Psychology Study Blames Games for Aggressive Behavior
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
I would posit that sport makes people much more aggressive than games do, even if games can be conclusively shown to increase aggresiveness. Moreover, I'd posit that sport not only causes aggression, but also increases the instances in which aggression turns into physical violence given that sportsmen are psychologically rewarded for physically and psychologically dominating another person, particularly in contact sports like rugby or American football.
To this end, I'd like to see a study of high school bullying which demonstrates how many of those bullies who engage in physical or psychological violence against others are routinely exposed to violent sports. If a correlation is found, this would be cause for further study. If such studies demonstrated causation, then perhaps we would have grounds for banning sport in schools.
Then people who concoct misleading studies like this could be hoist from their own petard.
To this end, I'd like to see a study of high school bullying which demonstrates how many of those bullies who engage in physical or psychological violence against others are routinely exposed to violent sports. If a correlation is found, this would be cause for further study. If such studies demonstrated causation, then perhaps we would have grounds for banning sport in schools.
Then people who concoct misleading studies like this could be hoist from their own petard.
I'd believe its true in so far as watching violent images desensitizes people to seeing violent images (as appear on a screen), but I'd doubt the results of a study that hinges on the "choose the volume of the sound after winning" factor.
I'd speculate you'd get just as much or more volume in people sounding off after winning a competative, physical sport.
I've been playing videogames my whole life and yeah, sure, I'm desensitized to virtual violence, but I still find virtual depictions of REAL life violence bother me and further the EXPERIENCE of real life violence bothers me a lot, even by proxy.
E.G: Been in bars or at concerts where some fairly nasty fights have broken out and my response has been a defensive oriented "Whoa whoa! NOT cool!" snapshot mix of surpise, fear, anger and concern for my personal well being and for that of my friends who were there, as opposed to the laid back 'yeah, alright!' attitude this study suggests I SHOULD be feeling (after years of deep immersion in virtual violence and aggression)...
TL;DR - Misleading study, untruthful correlation to real life perception of violence.
I'd speculate you'd get just as much or more volume in people sounding off after winning a competative, physical sport.
I've been playing videogames my whole life and yeah, sure, I'm desensitized to virtual violence, but I still find virtual depictions of REAL life violence bother me and further the EXPERIENCE of real life violence bothers me a lot, even by proxy.
E.G: Been in bars or at concerts where some fairly nasty fights have broken out and my response has been a defensive oriented "Whoa whoa! NOT cool!" snapshot mix of surpise, fear, anger and concern for my personal well being and for that of my friends who were there, as opposed to the laid back 'yeah, alright!' attitude this study suggests I SHOULD be feeling (after years of deep immersion in virtual violence and aggression)...
TL;DR - Misleading study, untruthful correlation to real life perception of violence.
This study feels more like a proof of competitive video games causing overly-competitive behavior... if I just finished playing Call of Duty and was then told to play a game involving blasting sound at people, I'd probably blast some pretty loud sounds too... and I'd expect loud sounds blasted at me as well... The presentation of this study doesn't feel like it was well planned...
As usual, I read and type too quickly. Yes, you're right, that should be aggressive behaviour, not violent behaviour.JDKJ said:
Interestingly, I did a quick dig and whilst violent games leading to aggressive behaviour is fairly well established, according to a recent study: "Neither video game violence exposure, nor television violence exposure, were prospective predictors of serious acts of youth aggression or violence."
So yeah, definitely not violent then.
EDIT: Just found this as well, taken from a book attacking violent videogame hysteria:
Maybe this study isn't so good after all.
Let me tell you guys a story...
I was playing god of war one evening and then my dog walked into the room, his paw was bleeding (I presumed that his nail got ripped out from him tripping on the stairs in my house) I was absolutely horrified at this.
I think I stared in shock for a few seconds before I scooped him up and drove him to the local vet and I was shaking with fear in the waiting room at the thought that he might be in severe pain and at the very real possibility that he might have to be put down. (he's a 15 year old dog and I wasn't sure how much it might cost to have the vet preform surgery or if it would be better for my dog to just die there and then)
Just a half hour earlier I was shoving my virtual blades of chaos down a minotaurs throat and tearing a minion in half.
Not to discredit this man's research as I do believe that depending on other factors in a person's life, seeing violence in either a video game, movie or various other forms of media can be a contributing factor to aggressive behavior if only temporary.
And by the way for those who are wondering, my dog is still alive and well with me.
I was playing god of war one evening and then my dog walked into the room, his paw was bleeding (I presumed that his nail got ripped out from him tripping on the stairs in my house) I was absolutely horrified at this.
I think I stared in shock for a few seconds before I scooped him up and drove him to the local vet and I was shaking with fear in the waiting room at the thought that he might be in severe pain and at the very real possibility that he might have to be put down. (he's a 15 year old dog and I wasn't sure how much it might cost to have the vet preform surgery or if it would be better for my dog to just die there and then)
Just a half hour earlier I was shoving my virtual blades of chaos down a minotaurs throat and tearing a minion in half.
Not to discredit this man's research as I do believe that depending on other factors in a person's life, seeing violence in either a video game, movie or various other forms of media can be a contributing factor to aggressive behavior if only temporary.
And by the way for those who are wondering, my dog is still alive and well with me.
Pull a gun on the kids and see how they react. Then tell me that they're "desensitized to violence" you worthless hack.
Well, the good thing is that games are the art of making you feel something. And usually games make you mad, but only because that was planned. or something.... look, I played a hell ton of violent games from the arcade days to this day in age, and any danger I've seen scared the shit out of me.
The issue was pushed front and center by Leland Yee's violent video game-labeling law that currently pends an opinion by the Supreme Court. A requirement of any such law is that the proponent offer proof of a causal connection between violent video games and real-world violence. The "studies" that California offered to the Court were ripped to shreds by the opponents of the law. Those "studies" didn't even come close to proving the required causal connection.FightThePower said:
Video games desensitize you to fictional violence, not actual violence. I'm pretty sadistic when it comes to games and movies, but I find real violence pretty appalling and I tend to view people that resort to it as the lowest form of scum imaginable. Fictional Violence is just the images we see, it doesn't have the actual meaning or effect of real violence.
As for actual violent behavior, I think its more to do with the frustration or challenge created by games that causes it. The same way some people get pissed off and break shit if their computer crashes or they can't do their math homework. When I was younger I only raged out at difficult or unfair games like Mario Kart with its FUCKING BLUE SHELL that made me want to KILL A BABY WITH MY TEETH every time my siblings used it to knock me out of first place.
As for actual violent behavior, I think its more to do with the frustration or challenge created by games that causes it. The same way some people get pissed off and break shit if their computer crashes or they can't do their math homework. When I was younger I only raged out at difficult or unfair games like Mario Kart with its FUCKING BLUE SHELL that made me want to KILL A BABY WITH MY TEETH every time my siblings used it to knock me out of first place.
funny how once every couple months there is an article which either says that video games make people more violent or that they do not.
Also i'm going to agree with the people who said that being desensitized to violence doesn't mean that you are more violent your self.
Also i'm going to agree with the people who said that being desensitized to violence doesn't mean that you are more violent your self.
Maybe I misread, but it looked like the study only showed an increase in, as the Penny Arcade guys put it, "Being kinda mean". Blasting loud noise in someone's ear is not exactly horror movie material. The desensitization to violence makes sense. So I guess what I'm saying is the study works as far as it goes, it just doesn't indicate much.
There hasn't been a shocking game out for quite some time and these killjoys are just clutching at straws, desperate to cling to any fading notion of videogames being bad for society whilst the same people want to promote the war in the middle east. Hypocrisy much?
Who says you'd call the cops? Desensitization to violence doesn't just mean not being as grossed out by blood/guts/whatever, it also means how well you react to it. Be desensitized enough and you probably wouldn't bat an eye to the shot man. Not saying video games, or any other medium, makes people do that, but that's the main point of these studies. Various forms of media do cause some aggressive behavior depending on the situation, we just need to know the short-/long-term effects of it. It's nothing to scoff at, really.DarkRyter said:
you know what i am going to murder him now since vidoe game De-sensitized to real life violence. when i am done with this guy he will have cork screw though his eye! while i beat the shit out of of him with a 2×4!
not really i don't like fighting in real life nore do i like blood so this guy is wrong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWr4htYp9dM
not really i don't like fighting in real life nore do i like blood so this guy is wrong
know that you mention penn and tell her a link to the first part of that episode on video gamesEri said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWr4htYp9dM
Plenty of things caused violence before hand. What's your point? All forms of media have some sort of an effect on the human psyche, regardless of whether violence has happened before, no matter how minor it may potentially be. Depending on studies, video games, and many other mediums, may cause aggressive. What we don't know is what the extensive long-/short-term effects are, and why it may affect some people more than others. The brain is a complicated thing, that's why "common sense" is said to be an oxymoronAcidwell said: