Video Games and Mental Health:
By:-Haward Cooper...
Can Violent Video Games Increase Violence and Aggression?:
Are aggressive and violent tendencies cultivated by violent video games? Due to the participatory character of the games, they might be more detrimental than violent media. Two research studies showed that playing violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, or Mortal Kombat might enhance aggressive thoughts, emotions and behavior in both real life and in vitro.
Researchers found that violent video games can be more detrimental than violent movies and TV programs as the players are more emotionally involved in the protagonist or antagonist. Psychologists says, young boys who have aggressive tendencies may be more susceptible to the impacts of playing violent video games.
The other study states that even a fleeting exposure to violent video games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all categories of participants. A total of 227 undergraduates participated in the first research, which measured trait aggression and inquired about recent instances of violent conduct (delinquency).
Their practices of playing video games were also recorded. Finding, students who played more violent video games in junior and high school showed more aggressive behavior, author said. We also found that the time spent playing video games resulted in lower academic grades.
Second research result showed, 210 college students played either a violent or nonviolent video game. After a short time, the students who played the violent video game penalized an opponent for a longer amount of time than did students who had played the nonviolent video game.
Violent video games provide a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations, according to a researcher. In the short term, playing a violent video game seems to enhance aggressiveness by inciting aggressive impulses.
Longer-term impacts are likely to be longer lasting as well, since the player learns and executes new aggression-related protocols that may become more and more accessible for utilization when reallife conflict situations arise. One major concern is the active nature of the learning environment of the video game, explain the authors.
This medium is more dangerous than exposure to violent television and movies, which are known to have substantial effects on aggression and violence. An article stated the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down California’s statute restricting the sale or rental of violent video games to anyone under 18.
The author, discusses how the proposed rule was founded on the erroneous premise that such games encourage violent conduct in real life.
A researcher believes that the purposely preposterous aspect of violent games, however distressing, makes them clearly identifiable from real life and indicates that the interaction might possibly make such games less hazardous. She raises the issue of how these two behaviors may be related since juvenile violence has declined over the previous few years while violent video game playing has grown dramatically over the same time.
This study may be explained by causes other than the relationship between the two. A spurious variable, a third variable that explains the association between two other variables may explain the negative correlation between video game playing and aggressive behavior.
In one example, socioeconomic position may explain both a decline in violent behavior and an increase in video game playing. More affluent adolescents have the money and leisure to purchase and play video games, which keeps them securely inside while averting potentially violent contacts on the street.
Researcher also mentions other studies that have failed to demonstrate a relationship between violent video game playing and aggressive behavior among children. This result may not be as clear as it appears.
Violence in youth is a significant public health concern:
The decline of juvenile violence notwithstanding, it remains an essential public health concern that deserves attention children homicide remains the number one cause of mortality among African-American kids between 14 and 24 years old, and the number two cause for all children in this age range.
Furthermore, the percentage of youths professing to have conducted various violent actions during the preceding 12 months has stayed consistent or perhaps grown significantly in recent years. Although the Columbine tragedy and others like it made the news, juveniles are assassinated daily at the hands of another.
A more rigorous investigation of the relationship between video game playing and violence is essential for thoroughly comprehending a complex topic like adolescent aggressive behavior that has multiple causes and consequences.
Studies demonstrate a relationship between violent video games and aggressive conduct:
Researchers have revealed experimental evidence associating violent video games to more aggressive conduct especially as it pertains to juveniles who are at more sensitive phases in their socialization.
These impacts have been shown to be especially substantial in the instance of child-initiated virtual violence. In a book on Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents, authors provide an in depth analysis of three recent studies they conducted comparing the effects of interactive video games vs passive television shows and movies violence on aggression and violence.
In one research, 161 9-yo to 12-yo and 354 college students were randomly allocated to play either a violent or tranquil video game. The participants subsequently played another computer game in which they determined punishment levels to be administered to another individual participating in the research (they were not really imposed).
Information was also acquired on each participant’s recent history of aggressive conduct; frequent video game, television, and move behaviors, and numerous other control factors.
The author mentioned three main findings:
1- players who played one of the violent video games would choose to punish their opponents with loud shouts than those who played the nonviolent games.
2- Habitual exposure to violent media was associated with higher levels of recent violent behavior.
3- Interactive forms of media violence were more strongly related to violent behavior than exposure to non-interactive media violence.
The second research was a cross-sectional correlational examination of media habits, aggression-related individual difference factors, and aggressive behaviors of a teenage population. High school students (N=189) answered questionnaires regarding their violent TV, movie, and video game exposure, attitudes towards violence, and perceived norms concerning violent conduct and personality characteristics.
After statistically adjusting for sex, total screen time and aggressive beliefs and attitudes, the authors showed that playing violent video games predicted heightened physically aggressive conduct and violent behavior in the real world in a long-term context.
In a third research, a researcher performed a longitudinal study of primary school pupils to evaluate whether violent video game exposure led in increases in aggressive behavior over time. Surveys were administered to 430 third, fourth, and fifth students, their classmates, and their instructors at two occasions throughout a school year.
The poll analyzed both media habits and their opinions toward violence. Results suggested that students who played more violent video games early in a school year changed to perceive the world in a more aggressive manner and also changed to become more vocally and physically hostile later in the school year.
Changes in attitude were recognized by both classmates and instructors.
• Researchers evaluated impact size estimates using metaanalysis to look at the short and long term effects of violent media on aggressiveness in children and adults. They observed a positive connection between exposure to media violence and later violent behavior, aggressive ideation, arousal, and rage across the research they evaluated. Consistent with the notion that long-term impacts involve the acquisition of beliefs and that young brains may easily acquire new scripts via observational learning, they observed that the long term effects were stronger for children.
• In a more recent analysis, researcher additionally evaluated 136 studies involving 130,296 people from numerous nations. These comprised experimental laboratory work, cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal investigations. Overall, they observed consistent relationships between playing violent video games and several measures of hostility, including self, teacher and parent assessments of aggressive conduct.
Aggressive video games may promote antecedents to aggressive conduct, such as bullying:
Although playing violent video games may not always cause violent or aggressive conduct, it may raise antecedents to violent behavior. In fact, researcher points out that violent video games may be associated to bullying, which experts have proven to be a risk factor for more severe violent conduct.
Therefore, video game playing may have an indirect influence on aggressive behavior by raising risk factors for it. A researcher observes that the only way for violent video games to effect severe criminal violence statistics is if they were the major predictor of crime, which they may not be. Rather, they reflect one risk factor among several for aggression.
Should video games be regulated?
A researcher points out that violent video game playing may be equivalent to other public health hazards such as exposure to cigarette smoke and lead based paint.
Despite not being assured, the likelihood of lung cancer from smoking or IQ deficiencies from lead exposure is raised. Nevertheless, we have rules regulating cigarette sales to minors and the use of lead based paint since it is a risk factor for bad health effects.
A researcher says the same technique may be applied to video game exposure. Although exposure to violent video games is not the single factor leading to aggressiveness and violence among children and adolescents, it is a contributing risk factor that is changeable.
Violent behavior is determined by numerous variables:
Finally, most experts would agree that violent conduct is driven by multiple elements which may combine in different ways for individual children. These influences comprise communities, families, peers, and individual features and behaviors.
Researchers, for example, have discovered that living in a violent area and experiencing violence as a victim or witness is related with an elevated risk for aggressive conduct among kids.
Yet, this element alone may not induce one to be violent and most persons living in such a community do not become violent criminals. Similarly, studies have shown repeatedly that exposure to family violence (e.g., marital and child abuse, fighting and conflict) raises the risk for teenage aggressive behavior, but does not inevitably result in violent children.
Likewise, studies have shown that first person murdering video game playing is related with higher risk for violent conduct, although not all the time. Yet, consistent exposure to violence from numerous sources, including first person violent video games, in the absence of good elements that assist to buffer these negative exposures is likely to enhance the risk that kids would participate in violent conduct.
Despite debates on the specific nature of the association between violent video game playing and violent or aggressive conduct, strong evidence exists correlating video game playing with violent behavior and its correlates.
Although we are somewhat agnostic regarding the importance of social controls like laws forbidding the sale of violent video games to minors, an argument against such social controls based on the conclusion that the video games have no impact appears to oversimplify the matter.
A more in-depth and critical investigation of the subject from different viewpoints may both assist more clearly comprehend the causes and correlates of juvenile violence, and give us with some direction for innovative solutions to this ongoing societal problem.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the link between playing violent video games and being aggressive is still complicated and up for discussion. There is proof that playing violent video games can make people more angry for a short time. However, it is important to remember that these games are not the only cause of violent behavior.
Instead, it is shaped by multiple contributing factors, including family relations, social environment, and individual temperament. Playing violent video games may be one of many things that can make someone more aggressive, especially when added to other risk factors like seeing violence in real life or at home.
In the end, violent video games may make some people more angry, but they are not the only reason why people act violently. A comprehensive understanding of the various factors influencing youth violence is important to address this issue effectively.
So, more study and careful regulation could help lower possible risks while taking into account the bigger effects on society and the environment.
