Important Theory on Video Games

[jenovajunkie]

Well I was reading another psychological study, that tries to explain aggressive behaviour. And it talked about aggression developing in early childhood. Now they further stated a few factors that can contribute to this behaviour. And what caught my attention was VIDEO GAMES. Aggressive in nature, video games that are violent do contribute, in some cases, to aggressive behaviour. And tha "monkey see (repeatedly) monkey do (because this behaviour is more or less learned)"
Now I believe it does but that's not the only factor. I do believe that it is a combination of many things.

My question is what do you think? You, EoFF, are a video game community, so I'm curious to how or not you think video games are contributor's to aggressive behaviour.

Oh yeah, and why do you think that?

[Peegee]

I'll middle ground this thing:

I tend to think people are trolling or not really serious when they say that video games do not lead to violent activities - exposure to violence does have the effect. I cannot remotely distinguish between what is 'my' fantasy and what was 'taught' by violent media.

That said, I do know the difference between right and wrong. So I'm not going to blame video games for say, me deciding to run amock burning stuff down (even though I would love to do it..but that's another story).

Children who are too young to be charged for criminal offenses shouldn't be playing these games. In my silly and limited example they wouldn't play such games.

[Slothy]

I've never seen a well conducted study on the impact of violence in video games on violent behaviour in children that could actually say there was a causal link between the two. Most show no link between violent games and increases in aggressive behaviour.

Unless someone here knows of one that indicates otherwise then I will fall firmly in the no link between the two camp until such a link can be proven.

[Hythloday]

Why do video games always get singled out? How come there aren't any debates about how books and movies have violence and aggression? Better yet, how come there aren't any studies on why lazy ignorant parents give their kids anything violent and then are baffled when it makes them violent?

[Rodarian]

The studies have some truth to them but in actuality parents should be aware of what types of games children should be playing.Games these days tend to be more aggressive when it comes to combat, so naturally a child from an earlier age would start mimic these types of behavior as a form of imitations.. That games are rated accordingly and parents should monitor or at least see whether or not a game is suitable for a child...Its also up to the parents to educate their children in the types of games that are out there. Even as teenager, the mind is still growing so I believe that parents should take some partial interest at what types of games they are playing an monitor if is indeed disrupting their behavior...

I know its easier said than done but I know my parents did the same for me.


My parents bought me Nintendo at a very early age but the types of game games they got for me were rpg types (Mario, Legends of Zelda, Final Fantasy)

Now if you think about it these types of games are also violent in a sense that you have to defeat 'creatures and bosses' in order to get through a level.


However my parents earlier on taught me that such things are make believe and whatever games I proceeded to acquire are also make believe. And violence in the game is meant only for the game, and to only take out the positive aspects, such as problem solving and tactics.


I may add more later on regarding this subject.

[Cuchulainn]

This stinks of an EoEo thread.

[Bunny]

Why do video games always get singled out? How come there aren't any debates about how books and movies have violence and aggression? Better yet, how come there aren't any studies on why lazy ignorant parents give their kids anything violent and then are baffled when it makes them violent?

Viewing violence being depicted and actually having a measure of control over the violence are the main differences between books/movies and video games. While watching violent media certainly has an effect, participating in violence has a "greater effect". This is, of course, according to studies.

I've written several papers about the effect of video game violence on adolescents and teenagers and have read multiple studies on the different effects that they may have. I have yet to see a conclusive study that pointed directly towards violence in video games as being an key cause of violent behavior. There are some studies that show it may have an effect, but the exact amount is still very up-in-the air.

A funny thing I found while reading one of the studies is that after the release of Mortal Kombat and the earlier versions of the more violent games, sometime back in the 90s, violence among younger age groups actually decreased significantly.

[Miriel]

One of my Professors of Sociology focused a lot of her research on Media and it's influence on people, and that included video games. I'm just going to quote bits and pieces from her various interviews on the topic:

Like many have argued before her, Sterheimer contends that videogame violence has been used as a really valid point and i'm impressed by your thinking. argument. Rather than paying attention to more pertinent issues that might nurture violence -- such as poverty, instability, domestic abuse, unemployment, and mental illness -- reactionaries have been directing their ire at the games industry, effectively exonerating these other factors of their impact.

"It is equally likely that more aggressive people seek out violent entertainment," Sternheimer said. "After adult rampage shootings in the workplace, which happen more often than school shootings, reporters seldom mention if the shooters played video games."

University of Southern California sociologist Karen Sternheimer notes in an article in the winter issue of the American Sociological Association's Contexts magazine, that while a lot of folks tend to hold video games responsible for the violent youth, they tend to ignore that as videogame play has skyrocketed, youth violence has plummeted.

"A symphony of events controls violence," said Sternheimer, who began her research after some experts blamed the video game Doom for the gun rampage at Columbine High School in Colorado in which two students killed 13 people and then themselves.

"It was a tragic and, very fortunately, rare event and it was discouraging to see that the conversation often started and stopped at video games."

If you want to read her full article, "Do Video Games Kill?" from the American Sociological Association: http://www.theesa.com/facts/STERNHEI...XTSARTICLE.pdf

[Madame Adequate]

Yes, what Miriel said. I have yet to see a credible study which connects violence and videogames in any meaningful way. Yes, after playing a violent game, a kid might be more 'violent', but rambunctious would be a better term and it lasts for about 10 or 15 minutes. The study (I'm afraid I can't recall where I read it exactly) said in as many words that kids have basically the same reaction to videogames as they do to playing a team sport.

[Shiny]

I don't think video games cause aggressive behavior. I think they are something already aggressive people tend to gravitate to. If there is any medium that could really cause violent behavior in impressionable people it would be television.

[Mo-Nercy]

People are more likely to become violent as a result of direct exposure from their own families. In Australia, a study was done that showed 2/3 of all perpetrators of domestic violence had experienced domestic violence in their own households when they were growing up. Meanwhile, there's no comprehensive study that even tries to put a figure on video games and the violent tendancies they allegedly promote and encourage. The reason? Because the figure is likely to be negligible.

Kids are just more likely to learn aggressive behaviour from their families than video games. And a child with little or no primary exposure to violence in the household is far less likely to suddenly become violent after playing video games. I'm not a violent person at all, nor have I ever been, but I remember Mortal Kombat was one of the first games I've ever played. And I played a lot of it.

[qwertysaur]

I don't think video games cause aggressive behavior. I think they are something already aggressive people tend to gravitate to. If there is any medium that could really cause violent behavior in impressionable people it would be television.

This.

[Psychotic]

Video games are smurfing filth that glorify violence to children and frankly should be banned.

Well, off to play Red Dead, don't wait up for me.

[Slothy]

Video games are smurfing filth that glorify violence to children and frankly should be banned.

If we really want to solve the problem we should ban kids instead. Then we can play any games we want, and have more money to spend on them since we're not taking care of little crap factories.

[LunarWeaver]

I suffered through cheap bosses, terrible save systems designed to frustrate you more than help you, and Simba's chase sequence in The Lion King video game just fine. It may not have been splashy and gory, but that was the stuff that made killers. Kids and their fancy win-all-the-time games, bah. In other news, other old codger stuff and some etc. as well.