Effects of the Contextual Variables of Racing Games on Risky Driving Behavior

Abstract

Objective: This research conducted experimental studies to investigate the effects of the contextual variables of racing games on risky driving behavior.

Materials and methods: Three experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, the effect of racing game violence on the driving-related risk-taking inclination of racing game players was examined. Experiment 2 investigated the impact of the competitiveness of racing games on risk-taking inclination, and Experiment 3 investigated the impact of the rewarded/punitive characteristics of racing games on the risk-taking inclination of racing game players. The Vienna Risk-Taking Test was used to measure risk-taking inclination of participants.

Results: The game violence, competitiveness, and the reward characteristics of racing games, all had significant impacts in increasing risky driving behavior. The punitive characteristics of racing games had a significant effect, which decreases risky driving behavior.

Conclusion: The contextual variables of game violence, competitiveness, and rewarded/punitive characteristics of racing games investigated in this study were all shown to influence the risk-taking inclination of game players, which increased risky driving behavior. This study provides a useful reference for the classification and graded management of racing games.

Keywords: Contextual variables; Driving behavior; Racing game; Risk taking.