No Link Between Violent Video Games and Increased Aggression in Teens, Study Finds (gamesindustry.biz)

A new study from the Oxford Internet Institute claims to have found no link between time spent playing violent video games, and increased aggressive behavior teen teenagers. From a report: Published in Royal Society Open Science, the study is "one of the most definitive to date" according to the University of Oxford. While many studies have previously made similar and contrary claims, lead researcher professor Andrew Przybylski said the "idea that violent video games drive real-world aggression is a popular one, but it hasn't tested very well over time". According to the university, this study is set apart from previous work by preregistration, where researchers publish their hypothesis, methods and analysis technique before beginning research.

"Part of the problem in technology research is that there are many ways to analyze the same data, which will produce different results," said Przybylski. "A cherry-picked result can add undue weight to the moral panic surrounding video games. The registered study approach is a safeguard against this." This was supported by co-author Dr Netta Weinstein from Cardiff University who said: "Our findings suggest that researcher biases might have influenced previous studies on this topic, and have distorted our understanding of the effects of video games."

Comments

Teens

[fluffernutter]

Try to take those games away, on the other hand, then you see increased aggression.

Re:Teens

[jellomizer]

Being a Teenager is a source of aggression.
It is an interesting combination of near adult intelligence combined with an emotional maturity of a kid, then added to it, during that stage of development, their risk center of their brain is getting rewired.

So they know when they are not being treated fairly, their emotional state cannot be easily calmed, and let it just be ignored. The risk of being violent to the source that hurt them, isn't properly weighed. All in all just a bad combination.
Video games, organized sports, music, comic books, at least do a good job of distracting them enough to allow what ever slight against them, to be forgotten or at least given enough time for the intelligent part of the person to take over. Probably the worse thing to do, is allow the kid to stew in their own anger, only feeding back to itself. But a game even a violent one, just changes the topic.

Re:Teens

[ShanghaiBill]

I'm wondering where all the "correlation isn't causation" posts are.

The correlation is in the other direction. Video games first became popular in the 1990s, and were correlated with a dramatic decline in violent crime. Part of this was likely from other factors, such as a reduction in blood lead levels, and demographic changes (fewer people in the prime-crime age group), but it is also likely that video games helped keep kids at home in their mom's basement instead of out on the street getting in trouble.

Even today, violent crime is more common among low income teenagers, who have the least access to video games.

None of this proves causation, but the correlation is "more video games" <=> "less violence".

Re: Teens

[ShanghaiBill]

Every week there are conflicting articles appearing about this subject on these pages

No there aren't. Researchers have consistently failed to find any causative relationship between video games and violence. We have seen article after article, all saying basically the same thing.

Those claiming video games cause violence are politicians and publicity seekers, not scientists.

Has it been a year already?

[Major_Disorder]

It seems like there is one of these stories per year. Always the same. Not that facts will ever sway the anti violent video games people. Not claiming for anyone else, but in my case I believe violent games probably saved some lives. Here is why: I was bullied constantly during high school and if I had not had the release of games when I got home from school I firmly believe that I would have lost it one day and come to school ready to take out those that deserved it. Those people are alive today because of video games.

Social Priming

[JBMcB]

There was this concept that was en vogue in the 1990s and 2000s called "Social Priming." The idea was, if you are exposed to violence, or bigotry, or sexism, or other anti-social behaviors through media, you were more likely to adopt those behaviors. There were a few influential studies that proved the theory to be true.

Then, a few years ago, there was a bit of a scandal when a group of researchers attempted to re-create these studies and couldn't get the same findings. If I recall correctly, the impetus for some of these re-tests where the dearth of evidence coming from video game violence studies. This study seems to line up with previous findings.

Re:Social Priming

[Livius]

The idea was, if you are exposed to violence, or bigotry, or sexism, or other anti-social behaviors through media, you were more likely to adopt those behaviors.

Some of the most extreme intolerance seems to originate with people who grew up so sheltered from bigotry that they cannot distinguish actual prejudice from honest disagreement.

Re:This isn't news.

[Oswald McWeany]

I have been reading these studies for over 20 years. Why is this even new? The outcome is always the same in each study.

It's not new. We see the same studies over and over again- and everyone acts surprised every time. SURPRISE- violent video games do not cause violence (in your typical teenager).

Now, notice I saw "typical"; I think, even though the vast majority of children can differentiate between video game violence and real life violence, there are some for whom it could be a trigger.

Just because in 99% of children violent video games don't cause violence- it doesn't mean that that last 1% WON'T. Parent's need to be responsible, if your kids is one of those who are easily influence by video games to mix the imaginary worlds with the real, or has mental health problems, you probably should use more care in what games your kids play.

For the other 99%, let them shoot, stab, and impale!

Here Is the money quote

[SuperKendall]

From TFA:

Although there was no correlation found between playing video games and agressive behaviour in tennagers, researchers noted that games can provoke angry feelings or reactions.

This is EXACTLY why this stupid myth keeps coming up. People see kids yelling when playing video games and they think "Oh my they are getting violent".

Nope. Maybe they aren't even mad at others, just themselves. The yelling blows away any aggression in short order, and it's pretty much gone when you stop playing. THAT is why there is demonstrably no link between an increase in violence and video games.

If you want to see a much of extra real violence and stupidity, take a bunch of bored teens and put them out of the house all day.

I don't know about that

[rsilvergun]

I've been playing Burnout 3 on OG XBox and I swear to God if it spawns a car right around the corner while another racer is on my tail shoving me into it I'm gonna get violent. I swear, I can't even bronze some of those races. And don't get me started on rail gunning spawn campers in Quake 3.

Oh wait, I'm not a teen, I'm pushing past 40. Does that still count?

Look further back in the kid's history

[RogueWarrior65]

I'm sure the bullsh*t and drivel that passes for an elementary school education these days has a lot to do with it. What would really be interesting to see is whether or not there is a link between playing violent video games and DECREASED aggression.

Re:Another Sign

[gweihir]

You missed the key-component here: The preregistration. The actual finding here is that most previous studies had flawed results due to a faulty approach.

DejaMoo

[jwhyche]

The feeling I have heard this bullshit before. Oh wait, I have. When I was growing up and we didn't have realistic video games. We had our imagination and AD&D. Same class of fools thought we where all going to turn into axe murdering psychopaths. Another class of fools thought we had sold our souls to satan.

Well been playing table top rollplaying games for 35 years. I've yet to go on an axe based killing spree. Come to think of it I can't recall anyone I know doing it ether.

Same bullshit, different bunch of fools