Journal article
How Much Evidence Is p > .05? Stimulus Pre-Testing and Null Primary Outcomes in Violent Video Games Research
Psychology of popular media culture, Vol.6(4), pp.361-380
10/01/2017
DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000102
Abstract
Research on the effects of violent video games frequently relies on arguments for the null hypothesis. Proponents of the effects argue that there are no meaningful differences save violent content between the violent and nonviolent games played, while critics of the effects argue that their nonsignificant study results constitute evidence for the null hypothesis of no difference. However, neither argument can be supported through the use of traditional null-hypothesis significance testing, as such tests can only ever reject or retain the null, never rejecting the alternative hypothesis in favor of the null. Therefore, to evaluate these claims, we apply a more appropriate Bayesian analysis to measure evidence for or against the null hypothesis relative to reasonable alternative hypotheses. We conclude that current methodological standards cannot rule out substantial confounds between violent and nonviolent video games. Furthermore, we find that studies that claim to find an absence of violent video game effects vary substantially in the strength of evidence, with some strongly supporting the null, others weakly supporting the null, and some others finding evidence of differences between conditions. We recommend the use of Bayesian analyses, larger sample sizes, and the creation of custom-designed games for experimental research.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- How Much Evidence Is p > .05? Stimulus Pre-Testing and Null Primary Outcomes in Violent Video Games Research
- Creators
- Joseph Hilgard - Univ Penn, Annenberg Publ Policy Ctr, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USAChristopher R. Engelhardt - University of MissouriBruce D. Bartholow - University of MissouriJeffrey N. Rouder - University of Missouri
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Psychology of popular media culture, Vol.6(4), pp.361-380
- DOI
- 10.1037/ppm0000102
- ISSN
- 2160-4134
- eISSN
- 2160-4142
- Publisher
- Amer Psychological Assoc
- Number of pages
- 20
- Grant note
- BCS-1240359; SES-102408 / National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) Bond Life Sciences Fellowship
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/01/2017
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984446272302771
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