After years of studying the psychological effects of video game violence, psychologist James Sauer, PhD, a senior lecturer at the University of Tasmania in Australia, took notice when Belgium became the first country to ban a feature called loot boxes in video games in 2018. Loot boxes are digital containers that players can buy for a small amount of money. Once purchased, the box might reveal a special skin or weapon that enhances a character’s looks or gives a player a competitive advantage. Or it might be worthless.
On a Skype call after the news broke, Sauer, a psychological scientist and coexecutive director of the International Media Psychology Laboratory, talked with his collaborator, psychological scientist Aaron Drummond,…
