New Study Finds No Link Between Games and Violent Behavior

Logan Westbrook

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Feb 21, 2008
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New Study Finds No Link Between Games and Violent Behavior

Researchers need to tone down their theories about children and violent videogames, says study.

A new study conducted by researchers from Texas A&M and headed by assistant professor Christopher J. Ferguson [http://christopher.ferguson.socialpsychology.org/] has found that personality plays a much more significant role in levels of child aggression and violence than media consumption.

The researchers talked to 302 youths aged between 10 and 14-year-old in a small town on the Mexican border. Just over half of the participants were female and almost all were Hispanic. All had been participants in a previous study about depressive feelings and child delinquency.

The researchers asked the participants a variety of questions aimed at getting a sense of who they were, what their home life was like, what kind of media they watched/played, and for how long. Once the researchers had their data, they left the children to their own devices for a year, and then returned with more questions about media consumption and whether the child had done anything especially violent or aggressive in the preceding twelve months.

The study found that there was no clear correlation between the videogame playing and aggressive or violent behavior. Instead, it suggested that antisocial or depressive personality traits played much more of a role than any violent videogames or television. It suggested that, in the future, researchers should be a lot more conservative with their hypotheses on how violent games might affect children.

The study isn't the end of the matter however, as Ferguson noted in his conclusion. The participants were not randomly selected, despite the researchers trying to make the sample as representative as possible, and the study didn't take into account certain important factors like genetics or differing levels of self-control. He also added that the participants being overwhelmingly Hispanic might skew the data, and people should be wary of using it to draw conclusions about other cultures.

You can read the study in full here [http://www.springerlink.com/content/0m182577967qu6l7/fulltext.pdf].

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32105/Study_Finds_Violent_Media_Exposure_Doesnt_Predict_Childhood_Aggression.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+GamasutraNews+(Gamasutra+News)]




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LawlessSquirrel

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Jun 9, 2010
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Yet another study showing there's no clear connection between games and violence. It's amazing the theory still exists, considering the near-constant stream of studies against it.

As much as I'd like this to be disproved once-and-for-all, it doesn't seem research and evidence is going to cut it. The money is probably best spent elsewhere, in my opinion.
 

Griphphin

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Jul 4, 2009
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I'm glad that the researchers in the end said that this isn't the end-all-be-all, after claiming that other studies aren't as well.
...
Who am I kidding, I love Irony. It would have been fun if they said it was.
 

Zenode

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Jan 21, 2009
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I've ALWAYS felt that its the childs personality that plays a much bigger role on how the media affects them.

If the child is already prone to violent tendencies and already has something mentally wrong with them, then the violent nature of some video games could push them further.

A more "normal" kid who plays video games i believe would be aggressive WHILE playing the game i.e. playing CoD or Halo or any high tension FPS where you can get angry will increase aggression levels but only for a short period of time.
 

Lord Honk

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Mar 24, 2009
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1) For every study there is an equally valid, opposing study.

2) No matter how many studies you conclude, politicians will always find a way to turn it to their personal favor.

I therefore conclude, there will still be no 18+ rating in Australia.
 

Daverson

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Nov 17, 2009
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This is, what, the 10th? 20th? study that's proven this.

The majority of people who argue that 'vidja gahmes made mah billy guh tah Saaaaataaaaaan' don't care about facts, they're fanatics. The only way to shut them up would be with duct tape...
 

Pink_Pirate

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LawlessSquirrel said:
Yet another study showing there's no clear connection between games and violence. It's amazing the theory still exists, considering the near-constant stream of studies against it.
yeah the wonderful thing about science is that you can dismiss it if you dont agree...wait what?
 

Evilsanta

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Apr 12, 2010
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No shit? So they found something that most people already now?

Whoop de doo...But if it enlightens some people then i guess it does at least help a little.
 

Hosker

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This seems like a pretty bad study. It's a quite small sample only taken from one area. Also, the children could have easily been lying; I doubt many would admit to doing things that are violent or aggressive.
 

Delusibeta

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Mar 7, 2010
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The statistician in me wants to point out that this study is about as bad (in terms of statistical method) as most studies that show a correlation between video games and violence. So, yeah. Not evidence, get lost.
 

Burnhardt

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Feb 13, 2009
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Does it really matter?
And I don't blame video games or the media for violent behaviour period.

Age ratings exist for a reason.
 

The Funslinger

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Sep 12, 2010
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Anybody on the escapist could have told you this.



Some people just have more violent dispositions, or are more susceptible to media obsession where they feel the need to imitate it. Though most of us grow out of that before we're even ten.

That stuff can be set off by any form of media, and those people need to A) learn to pace themselves in their gaming/movie watching, or B) stick to mario games and pixar movies.

You do hear stories about people being driven to imitate games, but those people are usually idiots, or this has gone unchecked, so they assume it's okay. Like those two 11/12 year olds in south America. They played GTA: San Andreas, then thought it would be cool to steal their dad's .22 rifle and take potshots at passing cars, from the trees. They killed someone and are now classed as murderers. The cause: Shit parenting, more than anything, with a bit of stupidity and uncaring morals perhaps. The game was obviously a factor, but this still wouldn't have happened if the kids had been parented better. Why the hell would you let your kid play GTA of all games, when he was 11? 14 and up, would be fine, but 11? Yeah, that's going to be just fine.

Rant over.
 

jonnosferatu

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Mar 29, 2009
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LawlessSquirrel said:
Yet another study showing there's no clear connection between games and violence. It's amazing the theory still exists, considering the near-constant stream of studies against it.
No number of studies against it will ever be sufficient to remove it from the popular consciousness. It will, inevitably, disappear, but it will do so because right-wing political and social movements and commentators will find something else to obsess over.

Scientific evidence will not assist this medium when so few of its supporters are willing to put their necks on the line to support it. It doesn't help that U.S. culture in particular has managed to rid itself of left-wing protest spirit (see the recent budget protests at the various Universities of California), but even if public protest were leveled, it wouldn't change the situation. Progress is a function of its opponents dying; conversion to a more rational opinion is a pretty rare phenomenon under in these matters.
 

Vaccine

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Feb 13, 2010
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I hate these things, I could pull 100 people off the street and find a completely polar result.

Videogames are the never the cause of violence, it's the person through and through, regardless if videogames set them off, anything just as involving as TV or the internet could equally set such a person off.
 

Buccura

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Aug 13, 2009
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I'm seriously sick and tired of these studies, even when they are on our side. I'd like to quote Penn Jillette

"Fuck the numbers, even when they're on our side."
 

tkioz

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May 7, 2009
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Babies are basically evil, Children are basically sociopaths, and teenagers are basically mentally ill.

I'm serious, as babies all we care about is ourselves, we don't have any compassion, empathy, or sense of right or wrong, sounds like my definition of evil.

As children we have a basic understand of right and wrong, we simply don't care, and only follow the rules when we either a) get something out of it (praise, rewards, etc) or b) fear the punishment.

As teenagers, well take the average normal teenager and apply the angst, mood swings, and attitude to an adult and you'd lock them up so bloody quit it's not funny.

So... yeah... what was my point? Oh right, kids don't need a reason to act like jerks, they need a reason not to act like jerks, so stop blaming video games and start wacking the little shits when they act up.
 

Jammy Fingers

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Apr 7, 2010
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personally I think the argument is not one of whether violent imagery raises aggression, Bobo doll experiment has proven that monkey see, monkey do, but on two other factors in the argument:
Whether violent games draw violent children.
If violent games really are what cause people to perform acts of brutality.

Personally I believe that violent games will not appeal to non-violent people therefore we can assume the opposite is true and that violent imagery has been around for so long that we cannot assume that low levels of interactivity will make any difference to a persons behaviour.

but we have to understand that in developmental stages before puberty that ultra violent images may affect the persons thought processes in later life, possibly making them more prone to violent outbursts.
 

Jammy Fingers

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Apr 7, 2010
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tkioz said:
stop blaming video games and start wacking the little shits when they act up.
I'm sorry but hitting your child is supposed to stop them being violent?
Studies have found that in fact authoritarian parenting leads to behavioural problems in later life as they're children either become overly passive of excessively rebellious or violent.
The key to stopping violent behaviour lies in overcoming the reason why they feel it necessary or acceptable to be so.
 

SextusMaximus

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May 20, 2009
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Now researchers will have to find other connections to violence...

Scientists link violent behaviour to potatoes said:

Scientists have found a correlation between violent behaviour and potatoes:
14 researches went to XYZ State Prison and interviewed the prisoners there. A whopping 96% of prisoners had eaten potatoes in the previous 6 months.
Scientists are stunned by this observation and have deemed it necessary to close down potato factories and put them under inspection. The Government are issuing pills and sedatives to all those who have eaten potatoes in the general public and are making sure that other countries heed their warning.
Scientists also urge mothers to check bins, as the source of this outrageous violence may be airbourne - are you willing to take that risk?
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