Moral Foundations Theory and Moral Reasoning in Video Game Play: Using Real-Life Morality in a Game Context

Although research has indicated that moral decisions are made during video game play, less research has examined moral reasoning during play. Using a think-aloud protocol, participants' decisions and reasoning were recorded during game play and coded as either strategic or moral. Players' reasoning was also coded using Moral Foundations Theory. Results indicated an almost equal percentage of strategic and moral reasoning; the salience of several individual moral foundations predicted moral reasoning during play. Video game experience was positively related to the use of moral reasoning, which can be explained by relating reasoning to rational and experiential processing during game play.