CONTEXT. Youth worldwide play violent video games many hours per week. Previous research suggests that such exposure can increase physical aggression.
OBJECTIVE. We tested whether high exposure to violent video games increases physical aggression over time in both high- (United States) and low- (Japan) violence cultures. We hypothesized that the amount of exposure to violent video games early in a school year would predict changes in physical aggressiveness assessed later in the school year, even after statistically controlling for gender and previous physical aggressiveness.
DESIGN. In 3 independent samples, participants’ video game habits and physically aggressive behavior tendencies were assessed at 2 points in time, separated by 3 to 6 months.
PARTICIPANTS. One sample consisted of 181 Japanese junior high students ranging in age from 12 to 15 years. A second Japanese sample consisted of 1050 students ranging in age from 13 to 18 years. The third sample consisted of 364 United States 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-graders ranging in age from 9 to 12 years.
RESULTS. Habitual violent video game play early in the school year predicted later aggression, even after controlling for gender and previous aggressiveness in each sample. Those who played a lot of violent video games became relatively more physically aggressive. Multisample structure equation modeling revealed that this longitudinal effect was of a similar magnitude in the United States and Japan for similar-aged youth and was smaller (but still significant) in the sample that included older youth.
CONCLUSIONS. These longitudinal results confirm earlier experimental and cross-sectional studies that had suggested that playing violent video games is a significant risk factor for later physically aggressive behavior and that this violent video game effect on youth generalizes across very different cultures. As a whole, the research strongly suggests reducing the exposure of youth to this risk factor.
William James said, “As a rule we disbelieve all the facts and theories for which we have no use.� These criticisms are more about ideology than methodology. Interested readers should read and compare the methodologies of Anderson and colleagues' paper with those of the critics’ papers and draw their own conclusions.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
Our careful reading of both the Anderson et al article Longitudinal Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression in Japan and the United States published in Pediatrics, and the critique by Ferguson leads us to the acceptance of the significance of the findings reported by the Anderson group of researchers. It seems clear that Anderson et al have been extremely sensitive to a variety of alternative explanations and have built in statistical and experimental controls to allow one to make reasonable inferences about the causal connection between the playing of violent video games and subsequent aggressive tendencies. The results are also in keeping with the data from many studies of the effects of simply viewing violent TV content and later aggressive tendencies. If one puts these patterns of behavior into a broader context of social learning effects to humans, it seems clear that the Anderson et al studies as a whole point to a significant social problem. Indeed, the care in the design of these studies, and of this one particularly, indicate a sophisticated knowledge of methodology and statistical procedures. The fact is that the general body of research on aggression effects of viewing violent content on TV or of playing violent video games has been peer reviewed in the most carefully monitored journals in psychology and by review committees composed of scientific professionals in major funding agencies.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
As one of the reviewers for this manuscript, I feel compelled to point out how off-base Chris Ferguson and Michael Sangirino are. The authors DID account for baseline aggression -- read the article! All of the "third variables" that Ferguson wants to be included would be covered in that baseline figure. Ferguson also cites 14 articles that show that video games have no impact, but 4 of them are by him! And crime rates may not reflect aggression, as David Grossman points out in his excellent (and Pulitzer-Prize nominated) book, ON KILLING. Rates of interpersonal aggression have risen dramatically around the world. There are thousands of studies linking media violence to real-life aggression, and only a handful showing no influence. Why should video games be any different than violent movies or TV shows? And, in fact, the third-person shooter games may represent even more of a problem. For example, how do you explain how a school shooter in Paducah, Kentucky can take 8 shots and have 8 hits -- all upper torso and head -- having never fired a real gun in his life before killing 3 classmates and leaving 1 paralyzed? The military routinely uses variants of third-person shooter video games to de -sensitize new recruits. Isn't it possible that children and teenagers are similarly de-sensitized? Paul Schwanz is absolutely correct -- there wouldn't be ratings if these games were all harmless, and it's up to the industry to produce more pro-social games and less potentially harmful ones. And we need more researchers like Craig Anderson et. al. to point the way.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
Most gamers who take the time to think about the link between media and behavior tend to couch things in terms of causes. It seems obvious to them (and rightly so) that a game about shooting things doesn't *cause* someone to go on a shooting spree. But studies like this one appear to be looking for more subtle links that are more appropriately thought of as influences, not causes.
Nearly $150 billion was spent last year on advertising in the US. Evidently, someone is pretty convinced that a 30 second spot of people enjoying a particular brand of soda on TV can influence consumer buying habits. This isn't about mind control. No one can say that a TV ad *caused* their eyes to glaze over and prompted them to walk, zombie-like with arms stretched out in front of them, to the nearest convenience store for a cold drink. But a whole lot of people seem convinced that the aggregate influence of lots of consumers simply seeing a picture, hearing a radio spot, or viewing moving pictures will influence buying patterns to the point that they will make their ad budget back and more in sales. We don't like to think that we can be influenced so easily, but hundreds of billions of dollars say otherwise.
Media is often used for propaganda purposes as well. Once again, there appears to be a belief that media has the power to influence people's opinions, beliefs, etc. In fact, from a decidedly more cynical perspective, effective media is *all* about audience manipulation. It is often designed to influence the way we feel. If it doesn't accomplish this, it is considered somewhat less successful in its design than a piece of media that does.
If games do not have the power to influence, then they are the weakest and most useless form of media known to man. On the other hand, if they do have the power to influence, then should we assume that they must always and only influence for good? Where's the logic in that? This study appears to indicate that games can sometimes influence us in ways that may be seen as negative. Rather than shocking, this is to be expected based on all the knowledge we've managed to garner so far on media and influence. Why even have an ESRB rating system if this were not already thought to be true?
Rather than an indictment on games as a medium, this study confirms its status as a legitimate and robust art form. The study also confirms that, as with everything that is produced, the power to influence the lives of others to some degree places a burden of responsibility on the producer. Rather than denying the science behind this study, I believe that the game industry should embrace its responsibilities, continue to try to improve game-rating systems, work to better educate parents, and support further research into games and how they influence gamers.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
Why are we using African studies to justify circumcision in the United States? Why aren't we using studies from comparable societies when evaluating the procedure's benefit?
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
The Anderson et al., paper is on an interesting topic. Unfortunately there are numerous flaws in the literature review, methodology and conclusions that greatly reduce my enthusiasm for it, and call into question the meaningfulness of the study.
In the literature review the authors suggest that research on video game violence is consistent when this is hardly the case. The authors here simply ignore a wide body of research which conflicts with their views. A bibliography of research studies finding either null results for video game violence or results that suggest that violent game play reduces aggression is appended to this review.
The authors fail to control for relevant "third" variables that could easily explain the weak correlations that they find. Family violence exposure for instance, peer group influences, certainly genetic influences on aggressive behavior are just a few relevant variables that ought either be controlled or at minimum acknowledged as alternate causal agents for (very small) link between video games and aggression.
Overall results are very weak with effect sizes ranging from (.07 to .15). Video game exposure overlapped in this study approximately half a percent to 2% with the variance in aggression, which is as close to zero as one can get without being zero. If anything it is remarkable how little effect that violent games had on trait aggression, considering that other relevant variables were not controlled. Likely if other variables had been better controlled, such small effects may have vanished.
Lastly the authors link their results to youth violence in ways that are misleading and irresponsible. The authors do not measure youth violence in their study. The Buss Aggression measure is not a violence measure, nor does it even measure pathological aggression. Rather this measure asks for hypothetical responses to potential aggressive situations, not actual aggressive behaviors. In the paragraph beginning "youth violence is a public…" the authors appear to generalize their results to youth violence, but offer no compelling reason why this should be, particularly in light of the weak results they achieve. The authors also fail to note that during the period in which violent video games became increasingly popular, youth violence has plummeted approximately 66% to levels not seen since the 1960s (childstats.gov, 2008; FBI, 1951- 2007). Although I suspect the authors would simply try to argue that this does not matter, such arguments are disingenuous, particularly as they raise the issue of youth violence themselves.
In short, given the weak effect sizes, the lack of control of relevant variables, and the failure of the authors to acknowledge data and research which contradicts their hypothesis, I am left with little confidence that the results of the current study provides much meaningful information on the impact of violent games.
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Conflict of Interest:
None declared