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Andrew Haas
Ms. Rogers
Writing 2010
3/7/2016

Violence in videogames and its effects.

Video games have steadily been getting more popular to the point where the
videogame industry was valued at over $93 Billion in 2013(Vandermeulen). With video
games becoming more widespread, many new people were introduced the themes and
ideas that are implemented into video games. Although many of these themes and idea
are considered harmless or good, some are considered dangerous and negatively
influential. Violence in video games is considered to be one of these themes.
Throughout the past two decades this controversial issue has become a recurring
debate. As more violent video games come out and more research is done, the
discussion continues. Many people have differing views on violence in video games and
how they affect players. Some of the debated topics include making players more
slightly more aggressive/violent, being a factor that causes shootings, and causing
criminal behavior.
Throughout the debate over whether or not violent video games affect people a
huge topic is if it makes the player more aggressive and violent. Many believe It is the
accumulation of risk factors that tends to lead to aggressive or violent behaviour."
(Kleinman), the American Psychology Association concluded while there was no single

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risk factor to blame for aggression, violent video games did contribute" (Kleinman).
CBS also found something very similar after reviewing more than 150 research papers.
They found a consistent relationship between the games and an increase in
aggressive behavior as well as a decrease in prosocial behavior, empathy, and
sensitivity to aggression and that this behavior continued for some time." (Casey). CBS
agreed that the video games alone can't explain this aggression. Rather, it concluded
that the accumulation of risk factors, such as antisocial behavior, depression, trouble at
home, delinquency or academic problems, also played a role...research reviewed here
demonstrates that violent video game use is one such risk factor (Casey). Healthline
also references the American Psychology Associations report, The APA report went on
to say that no single risk factor consistently leads a person to act aggressively or
violently (Albanese). Anderson, a professor and director at the department of
psychology in Iowa State University, believes that violent video games are a direct
cause of increased aggression and violence. Anderson believes Our General
Aggression Model... is a useful framework for understanding the effects of violent
media. The enactment of aggression is largely based on the learning, activation, and
application of aggression-related knowledge structures stored in memory. (Anderson).
He believes that video games and other media increase aggressiveness by teaching the
observers how to aggress. Anderson believes that aggressiveness from observing
violence is not only short term but can also be long term. The aggression is caused by
the repeated exposure to violence by using the knowledge gained from the
violent media and applying it to situations. Carnagey also agrees with Anderson, stating
Youth exposed to violent media tend to become more aggressive immediately after

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exposure, and become more aggressive adults" (Carnagey). He says that violent video
games and media are causing the population to become desensitized to violence.
Carnagey uses the term desensitized to violence which he later states to include a
variety of effects including an increase in aggressive behavior. According to Bartholow,
long-term violent video game use has been shown to correlate with aggressive
behavior and delinquency" (Bartholow). He later says that although video games are an
important cause of aggression, it isnt the only cause and only exposure to violent video
games wouldnt cause a noticeable difference in aggression.
Another big part of the debate on violence in video games is its relation to
shooting. Violent video games are often mentioned as a cause of violent crimes
committed by a teenager. BBC brings up a significant example, One of the students
who carried out the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 used a gun he called
Arlene - allegedly after a character in a novel inspired by the computer game Doom."
(Kleinman). BBC mentions that although violence in video games could have been a
cause, most people who play violent video games do not resort to violence. CBS brings
up a different example, The games came under fire in 2012 after Adam Lanza gunned
down 20 children and six teachers Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut."
(Casey). CBS then states that the Adam was obsessed with violent video games. Brad
J. Bushman, who has done considerable work and research on violent media, took part
in an experiment where adolescent boys were given the opportunity to blast an
ostensible opponent with loud noise through headphones after being randomly assigned
to play a violent or nonviolent video game. The results showed that boys who played a
violent game and strongly identified with the violent game character selected noise

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levels loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage to their partner" (Casey). Other
studies have not found a link,including a study that was done in 2013 on whether violent
video games would trigger violence in teenagers with depression or ADD. Dr. Vic
Strasburger, a distinguished professor adds to this, I've treated several school shooters
and my best guess is that these kids have four factors that apply, Strasburger told
Healthline. One: They've been abused or bullied. Two: They have mental illness. Three:
They are socially isolated. And four: They play violent video games." (Albanese).
Strasburger means that although video game are a factor there are other factors that
are at least as important. He claims All four factors taken together produce a perfect
storm" (Albanese).
Although many players dont turn to extreme violence or aggressiveness, many
people still think that violent video games can lead to criminal behaviour in teenagers.
CBS mentions a new report from the American Psychological Association, that found
that there isnt enough evidence and research to support that link. It reports, there is
evidence showing the games increase aggression but not enough to demonstrate that
playing the games lead to criminal behavior or delinquency. (Casey). BBC quotes, If
you play three hours of Call of Duty you might feel a little bit pumped, but you are not
going to go out and mug someone (Kleinman).
In the end, violent video games still cause controversy as to what the effects of it
are and how significant they are. Many different people still argue about if they make
people more aggressive and violent or if they dont. Although many people now dont
blame shooting on violence in video games, they still count it as a factor. In conclusion,

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violent video games have not been proven to make people noticeably aggressive or
cause teenagers to commit crimes.

Sources
Albanese, Giovanni, Jr. "Violent Video Games Create Aggression, But Do They Cause Kids to
Commit Crimes?" Healthlines RSS News. Healthline, 14 Aug. 2015. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.

Anderson, Craig A., and Brad J. Bushman. "Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive
Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial

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Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature." PsycEXTRA Dataset (2001):35359. Iowa State University. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/VideoGames1.pdf>.

Bartholow, B. D. "Correlates and Consequences of Exposure to Video Game Violence: Hostile

Personality, Empathy, and Aggressive Behavior." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
31.11 (2005): 1573-586. Research Gate. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bruce_Bartholow/publication/7557317_Correlates_and_c
onsequences_of_exposure_to_video_game_violence_Hostile_personality_empathy_and_aggre
ssive_behavior/links/0fcfd512398b1b9414000000.pdf>.

Carnagey, Nicholas L., Craig A. Anderson, and Brad J. Bushman. "The Effect of Video Game
Violence on Physiological Desensitization to Real-life Violence." Journal of Experimental Social
Psychology 43.3 (2007): 489-96. The Free Radical. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.thefreeradical.ca/research/Effect_of_video_game_violence.pdf>.

Casey, Michael. "Do Violent Video Games Lead to Criminal Behavior?" CBSNews. CBS
Interactive, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.

Kleinman, Zoe. "Do Video Games Make People Violent? - BBC News." BBC News. BBC News,
17 Aug. 2015. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.

Vandermeulen, Rob. "Gartner Says Worldwide Video Game Market to Total $93 Billion in 2013."
Gartner Says Worldwide Video Game Market to Total $93 Billion in 2013. Gartner, 29 Oct. 2013.
Web. 06 Mar. 2016.

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