Abstract

LEMOS, Igor Lins; GOUVEIA, Raimundo Cândido de  and  ALVES, Lynn Rosalina Gama. The social representations of violence by electronic games users. Gerais, Rev. Interinst. Psicol. [online]. 2014, vol.7, n.2, pp. 199-207. ISSN 1983-8220.

The following study had as its general objective the investigation of social representations in accordance to the violence contained in electronic games and, specifically, to verify if the participants establish links between the violence contained in electronic games and violent behavior. The social representations theory as a theoretical basis was used, which shows the way in which individuals of a particular group constitute theories as common sense, which are socially constructed and shared, allowing one to justify actions and positions before objects of collective interest. Twenty users of electronic games, of legal age, nineteen being of male sex, were interviewed. The Bardin thematic-categorical type analyses of content was used. The results of the categories and subcategories indicated themes such as entertainment, learning the English language and catharsis. Violence, a concealed element in the speech of users, was not considered as an influence on the players, thus revealing contradictions in discourses.

Keywords : Social representations; Violence; Electronic games; Catharsis; Entertainment.

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