Dr. Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., of Iowa State University, recently conducted a study that found children who play violent video games are more likely to be aggressive.
Dr. L. Rowell Huesmann says that the findings are "pretty good evidence" that violent games cause violent behavior. He states that imitation and desensitization are the two primary factors that result in this behavior in children.
However, Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, co-director of the Center for Mental Health and the Media, isn't entirely sold on the general idea that "violent games" cause violent behavior.
Feel free to read more about the study and the examination of the findings over at CNN.com.
The study included three groups of kids: 181 Japanese students ages 12 to 15; 1,050 Japanese students aged 13 to 18; and 364 U.S. kids ages 9 to 12.
The U.S. children listed their three favorite games and how often they played them. In the younger Japanese group, the researchers looked at how often the children played five different violent video game genres (fighting action, shooting, adventure, among others); in the older group they gauged the violence in the kids' favorite game genres and the time they spent playing them each week.
Japanese children rated their own behavior in terms of physical aggression, such as hitting, kicking or getting into fights with other kids; the U.S. children rated themselves too, but the researchers took into account reports from their peers and teachers as well.
In every group, children who were exposed to more video game violence did become more aggressive over time than their peers who had less exposure. This was true even after the researchers took into account how aggressive the children were at the beginning of the study -- a strong predictor of future bad behavior.
The U.S. children listed their three favorite games and how often they played them. In the younger Japanese group, the researchers looked at how often the children played five different violent video game genres (fighting action, shooting, adventure, among others); in the older group they gauged the violence in the kids' favorite game genres and the time they spent playing them each week.
Japanese children rated their own behavior in terms of physical aggression, such as hitting, kicking or getting into fights with other kids; the U.S. children rated themselves too, but the researchers took into account reports from their peers and teachers as well.
In every group, children who were exposed to more video game violence did become more aggressive over time than their peers who had less exposure. This was true even after the researchers took into account how aggressive the children were at the beginning of the study -- a strong predictor of future bad behavior.
Dr. L. Rowell Huesmann says that the findings are "pretty good evidence" that violent games cause violent behavior. He states that imitation and desensitization are the two primary factors that result in this behavior in children.
However, Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, co-director of the Center for Mental Health and the Media, isn't entirely sold on the general idea that "violent games" cause violent behavior.
"It's not the violence per se that's the problem, it's the context and goals of the violence," said Olson, citing past research on TV violence and behavior.
There are definitely games kids shouldn't be playing, she said, for example those where hunting down and killing people is the goal. But she argues that the label "violent video games" is too vague. Researchers need to do a better job at defining what is considered a violent video game and what constitutes aggressive behavior, she added.
"I think there may well be problems with some kinds of violent games for some kinds of kids," Olson said. "We may find things we should be worried about, but right now we don't know enough."
She goes on to say a good way to lessen the impact of these games is to move the entertainment area out of the kids' room and into a more public area in the house.There are definitely games kids shouldn't be playing, she said, for example those where hunting down and killing people is the goal. But she argues that the label "violent video games" is too vague. Researchers need to do a better job at defining what is considered a violent video game and what constitutes aggressive behavior, she added.
"I think there may well be problems with some kinds of violent games for some kinds of kids," Olson said. "We may find things we should be worried about, but right now we don't know enough."
Feel free to read more about the study and the examination of the findings over at CNN.com.
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