Do Video Games Increase Aggressive Behavior?

It is easy to say that all the critics are wrong and that even the most violent video games are fine for public consumption. It is harder to back those claims up with solid evidence. For a few years now I have been working on the Can Video Games Make the World a Better Place? series, but none of those posts have been as hard to finally sit down and begin as this entry. As a matter of fact I would have probably had all my planned entries in the series done a long time ago if I was not purposefully trying to delay writing this piece. I did not want to have to do the research which could possibly make me question the potential harm my beloved hobby could be causing. I got extremely squeamish when thinking about wading through all the stomach churning pieces showing horrible things like letting their real babies die because they are too addicted to living in a virtual world. I also was more than a bit concerned with how this article would be received. Would I be attacked by my community of fellow gamers for sullying the reputation of video games? Still, I decided to soldier on and examine the issue no matter what I found.

The most prevalent and damning slight offered up over and over again by the media, politicians and even some parents is this: that the violence of video games can lead people to become more aggressive and is even the cause of murder in some cases. They offer up this theory time and time again as justification for placing greater rules and laws governing the use and sale of video games.

You can see it in the way the media decides to frame murders as being caused by gaming, even if they are only connected to gaming tangentially. Just look at how CNN.com discusses a killing in the U.K. which took place after the perpetrator became “obsessed” with the game Manhunt. They talk about the brutality of the game and how the murder mimicked some of the actions performed in the game. They quote onlookers as saying-"I don't play these games but if they are influencing kids to go out and kill people then you don't want them on the shelves." They even stoop to quote the lowest common denominator of game detractors- “U.S. Lawyer Jack Thompson, who is campaigning against the sale of violent video games to children, told PA he had written to its producers warning that there would be copycat attacks. He said there was evidence to suggest that teenagers playing such games had difficulty distinguishing between the fantasy and reality”

You can also see it in the way the media coined the phrase “Xbox Killings” for the mass murder of a group of people because one of the perpetrators wanted the Xbox they had. Of course it would not be as easy to call them what they were really- a man with schizophrenia who convinced people to take part in his delusions because of a gang mentality.

My last post on this site looked at the positive influence video games may have on adolescents, but to be intellectually honest when looking at an issue, you have to be willing to also ask if the reverse could also be true. In order to find this out one important question needs to be answered– Are games making people more violent?

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Are Video Games Making Adolescents More Violent?

The study M-Rated Video Games and Aggressive or Problem Behavior Among Young Adolescents says that “M-rated game dose predicted greater risk for bullying… and physical fights…, but not for delinquent behaviors or being a victim of bullies. When analyzed separately, these associations became weaker for boys and stronger for girls.” These results were also stronger if a subject spent more time gaming. The increase was also not a small amount. “Each additional day-per-week… exposure to M-rated games increased the probability of bullying behavior by 45%. Similarly, each additional day per week of exposure… was related to an increase of 24% in… physical aggression.”
 

This article notes the problems and perils that arise when trying to study how video games affect aggression. Many such studies assume that a rise in aggressive thoughts will equate to a rise in aggressive behavior. Some claim that measuring a person’s willingness to punish an unseen individual with a loud noise can be compared to a willingness to  commit violent crime because they “share the conceptual features of delivering a noxious stimulus to a victim with the intent and expectation of  harming the victim.” Another common problem is that many studies are “hobbled by dependence on children’s personal and inconsistent definitions and assessments of violence (as well as time-related concepts such as ‘often‘) and/or the use of idiosyncratic categories.” In fact, this very study relied on student’s assessment of their personal habits, participation in bullying, and of their own exposure to games.

In an even more surprising twist, despite all the claims of video game’s creating more violence this study says that “as yet, there are no studies linking violent video games to real world crime.” As a matter of fact, despite reports at the time, the perpetrator of the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007 was not an avid gamer. Both the F.B.I and Secret Service have found that video games did not play any significant role in other mass school shootings

M-Rated Video Games and Aggressive or Problem Behavior Among Young Adolescents also notes an Australian study which found that “subjects with an aggressive… temperament were more likely to experience an increase or decrease” in their feelings of anger or aggression after playing violent games.
 
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What Does This All Mean?

Does this mean that video games are a bad influence on society and that game developers should be forced to make less violent games? I don’t believe so. I do, however, think that parents need to be made more aware of the potential dangers and benefits that come with gaming. As with almost anything which can be fun and fulfilling, moderation is key. The answer isn’t to completely remove games from the household or retail shelves, but is, instead, to actually follow the guide lines that currently exist in the form of ESRB ratings. This study found that 68.7% of the males questioned and 30.7% of the females frequently played M-rated games. Since these are 7th grade students, that means that those numbers also corresponded to parents who either do not adhere to the suggested age range for violent and mature content, or whom are not engaged enough in their children’s life to be aware of what games they are playing!

Since we live in a democracy, ultimately it will be the American people (or at least the people who we elect) who decide whether to regulate gaming and put stricter laws on the sale of violent an mature content. Until that is decided I think we should all ruminate on what these results mean, and what role we want the government. I also highly recommend getting informed and involved by joining the ECA (Entertainment Consumers Association). What do you think?