Do video games affect violence?

Hi guys, so I've heard on the new a lot about the effects of video games and how its causing or contributing to making more violent/ aggressive. But I don't know about this, I been playing video games of all sorts since I was 5 and I'm very passive, and so are my friends who are hard core gamers.

So seeing as I'm a psychology student and I have to do a dissertation, why not do it in something I like; video games, and something that in the mainstream media quite a bit.

Here is a link to a questionnaire I've developed, using a gaming habits section, which I modified and developed from an existing one, an aggression scale, and an attitudes toward violence scale. I would like to say that the last 2 were not made by myself, or are any reflection of my beliefs or are at all related to video games when they made, just they are useful scales that have been used before so have some validity behind them.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1EkKCxEuWNFUR-ggNpnTI0PVzGmhNLdRO6qsPsGnNieE/viewform

So hopefully you will help me in my data collection by taking part in the questionnaire, passing it along. Let me know what you think, if not just reply to me in general what you think of the effects of video games on violence.

Have a nice day guys :) https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1EkKCxEuWNFUR-ggNpnTI0PVzGmhNLdRO6qsPsGnNieE/viewform

Interesting question.

Well, it depends upon the video games really....like the GTA Games are the worst in my opinion only because of the research I have done that has it being proven to be too violent and the related deaths and cases to these games are pretty bad. For instance, Jack Thompson who is strongly against these games in my opinion proves great points as to why these games are violent. Also, not too recently there was a report that came out about the New GTA game in the U.K. and how schoolchildren as young as 6 are re-enacting rape scenes in the game in the school playground.

Here is the article:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/gta-v-schoolchildren-re-enacting-rape-3136500

And here are some more articles about GTA games and the controversies surrounding them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_III#Controversy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_Vice_City#Controversy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Coffee_mod

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_surrounding_Grand_Theft_Auto_IV

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_The_Lost_and_Damned#Controversy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_Chinatown_Wars#Controversy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_V#Controversy

Now I do admit I used to play grand theft auto when I was a kid but I never was violent towards anyone....it did make me more aggressive tho....and once I realized the true effects of these games I stopped playing them all together around when I was 15 or 16. My parents told me they were just games and warned me that none of the stuff in those games are real and that I should never do those things in those games and I didn't.

But, given all the evidence of how ''Bad'' these games are I do think these games are pretty fucked up....but then again I can only say thats my opinion.

As for all other video games in general like if they just have comical cartoon violence etc. I think they are harmless....I still play video games till this day but I avoid the ones I really distaste....I still play M rated games too but I like the action in the games more then anything else.

Hope this can help you although its mainly about GTA and other people will probably answer it better then me LOL anyhow good luck xD

Video games only affect those who are not mature enough for their content. It's not the video games themselves (not even games like Grand Theft Auto). It's just bad parenting. Bad parenting is whats allowing violence.

That case about the kids re-enacting scenes from Grand Theft Auto V is a prime example. How is it the games fault for the kids doing that? Grand Theft Auto is not a game made for children. It's strictly made as a 17+ game. It's the parents fault for not taking better responsibility in making sure something is appropriate for their kids before letting them use it.

That's sort of a bullshit answer, and that's coming from someone who also sees video games as a bullshit scapegoat.

The bottom line is that CULTURE affects violence, and pop culture is part of culture, and video games are part of pop culture.

That's not to say that any SPECIFIC GAME is causing society to be more violent. I call bullshit on such claims. When administrators at a school say that 6 year old kids are reenacting Grand Theft Auto, I read between the lines and see that no one there really said such a thing. There's an undisclosed amount of violence which apparently didn't warrant legal action, just a letter to parents basically saying, "please, guys, your kids are roughing it up. Please don't let them play games such as Grand Theft Auto." I'm assuming you're referring to the thread which was posted here today. If so, that's a bunch of horse$hit because that article was so vague and uninformative that it could apply to ANY school. Any school is gonna have half a dozen kids occasionally causing "injuries" on the playground. Take them aside and press them for who's to blame, and you're probably gonna get at least a couple who blame it on GTA just becauseGTA is hot shit. But to reiterate, the article never said that they found instances of 6 year olds playing GTA. This is just a case of deliberately bad journalism designed to be vague in order to make readers fill in the gaps with their own minds. And when the article is making you fill in the gaps and make up the rest of the story, that's probably a good sign that nothing out of the ordinary is happening.

But that sort of plays into my point. Look at how many people took that story at face value, without questioning a thing. Go to the other thread. You have me and one single other person calling bullshit, while everyone else is getting caught up in the typical "blame the parents" or "games aren't the problem" propaganda. That article was vague as shit and uninformativ as hell, yet it's still pissing the people here off despite the fact that we're not stupid. That article just pushed the right buttons, used the right buzzwords, and ultimately made a story out of what was probably a whole lot of nothing. And yet us SMART gamers got pissed off and angry or offended.

Case in point of media having an effect on thought.

And that's just one single obviously bullshit story. I called this one out as soon as I saw it, but I'm not made out of stone. I'm a product of popular culture, and I've spentmy entire life being forcefed the values that popular culture said I should find valuable. People buy their kids Barbies and Cabbage Patch Kids and Transformers toys. Grtanted, it's not VIDEO GAMES, but can someone please explain to me how it's different? There's been all sorts of backlash against stuff like Barbie or Bratz toys, there's been all sorts of commentary about how television shapes peoples' mentalities. It does seem to be the case that POP CULTURE has an affect on people. The primary defense I hear for video games is that video games are such an insignificant part of pop culture that they're unimportant when compared toi TV or movies.

Weeeheey! Finally some responses into this topic!

Regarding @lionwarrior28 Thank you for pointing out some of those articles, would you mind if i asked which country you are from? Hope you managed to take part in my questionnaire. In regards to psychological data, which is the prime scientific tool for investigating the effects of video games and violence/aggression, so far actual data is rather limited, there is enough findings to support either side, and in my research I've found that the possible effects of video games are actually less profound that the effects of violent movies and TV shows, other research into the effects of violent video games has found that the actual context of video games and how the violence is used can actually make participants more prosocial, decreasing short term aggression. Of course, it's not without saying that video games don't have any short term effect, in fact they do, however, the question I ask myself, and the one I'm trying to investigate is whether video games actually have any long term effects on aggression, however, due to the nature of my investigation, only a brief overview of the possible effects could be investigated. I've also found some research into children with psychological disorders and their gaming habits, and found that video games had no effects on them. But then there is research which has found that video games do indeed increase aggression. Also, thank you for article links, i'll give them a read, if you would like, or anyone else links or names of the scientific articles, I could provide some for you guys.

I myself am more in agreement with MrGeezer above, science has yet to show any evidence for long term effects of violent video games on our psychology. I myself have been playing video games of all sorts, from puzzles, to manhunt, to war games, to pokemon, i love games, and honestly, I've never been in a physical fight, or even much of an argument either, I'm just a very passive person and my 'hard core' gamer friends, I can't consider myself hard core because, well I play games but I'll be honest, I suck, I just play them for fun, but those friends that I do have they are pretty much the same as me, passive, huge gamers. I do think games like GTA have gotten a lot of shit from the media, and let's not forget, the media loves to use scapegoats to shift blame from the real cause or the most probably cause of the violence, like in the US the media will not dare attack guns and gun policies, and then shift the blame to psychological disorders or violent video games, when in fact video games has been found to be less influential than movies in regards to violence, so the study suggest currently, this can all change in a couple of years, thats the beauty of psychology.

In the case of children playing games that are not for their age range, well, we can only blame whoever bought those games for them, but we can blame the game or make restriction for games just because others were irresponsible.

Anyways if you guys want me to link or post the name of some of the scientific articles I've found, I'll gladly do so, but I would like remind everyone that when reading news articles, there is always an agenda behind it, and its always best to question all you read, even scientific articles in psychology, although they do have more credibility that news articles, there is nothing concrete in psychology.

Dan :)

Yes, if you are shallow enough to take games that literally.

Yeah, Jack Thompson proves great points indeed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_%28activist%29

That's why he was booted out of the lawyer biz by the Supreme Court of Florida for inappropriate conducts, lying to the tribunals, and constantly making frivolous and repetitive filings.

Of course videogames affect violence. All media portrayals of violence will affect violence--or, specifically, sensitization to violence. Whether or not they will make you a more violent person is difficult (and unethical) to determine.

Nothing I've seen, heard, or read leads me to believe that video games affect people more than any other type of media.

That said, letting a small child experience extremely violent material (more prevalent in video games than other types of media) could end up causing some issues.

So it's more about parenting than anything.

@mrdanielborja: I'm american....I was born in Southern California but I live in New Mexico....my name is just a Sikh Name so yeah I was raised as a sikh but am white.

And your welcome for the articles, as for video games in general I mean to be honest its not that harmful I think as long as the parents tell their kids about the harmful things in those games and tell them not to do it. Psychologically some games can help people with disorders because its kind of like brain balance you know? At least thats what I have heard from some research but then again it all depends....yes I do believe the media tho like you said likes to make crap up but I do believe some of it is not made up and that some of these games (Not all) do actually negatively effect people and can make them more aggressive. Some video games definitely do effect people in a bad way if they do them for too long....another issue is also that when you spend a lot of time in your room or inside a house playing games its not good for your eyesight or general health....doing too much of anything is bad....but playing video games in moderation is fine...just don't keep yourself locked up in your room all day playing them.

As I said I still play video games too and years ago I used to be a hardcore gamer....I'm skilled at playing video games tho cus I have played them for so long....I'd love to make some video games maybe in the near future but I'd have to learn quite a lot on the technology of how to make them and I don't have the time nor the money to invest in such a thing right now. I do know how to make special effects tho, you know like for movies and videos.

So yeah if you spend like an hour or 2 playing a game you should stop for a bit and at least go outside for a while....maybe jog or take a walk or hang out with some friends....thats what I do.

I don't know much more cus I haven't done too much research on the subject but when I do more research and know more about it I will tell you.

The only problem is that everyone has a different twist on video games so there will always be different opinions....some true and some not...its kind of a bipolar subject lol at least thats what I think.

And another thing I really don't agree with is how a lot of people in either the video game industry or even on websites like this that are about video games is that they bash Jack Thompson....the reason I even mention him is because I think what he has said is relevant to the effects of some of the video games in the industry on people....and I don't give a **** if people are gonna slam me against the wall for me talking about him either because those people are ignorant trolls and bullies who have nothing better to do.

Was jack booted out of being a lawyer? Yes he was....Has the supreme Court in Florida accused him of lying? Of course they have...but really think about it...do you think the supreme court let alone this government gives a **** about its people let alone evidence given to them of the harmful effects of some video games? No they don't care....because just like any type of media it promotes nothing but sex, violence, alcohol and drugs and it is just trash....Is this really what we want our children to be grown up in or see? Just think about it....Cus thats not a future as far as I am concerned. Another thing, GTA 4 Creators created a character based off of Jack Thompson and there was a whole mission in the game of the main character killing him....they even had something voice the character that is suppose to be Jack Thompson in the game mocking him saying ''Video games kill'' or something like that once the main character murders him....now if that isn't bullying and straight up a threat then you gotta be blind.

I'll stand by what Jack Thompson says forever whether people wanna **** with me or not because he has balls and has the balls to stand up to some very sleazy people in this business of video games....so people here or wherever can say what they want but its not true and its not cool to disrespect him and bully him the way they do. And thats all I have to say about that.

I still till this day never batt an eye whenever I walk into a gamestop store to buy a video game seeing children as young as 5 buy GTA Games and the cashiers allow them to buy the games i.e. either with them or the parents being present....to me that is wrong....because the game has not only sex in it but drugs and alcohol and sometime even rape in them so I am strongly against kids who are not even in their teens yet being able to buy or play these games or their parents buying the games for them because to me it is no different then a parent allowing their child to drink alcohol or do drugs or supplying them the money for the alcohol pr drugs because its all the same either way.

The biggest problem with these video games like GTA is because the parents of these kids who play these games let them get away with anything and don't raise them right....its bad parenting that is the biggest issue here....because kids wouldn't go out and murder or rape people or rob people if their parents strictly taught them not to.

And to be honest, I'm really not that concerned about young children playing violent video games. Granted, I think that parents should play the games first to see if it's okay (and I'd wager that they don't). But I don't think it's THAT big of a deal.

Back in the day, it wasn't so much video games but it was movies. My parents let me watch The Thing with them (which they probably shouldn't have, because that scared the shit out of me, and it was weeks before I could trust the family dog again). They let me watch Aliens and Predator (which were fine...despite being violent and scary, they weren't HORRIFIC). Not a big problem, because they watched it first to see if they thought I could handle it, then they skipped past parts that they thought were too inappropriate for me. That happens all the freaking time, and kids still turned out okay. So I don't see how video games are really much different. One movie won't screw a kid up, neither will one video game. This kind of exposure really only screws a person up when it's prolonged and repeated. It's similar to porn addiction. Seeing one porno won't cause a problem, but porn ADDICTS have a problem because that kind of prolonged and isolated exposure tends to warp their perception of women. You can say "that kid never should have seen that movie" or "that kid never should have played that game", and I'm not even technically disagreeing with that. I'm just saying...one movie or game isn't THAT big a deal, even if the kid shouldn't have been allowed to see/play it. The movies/games/stories that we are exposed to DO have an affect, but it's accumulative. It isn't as if instant exposure is gonna suddenly poison the child's mind or outweigh all of the competing messages being taught to them by the rest of society. Do games like GTA teach that violence is good? Sort of. But you've got the rest of society saying the exact opposite (depending on the context). One game or movie just isn't enough to counteract the rest of the lessons that the kid is picking up.

Still need more volunteers! Help guys! :)

Depends on the individual.