New Study: Most Teenagers are Unaffected by Violent Gaming

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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New Study: Most Teenagers are Unaffected by Violent Gaming


A new study has found that most teenagers are unaffected by playing violent videogames, unless they're psychologically predisposed to hostile behavior in the first place.

Conventional wisdom, at least among those who believe that gaming turns kids into slavering zombie killers, is that the more they play violent games, the more desensitized they become to violent behavior and thus the more likely they are to commit it themselves. But a new study conducted by Patrick M. Markey, an associate research professor at Rutgers [http://www.villanova.edu/], has found that the only teenagers likely to be affected by gaming are those who are "predisposed to be highly neurotic, less agreeable and less conscientious" to begin with.

"Individuals are not 'blank slates.' One's general disposition moderates the effect of violent media," Dr. Patrick Markey said. "General policy recommendations based on the notion that violent videogames are simply 'bad' and individuals who play violent videogames will inevitably become aggressive appear to be unwarranted. Instead it is crucial to consider the dispositional characteristics of the person playing the videogame when predicting the type of effect the violent videogame might have on his or her hostility."

Published in the June issue of the Review of General Psychology, the study of 118 teenagers focused on the "Five-Factor Model [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_factor_model]" of personality traits and found that a "perfect storm" of three of those traits - high neuroticism, low agreeableness and low conscientiousness - resulted in a "vulnerable condition" that left teens more likely to be negatively affected by violent games. Those who did not display those personality traits were either unaffected or only slightly affected by the games.

While a connection to violent games has been made to almost every school shooting since the 1999 Columbine massacre, the killers "also possessed maladaptive personality traits and characteristics," the report points out. "School violence attributed to violent media has involved shooters who were described by themselves and others as extremely angry, mean, depressed, psychotic, unruly, anxious, aggressive and hateful before the shootings occurred."

"Although the incidences of violence, particularly school violence, linked to videogames are alarming, what should perhaps surprise us more is that there are not more VVG [violent videogame]-driven violent episodes," it says. "Given the number of youths who regularly engage in VVG pay and the general concern regarding this media, it would seem likely that the resulting violent episodes would be a regular occurrence. And yet, daily reports of mass violence are not reported. It appears that the vast majority of individuals exposed to VVGs do not become violent in the 'real world'."

The full text of the study, "Vulnerability to Violent Videogames: A Review and Integration of Personality Research," is available from the American Psychiatric Association [http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/gpr-14-2-82.pdf]. (PDF format)


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dududf

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Aug 31, 2009
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Next Science research project...

Grass grows, Birds fly, and New yorkers with base ball bats hurt people.
 

Ren3004

In an unsuspicious cabin
Jul 22, 2009
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So, who wants to bet that the anti-videogame media will claim this study is methodologically wrong?


Well, this is good news, I guess. Maybe we'll get some rest now.
 

Dogstile

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Jan 17, 2009
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dududf said:
Next Science research project...

Grass grows, Birds fly, and New yorkers with base ball bats hurt people.
I swear someone says something like that on every study that pops up here.

Ah well, I was right!
 

DeathWyrmNexus

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Jan 5, 2008
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Jiraiya72 said:
We've only been saying this for how long..
Ya but at least somebody said it from a position of "authority" instead of us poor maladjusted gamers. *sigh*

I do like that the person specifically said that people aren't blank slates thus the Devil Made Me Do It excuse is weak. Rapists buy porn but porn doesn't make rapists. The reason that rapists buy porn as opposed to the reason the normal guy buys porn is what makes him a rapist.

Sorry, this is one of my pet internet fights and thus I am a little too happy to have more ammo. So you get your choice of hug, fist bump, or high five to help me celebrate.
 

PedroSteckecilo

Mexican Fugitive
Feb 7, 2008
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I think more studies would reveal that the current generation of media consumers are better able to tell the difference between fantasy and reality than our parents are.
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
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Well, its about right. I play alot of games which contain violence, but, I consider myself a pretty decent guy. Finally a study on our side
 

demoman_chaos

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May 25, 2009
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Ren3004 said:
So, who wants to bet that the anti-videogame media will claim this study is methodologically wrong?


Well, this is good news, I guess. Maybe we'll get some rest now.
I'd take that bet, the media won't even acknowledge this study at all. They'll ignore it since it doesn't suit their interests.
 

masqueblanc

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May 24, 2010
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PedroSteckecilo said:
I think more studies would reveal that the current generation of media consumers are better able to tell the difference between fantasy and reality than our parents are.
I'll drink to that (before my obvious game-fuelled Need For Speed style drive into town to hit someone with a baseball bat like I learned in Mafia)
 

Ren3004

In an unsuspicious cabin
Jul 22, 2009
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demoman_chaos said:
Ren3004 said:
So, who wants to bet that the anti-videogame media will claim this study is methodologically wrong?


Well, this is good news, I guess. Maybe we'll get some rest now.
I'd take that bet, the media won't even acknowledge this study at all. They'll ignore it since it doesn't suit their interests.
New Study: Most Anti-Videogame Media is Biased.

Still, it's good to have SCIENCE! on our side.
 

NeedAUserName

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Aug 7, 2008
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Good, people that claim violent video games turn us into violent psychopaths annoy the hell outta me. The world would be a better place if someone ripped all their throats out!
See what I did there? Huh, huh? Talk about clever eh, I mean that is wit, class A satire.
 
Sep 13, 2009
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FargoDog said:
It's true, violence in videogames has little to no impact on me.

[sub]And I will kill anyone who claims otherwise[/sub]
Hmmm.... I accept your challenge sir. Pistols at dawn!

OT: Amazing, he's figured out something that everyone who plays video games already knows!
 

Sir Kemper

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Jan 21, 2010
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Finally.


FINALLY.

Now, Let's spread this around, Please, So we don't have anymore "VIDYA GAME VILENCE LOL"