This study explores the effects of the cooperative video game context, social value orientation (SVO) and trust on cooperative behavior. The main finding is that collaborative game play significantly increases cooperative behavior, especially in prosocial individuals. In addition, a mediation model is established in which trust partially mediates the association between the game mode and cooperative behavior. The results indicate that playing collaborative games increases cooperation in prosocial people partially by facilitating the trust they have in their gaming partners. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Keywords: Cooperative behavior; cooperative video game; game context; social value orientation; trust.