ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the proficiency of video games to create social structures that encourage players to trust others and use prosocial strategies, followed by a literature review and research agenda examining social video game play in the context of an evolutionary theory of group behaviors. Therefore, video games are more than ideal settings for reciprocal altruism; they can be incubators for prosocial behaviors within and outside digital environments. However, an evolutionary biologist can easily argue Mark's shock over Steve's strategy, his concern for Steve's safety, and his potential plea to devise a plan for co-survival is the more advantageous mindset to survive evolution. Evolutionary perspectives are particularly adept at explaining the underlying and ubiquitous forces that broadly shape these constantly shifting, dynamic interactions. Bounded generalized reciprocity’s (BGR's) evolutionary perspective and acknowledgment of dynamics in social interactions is unique compared to previous theoretical frameworks, proposed to examine social video game play.
