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Violence in Games, Once Again, Not That Compelling

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the chickens-and-eggs dept.

One of the great arguments of the digital age has been over the effects of video games on aggression — especially if you have ever heard the name Jack Thompson. A recent study suggest the counterpoint once again, that violent video games really don't have that much impact. "The authors performed six studies in total, but they were in broad agreement, so we'll only discuss the more compelling ones here. For the experimental portion, these involved playing an essentially identical game with different degrees of violent content. One group of participants was randomly assigned to play the game House of the Dead 3 on the different extremes of its gore settings, while a second was split between those who played the normal version of Half-Life 2, and a those who played a modified version that turned the adventure into an elaborate game of tag. In both cases, the primary influences on enjoyment were the sense of competence and satisfaction, along with the immersive nature of the game. Generally, females rated immersion as more important, while males went for competence (and consistently rated their own expertise very highly). Violence didn't register when it came to enjoyment, even for those with pre-existing violent tendencies."

9 of 191 comments (clear)

  1. Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Generally, females rated immersion as more important, while males went for competence (and consistently rated their own expertise very highly)."

    There's a joke about sex in there somewhere, I'm quite sure of it.

    1. Re:Hmm... by Hatta · · Score: 4, Funny

      If it were sex, it would be males who were more concerned with immersion, and females more concerned with competence.

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  2. Well then.... by xmarkd400x · · Score: 2, Funny

    How do you explain the fact that the Columbine kids along with multiple other child criminals played video games?!?!

    ITS FOR THE CHILDREN!

    1. Re:Well then.... by khellendros1984 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, if children are accessing inappropriate material, and killing parents, then I have a better solution. We'll ban kids. Get to it, people! =p

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  3. Re:Violence in games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm sorry, the correct answer was NAGGERS.

  4. Re:Studies show 99% of studies are B.S. by Bill+Dog · · Score: 2, Funny

    There are more deaths by automobile; maybe we should ban driving as it is clear that owning a car means you are prone to killing.

    I wonder what makes old people especially so bloodthirsty about this? Did they have Doom on the abacus back then?

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  5. Grrr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    This is ridiculous. If anything, I'd say video games promote conscientiousness. It took me ages to kill all the hookers and children in Vice City, but I persevered. As soon as I've finished raping everyone in Leisure Suit Larry, I'm gonna kick these ignorant fucks' asses. Then torture them a bit for the XP.

  6. I contend by cyberfunkr · · Score: 2, Funny

    I contend that video games do not cause violence.

    Hearing Jack Thompson talk about video games on the other hand... THAT pisses most everyone off.

  7. Re:Try the same experiment with film. by ion.simon.c · · Score: 2, Funny

    Guns cause video games?!?!

    Ah, crap... I screwed up again!