Violence in Video Games

The main argument of this article is that video games have a direct link to short term and long term aggression. The author presents this argument by providing studies from peer reviewed articles that all conclude that video games do cause an increase of aggression. The main point of this article is to answer the question, “Do violent video games lead to aggression.” The article is about the effects of violent video games leading to aggression. The author uses recent examples, like the Sandy Hook and Washington Navy Yard shooting. In both of these examples, the author cites that both shooters had a history with playing violent video games. The author uses a study which selected individuals to play violent video games for a certain period of time. The study would then compare the results to a group who played non-violent video games. The study concluded that violent video games cause a direct link in aggression due to humans reenacting the actions the characters within the video games perform.

Playing video games has become a norm in our society, and while games have enjoyed a nice period of prosperity, it has not come without its fair share of controversy and question. Video game addiction, stereotyping, and portrayal of violence are all problems that researchers associate with video games. Video games are also blamed on ruining people’s social lives, decreasing cognition skills, and even increasing aggressive behavior. The controversial Grand Theft Auto deserves a special mention for outlining all these problems in one video game series for our convenience! GTA covers gender stereotyping, violence, and overall graphic content thanks to its portrayal of prostitutes, murder, and crime; it goes without saying that GTA has been bashed by politicians and the media because of its

Are violent video games directly correlated to teen violence? This is the burning question many researchers are dedicated to answering. The common form of the question is “Is the increase in violence in games creating killer kids?” The simple answer is no. Instead the opposite has occurred, as games became more violent, the players became calmer. The games create a “safe” outlet for any anger or angst that young people possess. Crime rates in the teen population have lowered and violent teens admit to having little to no interest in violent video games. The games that most people fear are destroying the youth may actually be one of the things helping them grow and become “normal” members in society.

Does playing a video game make you prone to commit real-life violence? This question has been an issue since the very early 90's when violent games like Doom and Wolfenstein were released, but only in the last half a decade or so (mainly since the incident at Columbine, Colorado, 1999 – when it was revealed that the teenage shooters were avid video game players) has it really come to the majority's attention. The key issue that both sides can't agree on is whether people should be allowed to play violent games or not. I think both sides agree that extremely violent video games should not be played by young children, who have a harder time separating reality from fiction; also, the media does indeed only report one side of the

Lately, it seems that there has been an abundance of horrible mass shootings and brutal violence in our world. In today’s seemingly dangerous world, parents are yearning to protect their children from getting involved in these savage crimes. Now, a great deal of people, especially parents, accuse violent video games as the cause of this growing epidemic. The controversy of video game induced violence has a long history, but it didn’t appear in the spotlight until the disturbing Columbine shooting in 1999, when the gunmen were said to have been addicted to violent video games. Since 1999, there have been more mass shootings and vicious crimes that have been accursed on video games. While siding with the belief that video games create violence

Previous research has found a link between exposure to violent videogames and aggression. The current study investigated whether the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology moderates this relationship in college men. The sample, 168 men, filled out a demographic questionnaire, the Male Role Norms Inventory-Revised, an adaptation of the Exposure to Violent Videogames Measure, and the Aggression Questionnaire. Exposure to violent videogames was, as expected, correlated with aggression. Endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology was also correlated with aggression. The endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology was found to moderate the relationship between exposure to violent videogames and aggression. High endorsement increased

Violent video games have been being created since the first console. Yet only recently have we been blaming them for aggression in the player. We as humans have a tendency to blame our violent behavior on other things rather thin ourselves. Now aggression is being defined in many ways in this situation but mainly people point to the anger that’s brought out in the real world after the game or maybe it’s the gamers’ tendency to have outburst will playing the game. Both these thing show anger but do they really show that the game is what caused it. This same situation could be put in the place of me eating a potato and getting angry right after is it really the potatoes fault no.

Violence in video games, more specifically where the whole violent video game controversy came up, was a game called Death Race. This game had you running over gremlins but ended looking like “looked a lot like humans, since all that could be rendered was a blocky stick figure” (Luke Plunkett, Death Race, the World's First Scandalous Video Game, Kotaku). Death Race got a spot on 60 Minutes “looking at the psychological impacts” (Luke Plunkett, Death Race, the World's First Scandalous Video Game, Kotaku) of the game, was protested and was covered by National Enquirer and the NBC's Weekend Show and even “The National Safety Council said Death

In this judicious Psychology Today article on videogame violence, Brad Bushman, a psychology professor and violent media analyst, guarantees that violent computer games significantly affect the aggression levels of kids. By taking after psychological and logical thinking, Bushman studies how really violent computer games build and energize aggressive behavior. He talks about the psychological ideas of dynamic learning, recognizable proof, and behavioral conditioning keeping in mind the end goal to demonstrate that violent computer games increases violent behavior. For instance, players are frequently granted with additional points for scoring headshots in certain computer games, and Bushman trusts this empowered violent conduct may be transfering over into different parts of children's lives. Bushman trusts that by making his audience aware of the way that violent games really influence kids, his viewers will better control or possibly

It is not a well-known fact that since 1994, video game sales have increased 204%, while crime has fallen 37% in the U.S. (“Violent Video Games”). Video games create an outlet for an alternative reality for expressing aggression, rather than in the real world. Simulated violence that is shown to the public through video games is advantageous in many ways. Video games are extremely beneficial and safe because they provide kids with useful, real-world skills, they help to solve science problems, and there are limits placed on them.

The issue of video game violence seems to be a hot topic right now after several shootings have occurred and made a connection to the shooters being video gamers. In looking at past research it is apparent that there seems to large amounts of research that contradict one work to another. Although I would have been interested in conducting a poll of the publics opinion regarding the use of violent video games and their connection to mass shootings I was not able to conduct the research. However, for this paper I chose to conduct a literature analysis to see what research has been conducted and to seek out gaps and themes in this research.

“Did ‘Grand Theft Auto’ cause one teenager to kill?” (Leung, 2005) “Monkey See, Monkey Shoot?” (Keim, 2013) The almost countless controversies and fingers pointed at companies such as Rockstar Games, Infinity Ward, and Midway Games blaming them for “Violent Video Games Turning Kids Into Killers” (Johnson, 2011). With all the articles and news outlets that have scolded violent video games and their creators, many have forgot the good. Video games do have the ability to teach and stimulate the brain by engaging users in high social activities, critical thinking skills, relieving stress, and individualized

Violence in video games have been proven to cause aggression and violence. The APA (American Psychological Association) proved that videogames have caused many high profile tragedies. Sarah Caspari states in her website, Does Virtual Violence Provoke Real Rage? Yes and No, “ video game violence has been brought into the analysis of several high-profile tragedies, like the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado” (Caspari). The APA also asked the video game industry to minimize the violence found in games by making parental controls available on these video games and urged the Entertainment Software Rating Board to pay more attention to violence in video games and review its rating system. Sarah Caspari states that the accumulation of the risk factor of violent

This question judges the social effects of a repetitive sequence of medial entertainment in relation to the increase in an individual’s aggressive behavior. The violence of today’s video games are far more visually gruesome then they were ten years ago. An example is the modern popular game Goldeneye 007, whose bad guys no longer disappear in a cloud of smoke when killed. Instead they perform an elaborate maneuver when killed. For example, those shot in the neck fall to their knees and then their face while clutching at their throats. These graphic games can increase an individual’s aggressiveness by portraying the act of a murder, as in Goldeneye 007. By answering this question, we can become more aware and be able to identify possible

The evolution of video games has taken a drastic change since the 1970’s when video games were first introduced. Since then every decade video games have become more violent in nature with strong language and realistic to suit society today. Craig Anderson states that with more violence in video games they would sell better than games with less violence (Anderson, Gentile, and Beckley pg.5). Violent video games really became popular when the first person shooter games were invented so that we could see through the eyes of the player, as if we were really experiencing it. Society wanted better graphics and games as time went on new technology was invented and society matured in electronics. This meant that for game creators would have to come up with something better selling than the last. Creators would make the games more violent and more realistic each time so that way they can keep the interest of their consumers. Each game would increase in blood or gore slowly, but what really got consumers to buy their games would be the update of graphics in the consoles or games. This is due to the drastic changing of technology and the maturing of consumers wanting better and newer violent video games. Violent video games can cause children to behave violently if not correctly supervised.