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The Everyday Experience of Aggressive Fantasies and Associations with Violent Media Consumption

Kotryna Stupniakek, Psychologische Hochschule Berlin; Rebecca Bondü, Psychologische Hochschule Berlin

Fantasizing about physically or non-physically harming other individuals has been related to maladjustment and often manifests in violent individuals. However, recent studies revealed that such fantasies are also common in the general population. Therefore, the current study aimed to understand how aggressive fantasies manifest in daily life and what triggers them. Given that consumption of media with violent elements was related to aggressive cognitions and behavior, we examined whether it is also associated with aggressive fantasies. To this end, we conducted a diary study in which participants were asked to report their fantasies and media consumption (TV series, movies, and computer games) twice a day for a total of 14 days. The sample included 233 participants, 69% of which were women. Most of the participants were studying at the university or were graduated already and were 27.43 (SD 9.23) years old on average. About 16% of these participants reported aggressive fantasies at least once during the 14-day study period; 75% reported that they consumed media or played video games that contained some violent elements at least once during the study period. About 15% of the participants reported having consumed violent media frequently (10 or more times) during the study period. Preliminary analysis showed that on days when participants reported the consumption of media with violent elements, they were more likely to report aggressive fantasies. More detailed results will be discussed.

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