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New study suggests playing video games not linked to physical aggression

B

Brictoria

Well-Known Member
Gamers with a preference for violent games tend to display higher levels of verbal aggression and hostility but not higher levels of physical aggression, according to new research published in Frontiers in Psychology.

<snip>

One of the key findings was that the type of video games people choose to play is indeed related to their aggression levels. Participants who played more violent video games tended to exhibit higher levels of verbal aggression and hostility.

The study also revealed that heightened narcissism was linked to higher levels of anger, physical aggression, and verbal aggression. On the other hand, low self-esteem, which reflects how positively or negatively we see ourselves, was associated with higher levels of hostility.

The researchers found that violent video game choice did not act as a mediator between narcissism or self-esteem and aggression. This means that personality traits had a direct influence on aggression, and the choice of video games did not significantly impact this relationship.
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Source: Violent video games linked to verbal aggression and hostility but not physical aggression
 
It would be interesting to flip that study around and try to find out if there are certain personality profiles that tend to seek out and play violent video games. Is it the violent video games that produce certain behaviors, OR is it the personality profile that tends to play these games?
 
Back in the 80s there was a world wide purge of violent cartoons on TV. In my country popular cartoons such as The Road Runner and Popeye are completely banned due to portrayal of violence.

40 years later this action has had absolutely Zero Impact on society. If anything teenagers today are much more likely to knife each other rather than have a fist fight.
 
I mostly play Nintendo games (mainly splatoon) and there have been online matches that make me rage (usually when my teammates are goofing off)
 
I like to believe that ultimately how video games may or may not effect young people is entirely something to be considered on an individual basis. I do recall in the late 90s when some tried to pass laws to censor software games on a number of levels. And how the industry fought back and won.
 
Obviously I'm usually angry and hostile because I'm playing video games like Animal Crossing, Story of Seasons, and Disney Dreamlight Valley. Sarcasm. Obviously.

But then again, games where I escape into another world is likely a sign how I really don't enjoy living in this world.
 
I think the problem is that video games have a big effect on the reward system in our minds. Games are designed to manipulate that. When you win in a game, you feel good. When you lose, you feel bad and sometimes even angry. So when kids play a lot this is constantly happening, it's like turning a switch on and off again and again. Imagine that happening hundreds of times in just a few hours. And this is brain chemistry, not something to take lightly or mess with too much. Especially in young kids who are still developing and growing and learning. I think it affects things like emotional control/regulation and concentration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reward_system
 
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Outdated said:
Back in the 80s there was a world wide purge of violent cartoons on TV. In my country popular cartoons such as The Road Runner and Popeye are completely banned due to portrayal of violence.

40 years later this action has had absolutely Zero Impact on society. If anything teenagers today are much more likely to knife each other rather than have a fist fight.
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I never forgot 'I'm strong to the finish cause I eat me spinach' and still live by that today.

popeye.gif


;)
 
Forest Cat said:
I think the problem is that video games have a big effect on the reward system in our minds.
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I guess my autism shows here, I have very few games that I've played to the finish, I find a part of the game I like playing and tend to just do that over and over. I also like sandbox type games, and one of my favourites is a MineCraft type game that I can play offline. I just like building stuff, no challenge, no goal. Digital Lego in a way.
 
Outdated said:
I guess my autism shows here, I have very few games that I've played to the finish, I find a part of the game I like playing and tend to just do that over and over. I also like sandbox type games, and one of my favourites is a MineCraft type game that I can play offline. I just like building stuff, no challenge, no goal. Digital Lego in a way.
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Minecraft was one of my special interests for a few years in my childhood
 
Brictoria said:
Source: Violent video games linked to verbal aggression and hostility but not physical aggression
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Makes perfect sense. Violent video games are a safe outlet for people who feel violent urges. You get to do all kinds of horrific things without risk, consequences, or hurting anyone. Kind of like taking your aggression out on a punching bag instead of a person; it may be a pressure release valve for antisocial urges.

People who see "linked" and immediately assume A caused B have already reached their conclusion. Linked could be a coincidence, a correlation to a third factor, or causality going in either direction.

From the study: “We do not have the evidence to say that violent video games cause verbal aggression or hostility."
 
The idea that they fostered actual violence always seemed really dumb to me.

I grew up playing every blood-filled game that parents were so worried about, from Doom to Mortal Kombat.

Yet I won't harm a fly, and I mean that literally. While of course everyone else is quick to get out the old' swatter or shoe.

Honestly, that whole idea always read to me as parents trying to find anything other than themselves to blame for their child's bad behavior. "It can't be the fact that I am glued to my phone 95% of the time instead of paying any attention whatsoever to my son, it MUST be those vidya games he's always playing, that's what did it" or whatever other excuse comes up.


As for verbal vitriol, honestly, it's not so much the violence of the game in question that does it. It's the competitive nature, AKA, playing against other actual people. But PARTICULARLY team games. Nothing brings out shrieking rage like losing a match in whatever because some teammate just couldn't hold up their end of the bargain. All the more reason I dont play those.

Never understood why someone in that situation keeps playing, though. Like, if I ever found myself getting THAT DARNED ANGRY at a game... I'll just go play a different one, or maybe go for a walk.
 
Outdated said:
I guess my autism shows here, I have very few games that I've played to the finish, I find a part of the game I like playing and tend to just do that over and over. I also like sandbox type games, and one of my favourites is a MineCraft type game that I can play offline. I just like building stuff, no challenge, no goal. Digital Lego in a way.
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Interestingly enough, I'm the complete opposite. I don't like games where you don't have some sort of a goal to work towards, or an interesting story. Minecraft has never held any appeal to me, nor the numerous "organization" games, like Satisfactory and Dyson Sphere Program. I'm also a completionist, and like experiencing everything a game has to offer, tending to do everything available in a game. I was also never into LEGO, unless I was building a specific LEGO set from instructions. Just making whatever seemed pointless and boring to me. Same with arts and crafts, which I didn't like as I kid. I didn't even draw back when I was in kindergarten.

I think this preference has two causes:

One is my continual lack of motivation, where I don't have much of an internal drive to do things, and need something else to push me to do stuff. This can be my conscience, other people, or something as simple as the goal or limitations in a game. Without a clear purpose, I don't see much of a reason to be creative, while with a goal, I can do quite well.

The other is that I'm much more interested in learning than making or creating. I know a lot of autistic people are programmers, creatives and fiddlers who like making things and working with older machinery and electronics/code, while I personally don't really have an interest in any of that. However, I really enjoy learning new information. When it comes to games, that not only goes for stories (which are few and far between even with the indie boom), but also game mechanics and goals. I like to be challenged, and having to work out how the game works to achieve a specific outcome.
 
Stuttermabolur said:
I don't like games where you don't have some sort of a goal to work towards
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This bit is interesting to me, considering the nature of some of these. They're basically a giant pile of goals, as I see it.

I mean, something like Factorio or Satisfactory, every little thing you do is towards a goal of "complete this single important thing". And the process of doing that, is this loooooong series of dynamic sub-goals that create themselves based on what you're doing, and that each leads into more. It's like, okay: I need to hit the next tier of those weird little science bottle things, they are necessary for main progression. But I need to be able to produce this thing over here in larger numbers to do that. So, new goal: figure out how in the heck to do that, and sub-goal, protect that area I'm about to set up from bug attacks somehow while building in it (so, another goal, come up with a way to get an ammo supply over there for the turrets). Heck, the endless dynamic goals are one of the reasons I play these so much... I'm not much for doing the whole "lego" thing. Like, if I'm going to build a structure, it needs to have a practical use. Some big Minecraft mansion aint gonna happen unless I can think of an actual function for all of those rooms. And Factorio is... well okay, EVERYTHING in Factorio is practical. And it all needs to be linked by some real challenge (for Minecraft, I use mods for that).

Oddly I actually tend to avoid most story-focused games for that reason, in that the vast majority of them provide next to no actual difficultly. JRPGs in particular. Though to be fair, my idea of "difficult" is very warped.
 
mysterionz said:
I mostly play Nintendo games (mainly splatoon) and there have been online matches that make me rage (usually when my teammates are goofing off)
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The thing that concerns me with violent games is that they tend to desensitise ppl to violence.
This desensitization process is a distinct KNOWN aspect of human psychology.
 
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