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New Study Finds No Link Between Violent Video Games and Behavior (dailydot.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Daily Dot: Scientists have been investigating the impact of violent video games on behavior for more than two decades, and the results are still being debated. In a 2015 resolution on games, the American Psychological Association reported that multiple studies found a link between violent game exposure and aggressive behavior, though critics at the time questioned the findings. Now, a new study published by researchers at the University of York in the journal Computers in Human Behavior further challenges the connection.
It has long been theorized that exposure to in-game concepts like violence has a "priming" effect on players that ultimately impacts behavior, leading scientists to believe that a player exposed to in-game violence will be more susceptible to displaying such violence in real life. The new study found the exact opposite to be true in some instances. In a series of experiments with a little over 3,000 participants (more than any past study to date), university researchers found that exposure to video game concepts like violence won't necessarily impact behavior. It also found that increasing the realism of violent video games does mean aggressive behavior in gamers will increase.
It has long been theorized that exposure to in-game concepts like violence has a "priming" effect on players that ultimately impacts behavior, leading scientists to believe that a player exposed to in-game violence will be more susceptible to displaying such violence in real life. The new study found the exact opposite to be true in some instances. In a series of experiments with a little over 3,000 participants (more than any past study to date), university researchers found that exposure to video game concepts like violence won't necessarily impact behavior. It also found that increasing the realism of violent video games does mean aggressive behavior in gamers will increase.
I don't think we need any additional proof that social science is mostly junk science. Priming, intersectionality, trigger warnings all brought to you by these clowns.
Look, the question is not that hard to do. You want to find out if violent video games have an effect? Do this:
1) Pick one of the worst schools in the nation - one where half the kids end up in jail rather than graduating. Chances are the kids are poor and will make step 2 easier.
2) Get permission from the parents.
3) Split the incoming class into two groups, a control and a violent video game group.
3) Each day, let the kids in the control play for one hour, a non-violent video game, such as Tetris, Angry Birds, Bejewelled, etc. Let the kids in the violent game group play anything with an "Adults Only" ESRB rating, (eliminate the sex based ones).
4) In 4 years, look and see which kids went to jail for violent acts. Given that we picked one of the worst schools, chances are that some students in both group got convicted.
But they don't do that. Why? Because the smart people know the video games don't do anything REAL. Instead they pretend that fake 'violence' such as violent thoughts, pushing, cursing, etc. are someone indicators of real violence.
We don't need to use these fake indicators, we can use actual criminal convictions. If you don't bother using REAL indicators, you are cheating.
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