Evolution rules: Can signaling theory predict aggressive behaviors in video games?

To date, much of the literature related to video games theorizes and tests functional and motivational explanations for why people choose to play video games. An alternative perspective treats play as an evolutionary adaptation designed to motivate individuals to practice survival relevant behaviors in low-cost contexts. While both perspectives are useful for understanding why people choose to play video games, they provide limited guidance for making specific predictions about player behavior. This theoretical ambiguity may explain why few communication scholars have attempted to use evolutionary theory as a predictive framework. In this chapter, we use signaling theory to make falsifiable predictions about the circumstances under which players will choose to behave aggressively as well as the magnitude and moment of such aggressive behavior. We conclude our chapter by discussing preliminary findings as well as the merits of using evolutionary theory to make falsifiable predictions about player behavior.