Violent video games

[Fixated]

What do you think the effect of violence in video games is on our youth? That there is an effect is pretty much a fact, but does it matter than much? Should we cast a broad net and wipe out the violence for everyone?

[Vikingking66]

1. there is virtually no effect

Violence in media is usually cathartic rather than incitatory. I played violent video games (still do) and usually I don't feel much of an emotional charge at all. When I'm having a bad day, sure I feel better when I play Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and kill a bunch of Nazis, but I generally feel less violent not more aftewards.

Frankly, violence has a lot more to do with feelings of anger, fear, frustration, helplessness or whatever coming from one's personal life.
In the media, the video game connection to school shooters has always been played up - except that those reports don't figure into account that violent videogames and movies and music have millions and millions of consumers, but the overwhelming majority of them aren't involved in violence.

[Catch22Dem]

3. MOHAA was good

But no game compares to Battlefield 1942. I don't think violent games make violent people.

[Fixated]

4. ...

It's definitely meant to avoid true problems, like parenting, which can't be solved with bans.

[bluestateguy]

2. I favor warning labels

I would also consider restricting purchase of violent games to 18 and over. I do not approve of the trivialization of war, guns and violence into a game for fun, but I oppose all efforts to ban video games.

[durutti]

5. Parents Have a Responsibility

I'm not sure whether ot not the government should censor violent video games...

But I do know that if I have a kid/kids, I won't let her/him/them watch any television until at least the age of 5.

[sweetheart]

6. I love video games

They are an attempt to create art using software, and i herald every innovation and creation in that area... violence my ass. The innovations in gaming will eventually become the standard learning tools of the schools of tomorrow.

Playing mulit-person command and conquor is better than chess or any strategic board game.

violence is interpersonal, not between humans and machines. If there is a side effect of computer games, it is physical, stiffness of the spine, wrist cramps from week-long mouse use... I've indulged in every computer game since pong... and i think they are great. As a software architect, i admire the object relationships and interface design, as well as the learning systems that these games use.

Don't get me wrong, i believe that violence SHOULD be censored in the media, but do not consider automated strategy games "violent" rather cinema and television that cheapens and divides a community... if you want to wage a war against a destructive technology, TV and broadcast media are the best targets... leave video games alone.

[salin]

7. I think it is an issue that is simply to rile up the religious right.

I don't think there is much substance or will to do much (as in the end most agree that what kids watch or play with should be between the kid/child/youth and the parent). Seems that when it is pulled out it is an issue used to "rally the troops" - a nice fluff issue to get some folks frothing at the mouth (and ready to send money, etc.)

[ChewToy]

8. I make video games

...so obviously I'm not in favor of banning them! But I do believe in warning labels, in retailers enforcing the warning label system, and in parents limiting access to violent materials of any kind until the kid has a clear enough distinction between fiction and reality.

I've grown up on a diet of video games and movies, yet I've never gotten into a fight in my life and I marched against this war.

[MrPrax]

9. Nawh it's censorship...

and I am agin...

Simple answers covers a whole range of 'predatory' moralist crap

[KittyWampus]

10. Violent Video Games Contribute To A Violent Environment

Those who say that violent video games do not lead them to commit violent acts and they can distinguish betwteen a game and reality are entirely missing the point.

Our Subconscious shapes our reality. It forms both our personal and societal envrionment by acting on the Suggestions fed to it by our Actions.

So while you can make an INTELLECTUAL differention between a violent video game and reality your SUBCONSCIOUS does NOT!

By focusing your Attention on violent actions and participating in violent game play on a regular basis, you are sending powerful Suggestions to your Subconscious and She has no choice to manifest Violence in your Environment.

By playing violent video games, listening to violent music and watching violent movies, you are contributing to the Violent Currents
that run through the Mass Mind. You are reinforcing the Violent Suggestions that are already abundant in our Culture. You are giving into your Reptilian Mind and going for the adrenaline rush that comes with it.

Stop falling for the Propaganda that Violence-Mongers are pushing.

It is a fact that "Violence"& Destruction is an intergral part of Life. We destroy the plant life that we eat and even burn cells of our own bodies as we breath and excercise.

HOwever, there is a difference between Life-Supporting "Violence" and that which is Violence for Violence's sake.

[Khephra]

11. "That there is an effect is pretty much a fact..."

Like many subjects involving human behavior, things are not so quite cut-and-dry.

A suggested reading list for all who are interested:


Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12, 353-359.

Anderson, C. A., & Dill, K. E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 772-790.

Anderson, C. A., & Ford, C. M. (1986). Affect of the game player: Short-term effects of highly and mildly aggressive video games. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12, 390-402.

Anderson, C. A., & Morrow, M. (1995). Competitive aggression without interaction: Effects of competitive versus cooperative instructions on aggressive behavior in video games. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 21, 1020-1030.

Ask, A., Autoustinos, M., & Winefield, A. H. (2000). To kill or not to kill: Competitive aggression in Australian adolescent males during videogame play. In C. van Feilitzen & U. Carlsson (Eds.), Children in the New Media Landscape. Goteborg, Sweden: UNESCO International Clearinghouse on Children and Violence on the Screen.

Ballard, M. E., & Lineberger, R. (1999). Video game violence and confederate gender: Effects on reward and punishment given by college males. Sex Roles, 41, 541-558.

Burke, T., & Burke, K. (1999). Saturday Morning Fever: Growing Up with Cartoon Culture. New York: St. Martin’s.

Calvert, S. L., & Tan, S. (1994). Impact of virtual reality on young adults’ physiological arousal and aggressive thoughts. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 15, 125-139.

Colwell, J., & Payne, J. (2000). Negative correlates of computer game play in adolescents. British Journal of Psychology, 91, 295-310.

Cooper, J., & Mackie, D. (1986). Video games and aggression in children. Journal of Applied Social Psychology,16, 726-744.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). The flow experience. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Cumberbatch, G., Maguire, A., & Woods, S. (1993). Children and video games: An exploratory study. Communications Research, Aston University, Birmingham, U.K.

Dill, K. & Dill, J. (1998). Video game violence: A review of the empirical literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 3, 407-428.

Durkin, K. (1995). Computer Games, Their Effects on Young People: A Review. Office of Film & Literature Classification. Sydney. <255 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia>

Fowles, J. (1999). The Case for Television Violence. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage

Funk, J. B. (1993). Reevaluating the impact of video games. Clinical Pediatrics, Feb., 86-90.

Funk, J. B., & Buchman, D. D. (1995). Video game controversies. Pediatric Annals, vol. 24, 91-96.

Garvey, C. (1991). Play. (2nd ed.) Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Goldstein, J. (1999). The attractions of violent entertainment. Media Psychology, 1, 271-282.

Goldstein, J. (1998). Immortal Kombat: The attractions of video games with violent themes. In J. Goldstein (Ed.), Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment. New York: Oxford University Press.

Goldstein, J. (1995). Aggressive toy play. In A. D. Pellegrini (Ed.), The Future of Play Theory. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Grainger, J., & Dijkstra, A. F. J. (1996). Visual word recognition: Models and experiments. In A. F. J. Dijkstra & K. J. M. de Smedt (Eds.), Computational Psycholinguistics. London: Taylor & Francis.

Graybill, D., Strawniak, M., Hunter, T., & O’Leary, M. (1987). Effects of playing vs. observing violent vs. non-violent video games on children’s aggression. Psychology: A Quarterly Journal of Human Behavior, 24, 1-8.

Griffiths, M. (1999). Violent video games and aggression: A review of the literature. Aggression & Violent Behavior, 4, 203-212.

Griffiths, M. (1997). Video games and aggression. The Psychologist, Sept., 397-401.

Grodal, T. (2000). Video games and the pleasures of control. In D. Zillmann & P. Vorderer (Eds.), Media Entertainment. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Gunter, B. (1998). The Effects of Video Games on Children: The Myth Unmasked. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press.

Holmes, R. M. & Pellegrini, A. D. (1999). Children’s social behavior during video game play with aggressive and non-aggressive themes. Paper presented at International Toy Research conference. Halmstad, Sweden.

Kellerman, J. (1999). Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children. New York: Ballantine.

Kirsh, S. J. (1998). Seeing the world through Mortal Kombat-colored glasses: Violent video games and the development of a short-term hostile attribution bias. Childhood, 5, 177-184.

McCauley, R. C. (1998). When violence is not attractive. In J. Goldstein (Ed.), Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment. New York: Oxford.

Provenzo, E. F. (1991). Video Kids: Making Sense of Nintendo. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

Roe, K., & D. Muijs. (1998). Children and computer games: A profile of the heavy user. European Journal of Communication, 13, 181-200.

Sacher, W. (1993). Jugendgefährdung durch Video- und Computerspiele? Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 39, 313-333.

Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Post-Gorden, J. C., & Rodasta, A. L. (1988). Effects of playing video games on children's aggressive and other behaviors. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18, 454-460.

Scott, D. (1995). The effects of video games on feelings of aggression. Journal of Psychology, 129, 121-132.

Sherry, J. (2001). The effects of violent video game on aggression. Human Communication Research, 27, 409-431.

Sherry, J., Lucas, K., Rechtsteiner, S., Brooks, C., & Wilson, B. (2001). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. Paper presented at International Communication Association.

Silvern, S. B., Lang, M. K., & Williamson, P. A. (1987). Social impact of video game play. In G. A. Fine (Ed.), Meaningful Play, Playful Meaning. Champaign Il: Human Kinetics Press.

Silvern, S. B., & Williamson, P. A. (1987). The effects of video game play on young children’s aggression, fantasy, and prosocial behavior. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 8, 453-462.

Sorensen Holmes, B., & Jessen C. (2000). It isn’t real: Children, computer games, violence and reality. In C. van Feilitzen & U. Carlsson (Eds.), Children in the New Media Landscape. Goteborg, Sweden: UNESCO International Clearinghouse on Children and Violence on the Screen.

van Schie, E. G. M., & Wiegman, O. (1997). Children and video games: Leisure activities, aggression, social integration, and school performance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 1175-1194.

Wiegman, O., van Schie, E. G. M., & Modde, J. M. (1997). Computerspelletjes en hun effecten. Justitie Verkenningen, 23, 21-34.

Wingrove, J., & Bond, A. J. (1998). Angry reactions to failure on a cooperative computer game: The effect of trait hostility, behavioral inhibition, and behavioral activation. Aggressive Behavior, 24, 27-36.

Winkel, M., D. M. Novak, & H. Hopson. (1987). Personality factors, subject gender, and the effects of aggressive video games on aggression in adolescents. Journal of Research in Personality, 21, 211-223.

Zillmann, D. (1998). The psychology of the attraction of violent entertainment. In J. Goldstein (Ed.), Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment. New York: Oxford University Press.

http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2001/papers/goldstein.html

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And what "effect" are we talking about? Aggression is the most common studied effect on gamers...but an interesting thing that I've yet to see is how the aggressive level of gamers compared to people who watch Sports on tv or porno. Just saying that an activity increases aggression really tells us nothing in of itself. It's just a meaningless fact in isolation until seen in context to other human activities.

Heck, playing chess increases my aggression level. I've seen people weirded out over games of "go fish". I think it's always more of a question of the inherent aggression levels of a person than any activity they're involved in.