The influence of solitary and cooperative violent video game play on aggressive and prosocial behavior

•Research on video games, aggression and prosocial behavior remains inconclusive.•Examined cooperative and solitary play of violent and non-violent games.•Violent games had no impact on aggressive or prosocial behavior.•Playing cooperatively reduced aggression even in violent games.

Research examining the issue of video game violence influences on aggression continues to be debated within the scientific community. Thus far, no consensus has been reached regarding the influence of such games. This study adds to the prior literature by examining how violent video games may promote prosocial or aggressive behavior when played either cooperatively or alone. Results indicated that violent content in video games had no influence on prosocial behavior, aggressive behavior, or self-perceptions of empathy. Playing cooperatively was associated with less aggressive behavior, whether games were violent or not.