
(Greitemeyer & Osswald, 2009, 2010, 2011; Buckley & Anderson, 2006;
Gentile et al., 2009; Koo & Seider, 2010). Indeed, a growing body of
empirical evidence indicates the effectiveness of experiential learning
in enhancing students' meta-cognitive abilities, and their capacity to
apply newly acquired skills and knowledge to real-life situations
(Catalano, Luccini, & Mortara, 2014).
To elucidate the effects of prosocial video games using social-cog-
nitive and developmental approaches, Buckley and Anderson (2006)
introduced the General Learning Model (GLM). According to the GLM,
video games can influence three types of interrelated internal states -
cognition, affect, and arousal –resulting in learning specific behaviours.
In the short-term, prosocial video game content can alter players' affect,
by putting them in a specific mood. Game exposure can also lower
players' blood pressure and cortisol levels. At the cognitive level, a
prosocial game can activate prosocial scripts stored in memory. If
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.028
Received 9 July 2018; Received in revised form 11 December 2018; Accepted 16 December 2018
∗
Corresponding author. University of Huddersfield, Department of Psychology, Edith Key Building, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, United Kingdom.
E-mail address: d.boduszek@hud.ac.uk (D. Boduszek).
practiced repeatedly, short-term effects, such as prosocial actions im-
mediately after exposure, can be translated into long-term effects, such
as new perceptual and decision schemata, as well as changes in beliefs,
attitudes, emotional responses, empathy, and personality structures
(Gentile et al., 2009). Dietz (1998) also proposed that video games are
an important element of the socialisation process, having an impact on
the development of a child's identity and, subsequently, personality
traits. Therefore, the content of video games to which children are
exposed can have a substantial impact on their future behaviour, cog-
nitive structures, and interpersonal relations.
In line with the tenets of the GLM, a recent meta-analytic study
revealed a significant association between playing a prosocial video
game and a host of positive outcomes, including prosocial behaviour,
prosocial cognitions, and prosocial affect. This effect was maintained
across experimental, correlational, and longitudinal studies
(Greitemeyer & Mügge, 2014). Greitemeyer and Osswald (2010), in an
experimental study with German students, showed that participants
who played a prosocial video game, compared with those who played a
neutral or an aggressive video game, were more likely to engage in
helping behaviour immediately after game exposure (experiment 1). A
subsequent experiment involving two video game conditions (prosocial
vs. neutral video game) revealed that participants in the prosocial
condition were more likely to intervene in a staged harassment situa-
tion (experiment 3). In two other experimental studies by the same
authors, playing prosocial video games resulted in an increased acces-
sibility of prosocial thoughts (Greitemeyer & Osswald, 2011) and re-
duced accessibility of antisocial thoughts (Greitemeyer & Osswald,
2009) among adults.
Although the effect of video games may be especially pronounced
among youth, whose personality traits and beliefs are still forming,
experimental studies on the topic conducted with children are scarce. In
one notable exception, Saleem, Anderson, and Gentile (2012) assigned
191 children aged from 9 to 14 years to one of three experimental
conditions (violent, neutral, and prosocial). Results indicated that
playing prosocial games increased helpful and decreased hurtful be-
haviour immediately after game exposure. The exposure to violent
games had the opposite effect. Worthy of note, prosocial outcomes in
Greitemeyer and Osswald’s (2009, 2010, 2011) as well as Saleem,
Anderson & Gentile (2012) research were measured immediately after a
short period of playing a game (10 min and 30 min respectively). As
such, the investigations could not establish whether prosocial outcomes
are sustained over a longer period of time or enhanced with longer
game exposure.
Prior research has also explored the effect of prosocial gaming on
empathic reactions. Using a correlational study design, Harrington and
O'Connell (2016) found a significant association between prosocial
video game use and empathy, cooperation and sharing, as well as po-
sitive affective relationships. By the same token, Greitemeyer, Osswald,
and Brauer (2010) provided experimental evidence that playing a
prosocial video game resulted in heightened interpersonal empathy.
The authors also suggested that increase in empathy as a function of
prosocial gaming, can subsequently lead to prosocial behaviour. Sup-
port for this has been provided by Prot, Gentile, Anderson, Suzuki,
Swing, Lim & Liau (2014) longitudinal research, which demonstrated
that change in prosocial video game use significantly affected change in
prosocial behaviour, and that this relationship was mediated by change
in trait empathy levels. However, although empathy is conceptualised
as a two-dimensional construct with affective and cognitive elements
(Davis, 1983), research to date has not examined the effect of prosocial
video games on the two empathy dimensions separately.
1.2. Prosocial video game interventions to combat gender-based violence
(GBV)
On the basis of the above-cited findings, it appears that prosocial
video games can be used to prevent specific forms of violence, such as
intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV, typically defined as acts of phy-
sical violence, sexual violence, emotional abuse, and controlling be-
haviours, is a widespread problem affecting people of both sexes
worldwide. Although many men suffer victimisation in their intimate
relationships, such violence is predominantly perpetrated by men
against women (World Health Organization [WHO], 2013). It is esti-
mated that one in three women will experience IPV in their lifetime. In
the WHO multi-country study among 24,000 women, it was revealed
that 13–61% of respondents experienced physical violence by a partner,
4–49% reported experiences of severe physical abuse, and 6–59% ad-
mitted to having been sexually abused by a partner (Garcia-Moreno,
Jansen, Ellsberg, Heise, & Watts, 2006). In some countries, less than
40% of those women will seek help of any sort, which may be linked to
the widespread acceptability of violence against women and gender-
biased social norms (United Nations, 2015; WHO, 2012).
Interestingly, research evidence indicates that not all men using
violence in intimate relationships resort to interpersonal violence out-
side the home, suggesting that the development of IPV accepting atti-
tudes is not akin to the formation of pro-violence attitudes in general,
and can be guided by unique risk factors (Anderson & Bushman, 2002;
Holtzworth-Munroe & Meehan, 2004). Indeed, some findings demon-
strate that violence perpetrators have reduced empathy towards their
victims only, rather than global empathy levels (e.g., Fernandez &
Marshall, 2003; Fernandez, Marshall, Lightbody, & O'Sullivan, 1999).
Therefore, key to reducing the occurrence of IPV are innovative edu-
cational and social strategies which challenge IPV accepting norms
specifically, before they become internalised (Miller, 2014; WHO,
2016). Targeting children and youth in such programmes appears
crucial for transforming societies and creating a lasting change to the
situation of women and men worldwide (WHO, 2012). Given the appeal
of novel technologies to young people and prior research findings in-
dicating that prosocial video games can foster empathy and pro-social
behaviour (e.g., Greitemeyer et al., 2010; Harrington & O'Connell,
2016; Prot et al., 2014), technological advancements can be utilised to
change the attitudes that contribute to IPV and to increase self-actua-
lisation and empowerment.
To date, there has been a small number of prosocial game projects
which address gender-based violence (GBV). For example, BreakAway is
a role-playing soccer game educating children about violence against
girls (Wang, Choi, & Wu, 2014). Green Acres High aims to change atti-
tudes towards dating violence (Bowen et al., 2014). PR:EPARe, on the
other hand, was designed to teach adolescents about coercion in their
relationships (Arnab et al., 2013). Evaluations of the above-listed
gaming interventions revealed positive outcomes, including attitude
and behaviour change (Wang et al., 2014) and preparedness to avoid
coercion (Arnab et al., 2013). However, Wang et al. (2014) did not use
standardised measures to assess intervention outcomes, whereas Bowen
et al. (2014) conducted only a qualitative evaluation. Although Arnab
et al. (2013) employed a cluster randomised controlled trial with two
experimental conditions (serious game vs. standard relationships and
sex education class) among teenagers from England, participants were
exposed to the intervention for 1 h only. In recognising that gender-
biased attitudes are deeply ingrained in some cultural settings, such a
brief exposure may not be sufficient to influence affective and cognitive
changes in participants recruited from world regions where GBV is
rampant and socially accepted.
Additionally, there is generally a lack of serious games addressing
different forms of GBV in non-Western countries and few include so-
cietal and cultural factors of importance to those specific regions during
game design, demonstrating the persistent sampling bias toward
WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialised, rich, and democratic) po-
pulations in developmental psychology (see Nielsen, Haun, Kärtner, &
Legare, 2017). Since socialisation is driven by culture, lack of inter-
ventions created specifically for different world regions can impede IPV
reduction efforts. To address this void, the None in Three (Ni3) Re-
search Centre has recently created Jesse –a bespoke prosocial video
D. Boduszek et al.
game tackling IPV-accepting attitudes among children and adolescents
in the Caribbean, a region where the risk of exposure to GBV is among
the highest in the world (Jeremiah, Gamache, & Hegamin-Younger,
2013; Jeremiah, Quinn, & Alexis, 2017; Reid, Reddock, & Nickening,
2014). Jesse is a point-and-click role-playing game consisting of five
levels in which players assume the role of different characters experi-
encing and/or perpetrating physical and emotional violence within a
family context. The game is designed to affect players' empathic re-
sponses to victims of domestic violence, as well as raise the awareness
of the impact of IPV (see Smith, Ma, Jones, & Unver, 2017 for the game
development description).
1.3. The present study
In the present experiment, we examine the effectiveness of a con-
text-specific, prosocial video game, Jesse, in increasing affective and
cognitive empathy (referred to as ‘affective responsiveness’and ‘cog-
nitive responsiveness’throughout the paper) towards victims of IPV
among children and adolescents (referred to as ‘youth’throughout the
paper) from Barbados, an Eastern Caribbean country. Since prior re-
search reported higher emotional and cognitive empathy in girls than in
boys (e.g., Bengtsson & Arvidsson, 2011; Mayberry & Espelage, 2007),
as well as gender differences in the consequences of child abuse and
domestic violence exposure (e.g., Asscher, Van der Put, & Stams, 2015),
gender was included as one of the factors in the analysis. Additionally,
in considering the high prevalence of GBV and GBV-supportive atti-
tudes in the Caribbean region (Jeremiah et al., 2017, 2013; Reid et al.,
2014), game exposure in the current study lasted for five days. Based on
the tenets of the GLM, we hypothesised that exposure to the misfortune
of a woman suffering from physical and emotional abuse by a partner
(as depicted in the game), would lead to increased cognitive and af-
fective empathic reactions toward IPV victims immediately after com-
pleting the game. We also hypothesised that this effect would be sus-
tained one week after the end of the intervention.
2. Methods
2.1. Sample
The sample included children and adolescents (N= 172, age range
9–17 years, M= 12.27, SD = 2.26) from three primary schools
(n= 75), two secondary schools (n= 62) and two Government
Industrial Schools (n= 35) located in Barbados. Primary education in
Barbados begins at age 4 and continues until age 11. Secondary edu-
cation is provided for children aged 11–18 years. Government
Industrial Schools are for young offenders whose offences range from
assault, breach of probation, burglary, causing a public disturbance,
possession of a controlled substance such as cannabis, possession of an
offensive weapon, serious bodily harm, theft, and wandering. The
sample consisted of 83 females and 89 males. Most of the participants
were from the rural areas of the island (n= 132).
2.2. Design and procedure
Permission for conducting the study was granted by the Ministry of
Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation in Barbados. Scientific
approval for the project was granted by the University of Huddersfield
Ethical Board. The study was designed and conducted in line with the
British Psychological Society (BPS) Code of Ethics and Conduct.
Schools were randomly selected from a pool of primary, secondary,
and government industrial schools in Barbados. Once the schools had
confirmed their participation, they were provided with information
letters about the project to forward to parents or legal guardians in
order to obtain consent for their child's participation in the study.
Parents/legal guardians who did not want their children to participate
were given the opportunity to withdraw them from the study.
Additionally, all participating youth were provided with a participant
information sheet and student consent form before they decided whe-
ther or not to participate in the study.
A two (group: experimental and control) by two (gender: boys and
girls) by three (data collection time: baseline, after game intervention,
seven-day follow up) experimental design was used to test prosocial
game effectiveness. The outcome variables were affective and cognitive
responsiveness to victims of IPV (see instruments section). A rando-
mised controlled trial was carried out. Each participant had an equal
chance of being assigned to the experimental (n= 86, youth exposed to
game intervention) or control (n= 86, youth exposed to standard
school curriculum) group. Participants in the experimental group
played the game on a PC in the school computer labs for five days (one
game level per day takes 45 min). The data on affective and cognitive
responsiveness towards victims of IPV were collected before the game
intervention (Time 1; day one, Monday morning), immediately after
game intervention (Time 2; day five, Friday afternoon), and seven days
after the intervention (Time 3; day twelve, Friday afternoon). All par-
ticipants were debriefed upon completion of the project. After the
study, the game was made freely available to all participating schools.
2.3. Instruments
2.3.1. Game
Jesse is a prosocial video game which intends to increase affective
and cognitive responsiveness towards victims of gender-based violence
in domestic context. The full description of game development is pro-
vided in Smith et al. (2017). The game features a number of gameplay
systems that have been designed to allow the player to role-play as a
variety of characters in various scenarios. These were drawn from
qualitative research on domestic violence carried out by the project
team with 109 adults (female = 49, male = 60) (Jones et al., 2017).
Prominent themes from the qualitative research integrated into game
design included: gender inequality, female economic dependency, in-
tergenerational violence, the impact on primary and secondary victims,
the physical and emotional impact of domestic violence and escalatory
patterns, help-seeking behaviour and empowerment-based interven-
tions, the role of alcohol as a contributory factor, impact on children's
behaviour, the role of professionals, positive male role models as agents
of change, and perpetrator accountability.
An important element of Jesse's development has been socio-cultural
sensitisation to Caribbean context, through consultation with groups of
young people in Barbados, input from Caribbean experts and the in-
clusion of real world information, local dialects, voices and character-
isations. The game consists of five levels (see Fig. 1). Level 1 is an in-
troduction to the main characters in the game, including the main
player character - a young schoolboy named Jesse, Jesse's mother
(Diana), and Diana's partner (Rondell) who is the IPV perpetrator. Level
2 takes place in hospital, where Diana was admitted after her partner
had physically abused her. Level 3 is placed in Jesse's school. As Jesse's
Fig. 1. Screenshot showing the main character Jessie and 5 levels of the game.
D. Boduszek et al.
teacher (George), players must ask Jesse questions and attempt to dis-
cover why Jesse's behaviour and grades are suffering. Level 4 features
Rondell with his best friend (Hayden) having a conversation about
Rondell's violent behaviour toward Diana. In level 5, players are given a
choice to determine the outcome of the story.
2.3.2. Outcome measure
None in Three Victim Responsiveness Assessment (Ni3: VRA;
Debowska, Boduszek, Willmott, & Jones, under review) is a measure of
affective and cognitive responsiveness to victims of intimate partner
violence (IPV). The scale is composed of 16 items indexed on a five-
point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree,2=disagree,3=neither agree
nor disagree,4=agree,5=strongly agree). The Ni3: VRA consists of two
subscales: affective responsiveness (eight items, Cronbach's
alpha = 0.85) and cognitive responsiveness (eight items, Cronbach's
alpha = 0.82). Sample items include “I get upset when I see a woman
being physically hurt by her partner”(affective responsiveness) and “I
would find it easy to imagine how a woman might feel while she is
shouted at or called names by her partner”(cognitive responsiveness).
All scale items are presented in the appendix. Scores on the total scale
range from 16 to 80, whereas subscale scores range from 8 to 40.
Higher scores indicate greater affective and cognitive responsiveness to
victims of IPV.
3. Results
3.1. Affective responsiveness towards victims of IPV
A 2 (group: experimental and control) x 2 (gender: boys and girls) x
3 (time: baseline, Time 2, Time 3) mixed between-within subjects
ANOVA was conducted to assess the change in affective responsiveness
towards victims of IPV. Means and standard deviations are presented in
Table 1. The main effect for group was statistically non-significant (F
[1, 167] = 0.69, p= 0.41) but statistically significant for gender (F[1,
167] = 8.62, p= 0.004, partial η
2
= 0.049; with females scoring
higher). There was a statistically significant change for time (Wilks'
Lambda = 0.89, F[2, 166] = 10.78, p< 0.001, partial η
2
= 0.12).
There was no significant interaction between group, gender, and
change over time (Wilks' Lambda = 0.98, F[2, 166] = 1.80, p= 0.17)
and between gender and change over time (Wilks' Lambda = 0.99, F[2,
166] = 0.47, p= 0.63). However, there was a significant interaction
between group and change over time (Wilks' Lambda = 0.83, F[2,
166] = 16.96, p< 0.001, partial η
2
= 0.17). The graphical presenta-
tion of the pattern of change in affective responsiveness mean values is
illustrated in Fig. 2.
Given the above results, further analyses were performed separately
for the experimental and control group (Bonferroni correction applied).
Experimental group (Wilks' Lambda = 0.60, F[2, 83] = 27.99,
p< 0.001, partial η
2
= 0.40) reported statistically significant increase
in affective responsiveness from Time 1 to Time 2 (Cohen's d= 0.56,
p< 0.001) and this change was sustained in Time 3 (p= 0.46). The
change over time was not statistically significant for the control group
(Wilks' Lambda = 0.99, F[2, 84] = 0.56, p= 0.58).
3.2. Cognitive responsiveness towards victims of IPV
Similarly, a 2 ×2 x 3 mixed between-within subjects ANOVA was
conducted to assess the change in cognitive responsiveness towards
victims of IPV. Means and standard deviations are presented in Table 2.
The main effect for group (F[1, 167] = 2.85, p= 0.09) and condition
(F[1, 167] = 0.10, p= 0.76) was statistically non-significant. No sta-
tistically significant change for time was observed (Wilks'
Lambda = 0.98, F[2, 166] = 1.68, p= 0.19).
There was no significant interaction between group, gender, and
change over time (Wilks' Lambda =0.99, F[2, 166] = 0.36, p= 0.70),
between gender and change over time (Wilks' Lambda = 0.99, F[2,
166] = 0.40, p= 0.67), and between group and change over time
(Wilks' Lambda = 1.00, F[2, 166] = 0.02, p= 0.98).
4. Discussion
Prior research has indicated that prosocial gaming can increase
players' prosocial behaviour (e.g., Greitemeyer & Osswald, 2010;
Saleem et al., 2012), prosocial thoughts (e.g., Greitemeyer & Osswald,
2011), and empathic responses (e.g., Greitemeyer et al., 2009; 2010;
Harrington & O'Connell, 2016). Although there have been some suc-
cessful trials showing that prosocial video games can be used as a GBV
reduction tool among youth (see Arnab et al., 2013; Bowen et al., 2014;
Wang et al., 2014), such research is rare and there is a lack of bespoke
gaming interventions aimed at youth from non-Western countries. In
the present study, we tested the efficacy of Jesse –a prosocial video
game designed by a cross-disciplinary team of researchers from the
None in Three (Ni3) Research Centre specifically for youth in the Car-
ibbean region –in increasing players' affective and cognitive respon-
siveness towards female victims of IPV. Game effectiveness evaluation
was conducted in school settings using a randomised controlled trial.
Overall, results indicate that Jesse is a promising IPV prevention tool
among girls and boys from Barbados.
4.1. Discussion of findings
In line with the assumption of the General Learning Model (GLM;
Buckley & Anderson, 2006) that exposure to prosocial video games can
alter players' affective reactions as well as empirical research findings
suggesting that prosocial game use increases empathic responses
(Greitemeyer et al., 2010; Harrington & O'Connell, 2016), we hy-
pothesised that Jesse would impact players' affective responsiveness.
The current data support this prediction. More specifically, girls and
boys in the experimental condition, but not their counterparts in the
control condition, revealed heightened affective responsiveness to-
wards victims of IPV at the end of intervention. There was no significant
change in affective responsiveness between two post-intervention time
points in participants from the experimental condition, providing the
first experimental evidence that the change in this psychological con-
struct as a function of prosocial gaming can be sustained over a longer
period of time. Of importance, our study was also the first in the field to
assess victim specific empathy, i.e., a cognitive and emotional under-
standing of the experience of victims, as opposed to global empathy,
i.e., general reactions to the experience of others (Mann & Barnett,
2013). This decision was motivated by prior research findings
Table 1
Means (SDs) for affective responsiveness towards victims of IPV for experimental and control group over three time points.
Time 1 Time 2 Time 3
Control M(SD) Experimental M(SD) Control M(SD) Experimental M(SD) Control M(SD) Experimental M(SD)
Males 30.25 (5.97) 29.05 (6.41) 29.38 (7.40) 32.32 (6.35) 30.10 (6.51) 31.17 (5.36)
Females 32.59 (5.76) 31.07 (5.42) 32.84 (5.99) 34.25 (4.34) 31.76 (6.01) 33.82 (5.65)
Full sample 31.37 (6.00) 30.09 (5.97) 30.99 (7.03) 33.32 (5.46) 30.93 (6.35) 32.54 (5.42)
D. Boduszek et al.
suggesting that violence perpetrators have reduced empathy towards
their victims, while their global empathy levels remain unaffected (e.g.,
Fernandez et al., 1999; Fernandez & Marshall, 2003). In light of this
evidence, it appears that IPV reduction efforts should be directed at
enhancing context-specific empathy. Jesse is the first IPV prevention
tool in the Caribbean whose efficacy in improving affective respon-
siveness towards victims of such violence has been empirically de-
monstrated.
The hypothesis that exposure to Jesse would increase youth's cog-
nitive responsiveness to IPV victims at the end of intervention and that
this change would be sustained one week after the intervention was
unsupported by the current data. We propose two possible explanations
of this result. First, the GLM indicates that prosocial video games can
have a long-term effect on players' cognitive structures and empathy
levels. We found that as long as changes in affective responsiveness can
be detected immediately after game exposure and in a one-week follow-
up, changes in cognitive responsiveness levels appear to require a
longer consolidation period. Support for this supposition comes from
functional brain imaging research, indicating that affective and cogni-
tive empathy are neurally distinct (e.g., Cox, Uddin, Di Martino,
Castellanos, Milham & Kelly, 2011), and hence their development may
be guided by different processes. To evaluate this possibility, future
game evaluation research using victim responsiveness as an outcome
measure, should include an additional post-intervention data collection
point. Second, a more intensive interventive strategy may be required
to produce change in cognitive responsiveness. We therefore suggest
the inclusion of a second experimental condition in future studies,
where playing the game would be followed by a structured group dis-
cussion facilitated by a teacher/researcher. We anticipate that such an
approach would give youth an opportunity for more extensive cognitive
processing of information contained in the game, and hence allow for a
swifter change in cognitive responsiveness toward victims of IPV.
Although the discrepancy in the effect of prosocial gaming on cog-
nitive and affective responsiveness was contrary to what was predicted,
it can be explained in light of prior theory and research. Specifically,
affective and cognitive empathy are understood as complementary, yet
two independent systems. It has been suggested that the separability
between cognitive and affective empathy is more pronounced in males
than in females. The distinct nature of the two systems can be ex-
emplified by empathy imbalance disorders, where one type of empathy
is lowered, while the levels of the other type remain intact, such as
autism (low cognitive empathy) and psychopathy (low affective em-
pathy) (see Smith, 2006 for a theoretical elaboration). Affective and
cognitive responsiveness were also demonstrated to differentially cor-
relate with external criteria (e.g., Boduszek, Debowska, Dhingra, &
DeLisi, 2016), further corroborating that the two are separate con-
structs with different consequences. Therefore, although Jesse induced
changes in affective but not cognitive responsiveness, an increase in the
affective system alone may be sufficient to produce positive changes in
children's behaviour, even before they are able to understand the si-
tuation of women abused by their partners. Indeed, Stephan and Finlay
(1999) indicated that emotional empathy may be more effective in
increasing prosocial behaviour, whereas cognitive empathy can lead to
greater understanding of outgroup members.
29
30
31
32
33
3
4
Tim
e
1Tim
e
2Tim
e3
Mean
Fig. 2. Changes in the mean levels of affective responsiveness in control and experimental conditions. Solid Line = experimental group; dashed line = control group.
Table 2
Means (SDs) for cognitive responsiveness towards victims of IPV for experimental and control group over three time points.
Time 1 Time 2 Time 3
Control M(SD) Experimental M(SD) Control M(SD) Experimental M(SD) Control M(SD) Experimental M(SD)
Males 28.27 (7.04) 28.73 (6.02) 29.04 (7.51) 28.85 (7.85) 28.88 (7.85) 29.34 (7.17)
Females 29.49 (5.47) 29.77 (6.21) 30.32 (5.77) 31.27 (6.72) 30.14 (5.33) 30.68 (7.63)
Full sample 28.93 (6.47) 29.27 (6.11) 29.72 (6.85) 30.11 (7.34) 29.55 (6.92) 30.03 (7.40)
D. Boduszek et al.
4.2. Limitations
This research did not include a measure of participants' behaviour
and hence we cannot establish whether changes in affective respon-
siveness translate into behavioural change. However, given our focus
on victim specific responsiveness, it was deemed that a parallel beha-
vioural measure assessing IPV perpetration would not be appropriate
for the young participants in the study. It is recommended that future
research with older youths who could have already engaged in dating
relationships employs a relevant behavioural measure to explore the
nature and direction of associations between affective responsiveness,
cognitive responsiveness, and prosocial behaviour.
4.3. Practical implications
Notwithstanding, the current study has important research and
practical implications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first
school-based evaluation of the effectiveness of a prosocial game inter-
vention in changing youth's affective and cognitive responsiveness
using a standardised outcome measure and a week-long game exposure.
Additionally, past research did not differentiate between affective and
cognitive empathy or utilise a victim specific empathy measure. As
such, the current research is the first to demonstrate that changes in
affective responsiveness toward IPV victims are detectable immediately
after game exposure and sustained after one week, whereas changes in
cognitive responsiveness may require a longer period of processing time
or a more intensive exposure. The present study also addresses the need
for more research data obtained from non-Western populations of youth
(see Nielsen et al., 2017). As for practical implications, Jesse is a be-
spoke video game designed specifically for youth in the Caribbean,
making it the first IPV prevention tool of its kind in the region. Fur-
thermore, addressing themes such as gender inequality, intergenera-
tional abuse, alcohol abuse as a contributing factor, the impact of IPV
and the positive roles males can play in addressing male-perpetrated
violence, game content provides opportunities for increasing knowl-
edge and non-adversarial conflict resolution skills that may be more
widely beneficial. Whilst these facets of the game were not evaluated in
the current study, the persuasive game strategy has potential not only
as a young person-centred approach to building empathy, but also in
raising awareness about the multi-faceted nature of IPV and the con-
texts in which it emerges.
The game has been recommended for inclusion in the national
school curricula in Barbados and Grenada and has been utilised as an
awareness-raising and empowerment intervention for girls in a
Caribbean Juvenile Detention Centre. There is also an on-going im-
plementation of Jesse in schools in Saint Lucia undertaken by educators
in the country with the assistance of researchers from the Ni3 Research
Centre. Given the success of Jesse, the Ni3 Research Centre, supported
by funding from the UK Research and Innovation - Global Challenges
Research Fund (GCRF), is currently developing culture-sensitive pro-
social video games for different world regions to address some of the
most prevalent and detrimental expressions of GBV (such as child
marriage and child sexual exploitation).
4.4. Conclusion
In sum, using a randomised controlled trial conducted in naturalistic
settings, the current study tested the effectiveness of a prosocial video
game, Jesse, in changing Barbadian youth's affective and cognitive re-
sponsiveness towards victims of IPV. The findings indicate that youth in
the experimental condition, but not youth in the control condition,
scored higher on affective responsiveness towards victims of IPV after
the intervention and this change was sustained in a one-week follow-up.
Contrary to our initial prediction, game exposure did not affect parti-
cipants' cognitive responsiveness towards IPV victims, pointing to dif-
ferential formation processes of cognitive and affective responsiveness
among youth.
Conflicts of interest
Authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
This research has been supported financially by the European
Commission (EuropeAid/136243/DD/ACT/Multi –Towards a Future
Free from Domestic Violence). The funding source was not involved in
the preparation of this manuscript.
Appendix
None in Three Victim Responsiveness Assessment (Ni3: VRA) is a measure of affective (items 1–8) and cognitive (9–16) responsiveness to victims of
intimate partner violence (IPV).
Instructions: Please tell us to what extent you agree or disagree with the statements below.
Strongly dis-
agree
Disagree Neither agree nor dis-
agree
Agree Strongly
agree
1. It makes me feel sad to see a woman who is physically hurt (e.g., hit/beaten/pushed/punched) by
her partner.
2. I get upset when I see a woman being physically hurt by her partner.
3. Seeing a woman who was hurt by her partner crying, makes me feel like crying too.
4. When I see a woman suffering after she was hit by her partner, I feel bad.
5. I feel sorry for women who are physically hurt by their partners.
6. When I see a woman being shouted at, threatened or called names by her partner, I feel sorry for
her.
7. I get upset when I see a woman being called names or threatened by her partner.
8. Sometimes I cry when I see a woman being hurt by her partner.
9. I can understand how a woman who was physically hurt by her partner is feeling.
10. I can imagine what a woman physically hurt by her partner is thinking.
11. I can tell what a woman beaten by her partner feels by the look on her face.
12. I find it easy to imagine how a woman might feel while she is shouted at or called names by her
partner.
13. I can understand how difficult it might be for a woman to live with an aggressive partner.
14. I can tell what a woman hurt by her partner feels even when she is masking her true emotion.
15. I find it easy to recognise emotions that a woman hurt by her partner might feel.
16. I can tell how a woman hurt by her partner is feeling by listening to the tone of her voice.
D. Boduszek et al.
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