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Daily Dose of Violent Video Games Causes 'No Significant Changes' In Behavior, Study Finds (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the longer-term dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A new, longer-term study of video game play from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Germany's University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf recently published in Molecular Psychiatry found that adults showed "no significant changes" on a wide variety of behavioral measures after two straight months of daily violent game play. Most scientific studies on the effects of video game violence measure participants right after the completion of a gameplay session, when the adrenaline prompted by the on-screen action is likely still pumping. Researcher Simone Kuhn and her co-authors argue that "effects observed only for a few minutes after short sessions of video gaming are not representative of what society at large is actually interested in, namely how habitual violent video game play affects behavior on a more long-term basis." To correct for the "priming" effects inherent in these other studies, researchers had 90 adult participants play either Grand Theft Auto V or The Sims 3 for at least 30 minutes every day over eight weeks (a control group played no games during the testing period). The adults chosen, who ranged from 18 to 45 years old, reported little to no video game play in the previous six months and were screened for pre-existing psychological problems before the tests. Over 208 separate comparisons (52 tests; violent vs. non-violent and control groups; pre- vs. post- and two-months-later tests), only three subjects showed a statistically significant effect of the violent gameplay at a 95 percent confidence level. Pure chance would predict more than 10 of the 208 comparisons would be significant at that level, leading the researchers to conclude "that there were no detrimental effects of violent video game play."

10 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Shocking by chadenright · · Score: 4, Informative

    Isn't this the same thing gamers have been saying for years? Nice to finally have a study to back it up.

    1. Re:Shocking by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Isn't this the same thing gamers have been saying for years?

      No. There has never been much evidence that video games have a harmful effect, and yet another study using "psychological tests" doesn't really add anything. It is more important to look at ACTUAL VIOLENCE. Video game players have significantly LOWER arrest rates for violent crimes than peers who spend little time playing. The most plausible explanation for this is that spending time gaming leaves less time out in the street getting in trouble, but gamers also have different social connections, and are less likely to join gangs and associate with criminals. Gamers are also less likely to use drugs or alcohol.

  2. The Sims... by tomxor · · Score: 5, Funny

    participants play either Grand Theft Auto V or The Sims 3 for at least 30 minutes every day

    I wouldn't be surprised if the people forced to play "the sims" exhibited slightly more violent tendencies immediately after playing compared to GTA... that game just pisses me off.

  3. Re:Bullshit by chadenright · · Score: 3, Informative

    There is a difference between someone who is ill and plays video games, versus someone who is ill because they play video games.

  4. Re:Guns cause violence by sexconker · · Score: 3, Informative

    the privilege of buying a firearm

    Owning and using guns is a right, not a privilege.

  5. Re:I used to believe games have no effect by sexconker · · Score: 4, Informative

    violent crime committed by kids is way up

    No it isn't.

    correlated almost exactly with the rise in popularity of video games

    You mean it started in the 70s, crashed, then went nuts in the 80s?

    and it's leading to school shootings

    No it isn't.

  6. Re:I used to believe games have no effect by bug_hunter · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm not in the "games have no affect on kids" camp, but I'm also not a fan of "saying violent crimes committed by kids is way up" with no evidence camp.

    Because they're actually way down from their height in 1994.

    https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb...
    https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb...
    https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb...

    --
    It's turtles all the way down.
  7. Re:A hilarious situation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's a lot longer than 3 or 4 years. Remember Tipper Gore in the 1980s?

  8. We already know this by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    but now we're discussion violent video games instead of gun control. Mission Accomplished.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  9. Tough to apply to all ends of the spectrum by geschbacher79 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If we look at truly disturbed people (such as those committing mass shootings or school shootings, etc), there are very very few of these people in a country of 350,000,000. Now this research could be entirely accurate when applying conclusions to your average 18-34 year old. But that doesn't necessarily mean that mentally disturbed people (if given the same daily exposure to video games as the test subjects) wouldn't be negatively impacted.

    It's very possible that there is an effect, it's just a broad effect. Most people who try drugs don't get addicted to them: But those who are genetically predisposed to addiction will are much more likely to get addicted. (This is backed up by seeing that alcoholism is partially inherited).

    I'm not proposing a policy change, or any changes in video games. But what would be interesting is to identify at-risk individuals (broken homes, lower IQ, prone to violence, lack of self-control) and measure the effects of daily violent game play vs what this test did, and measured average individuals.