Video Games: Does the Violence Matter?

We’ve come a long way from Pong and Pac Man when it comes to video games.  According to studies published in the April 2000 edition of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, violent video games can increase aggressive behavior.

Here are the results. One study wanted to answer the question; if people are exposed to violent video games over time, will they show more aggression? The answer is yes. Not only did aggressive behavior increase with violent video playing, but so did delinquent behavior. This means that the more people played violent games, the more likely they were to be aggressive and delinquent-not a good outcome. This relationship was stronger in men and people with aggressive personality traits.

In addition, academic achievement was poorer for those college students who had a long time history of playing video games (any kind of video game not just violent video games). College students were chosen for the study because they were old enough to have long -term histories of playing video games. While college students don’t represent all students, this information is still useful. Additional studies are needed to see if this same finding applies to high school kids as well.

What should we learn from these studies? Playing video games may hamper academic achievement–not something most parents will be thrilled to hear. Secondly, aggression and delinquency can result from long term playing of violent video games-another negative finding.

The concerns of many parents are real even though the media downplays the impact of these games on kids. Exposure to these games can increase aggressive behavior. These games aren’t just entertainment. They have the potential to harm. Let’s look to the research for answers and not listen to the opinions of those profiting from sales.

Anderson, Craig A. & Dill, Karen E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,78(4), 772790.