Video games
'increase aggression'
Sunday, 23 April, 2000, 23:38 GMT 00:38
UK
Playing
violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D or Mortal
Combat can increase aggressive thoughts, feelings and
behaviour, say researchers.
They warn that violent video games may
be more harmful than violent television or films because
they are interactive, and require the player to identify
with the aggressive character.
Psychologists Dr Craig Anderson, from
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, and Dr
Karen Dill, from Lenoir-Rhyne College, carried out two
studies.
This medium is potentially
more dangerous than exposure to violent
television and movies
|
| Dr Craig
Anderson, Iowa State University of Science and
Technology |
The first showed that young men who
are habitually aggressive may be particularly vulnerable
to the effects of repeated exposure to violent games.
The second showed that everybody can
become temporarily more aggressive after even a brief
exposure to violent games.
In the first study 227 college
students were asked to rate their level of aggression.
Dr Anderson said: "We found that
students who reported playing more violent video games
in junior and high school engaged in more aggressive
behaviour.
"We also found that amount of
time spent playing video games in the past was
associated with lower academic grades in college."
In the second study, 210 college
students played either a violent (Wolfenstein 3D) or
non-violent video game (Myst).
You cannot simulate in a
laboratory the complex social problems that
people are concerned about
|
| Dr Guy
Cumberbatch, chartered psychologist |
A short time later, the students who
played the violent video were found to be more
aggressive than those who had played the non-violent
game.
This was measured experimentally by
recording the length of time the volunteers
"punished" an opponent by blasting them with a
loud noise.
Dr Anderson said: "Violent video
games provide a forum for learning and practising
aggressive solutions to conflict situations.
"In the short run, playing a
violent video game appears to affect aggression by
priming aggressive thoughts.
"Longer-term effects are likely
to be longer lasting as well, as the player learns and
practices new aggression-related scripts that can become
more and more accessible for use when real-life conflict
situations arise."
Active medium
Dr Anderson said a major concern was
the fact that playing video games was more active than
watching television or film.
He said: "This medium is
potentially more dangerous than exposure to violent
television and movies, which are known to have
substantial effects on aggression and violence."
Dr Guy Cumberbatch, a chartered
psychologist and expert in media violence, said it was
difficult to draw firm conclusions from research.
"You cannot simulate in a
laboratory the complex social problems that people are
concerned about, and overall the actual evidence
supporting a link between media violence and real
violence is very weak."
Dr Cumberbatch said research showed
that some people were stimulated simply by the fast pace
of action films, rather than their violent content.
The research is published in the
American Psychological Association's Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology.
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