Introduction
Many doctors and psychologists are interested in the relationship between computer games and aggressive behavior. There are several researches were provided on this matter and the conclusions are not optimistic. In this paper we want to investigate do violent video games provoke aggressive behavior in children and teenagers or not? There is a number of researches will be discussed on this matter.
Body
Usually, when in the United States a mass murder has happened at school or at university, all the attention of police, reporters and ordinary citizens refers to identity of the killer and his habits. In addition to monitoring by a psychiatrist or psychologist visits of the facts is often mentioned that the offender was fond of violent computer games.
At the beginning of the 21st century some works were published. These works confirmed the link between video games fad children, built on violence and aggressive behavior. In 2002, scientists have published one such study. They suggested that the more teen will get involved shooters or similar games, the more his behavior are aggression. The hypothesis was confirmed by scientists, although it should be said that the relationship was found to be weak enough. Also confused and sample size: psychologists surveyed only 32 teenagers that still are not enough.
At the same time the scientists appeared explanation of how video games turn us into people who are prone to aggression. Every day, watching the scenes of virtual violence, people lose understanding that aggression is not acceptable in society.
The last statement is very interesting in itself in terms of the theory of evolution. Modern anthropologists argue that mankind began when our ancestors began to live in flocks. Over time, the pack turned into tribes, tribes - the people, but already there loomed and familiar with their state institutions. To the first people to live in flocks, their community should be stable. Stability is ensured by reducing competition and intra-group aggression.
If we consider the problem of aggression in the context of human evolution, we must say that after getting rid of direct aggression, we went into indirect agression. Man has become smarter and carries out its intentions through verbal attacks and social interaction.
Returning to the subject of video games, I want to mention one serious drawback scientists hypothesis of a direct connection to the actual video game violence. Scenes of violence are not only in video games: blood, fights and insults in a large amount presented on the TV screen, and now also in social networks. Neither the federal news release is not complete without the bloody scene. YouTube is full of DVR recordings on which people are hit by cars. Stories about the video with bullying and beatings one child other periodically pop up here and there. Of course, all this scenes also makes people less sensitive to others' pain and aggression turns into something familiar. I think that in many ways the situation is not due to the fact that violence has increased, but the fact that it was easier to show.
In 2008 the Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl K. Olson published a book entitled «Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do». At the heart of the book were research funded by the Office of the US Justice Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention and the US Department of Justice. Kutner and Olson focused on practical advice to parents, rather than a simple statement of fact "Games with scenes of violence - it's bad." The study included data on more than 1,200 students from the 7th, 8th grade, and information from interviews with their parents. Separately, work was carried out with focus groups involving parents of teenagers.
As a result of the research, Kutner and Olson found that boys really prefer to play with the inclusion of violence in the plot, but it is interesting that the girls are not far behind them. Although Sims was in young ladies and in the first place, second place went to the game series Grand Theft Auto. It turns out that clashes between gangs and racing motorcycles resonate in the hearts of girls. However, the rest of the 10 popular girls’ games were not such an aggressive tone - it was quite peaceful entertainment, for example, Dance Dance Revolution.
Yet, as the authors have found out, playing video games with scenes of violence associated with increased risk of aggressive behavior (fighting, property damage) and school problems (conflicts with the teacher, low scores). It is important to understand what cause is and what is effect. Games can lead to aggressive behavior and lower academic achievement, but then the more aggressive, non-contact children may show more interest in aggressive video games. It is known that these children are less able to learn, so that problems with education are a logical consequence of their warehouse personality (Radoff, J., 2009). Kutner and Olson also said that the game with aggressive gameplay can help your child cope with his anger. Do not forget that children do not like if they are considered as different from their peers: if the child does not play video games, falling out of a common cultural space, it becomes an outcast in the classroom, and the risk of aggression towards him increases.
Games and Crime
According to C. Anderson (2010), already in 2002, the year of the data released study conducted by one of the US government agencies. Experts studied the information on the 41st person who participated in the school shootings (school shooting, mass murders in schools). It turned out that only 12% of aggressive killers addicted to video games, but 24% of them read books containing scenes of violence, and 27% addicted to films on similar subjects.
Eight years later, the American scientist Christopher Ferguson published his work on the impact of video games on aggressive behavior of adolescents (Anderson, C., 2010). He took into account how often adolescents meet violence on television and in video games. Separately accounted for problems with neighbors, family relationships, antisocial personality traits teenager and his entourage. After analyzing data on the person of teenagers, the nature of games they were carried away, and offenses committed by them during this period, Ferguson did not find any connection between the violation of the law and video games and violence on TV screens. What is really could predict the illegality of actions teenager – it is depressive symptoms which found in these actions.
In 2013, the year of Matt Delisi, a sociology professor from Iowa, published data on 227 of juvenile offenders. On average, each of them made 9 acts of violence from fights before beating parents (Anderson, C., 2014). According to Delis, adolescent fascination with video games can be a risk factor for criminal behavior. At first glance, this study contradicts the study of Ferguson, but it is not. Delis initially treated adolescents with criminal reputation, and we already know that people who are prone to aggression, it may limit their interests, games and movies with scenes of violence in mind personality traits. In this light, the work of Ferguson's thinner and prospectively to identify the real causes of juvenile delinquency.
Aggressive Brain
P. Wendling (2007) writes that recent studies show that aggressive video games have a negative impact on the psyche of the players. At the University of Missouri 70 volunteers played games with violence or without it for 25 minutes. Then they showed pictures from various scenes, including scenes of violence. Volunteers also participated in a game where they could stun an opponent with a loud sound. The brain of the subjects who were playing Call Of Duty or Hitman, showed a smaller response to the aggressive image plot, and while playing with the sound they gave the signal louder than those who played the game in peace. According to the authors it shows that aggressive video games make the brain more violent and less compassionate.
It turns out that the characters of games, similar to humans, causing the players more aggression. A group of researchers from Connecticut this year published in the Journal of Mass Communication and Society work on this topic. Subjects played Quake 3: Revolution. However, their rivals could be like people, and could take the form, far from human. Participants in the study were more likely to have thoughts of violence and the manifestation of verbal aggression in the battles with the enemy in human form, but scientists expect the exact opposite result. Researchers themselves say that the emergence of aggressive thoughts and verbal expression does not mean increasing thirst for violence, but such features are seriously thinking players affect their lives (Walling, A., 2002).
Conclusion
Apparently, we are very far from the final answer to the question of how we affect the aggressive video games. Yes, violence in games makes us more brutal on the micro-social level, but it is difficult to say whether this aggression goes beyond acceptable social norm.
The relationship between major crimes, including mass murder, and playing video games is doubtful. Most likely, people who break the law and use violence to others, initially have a lifestyle contributing to the care of the communication circuit for simple entertainment. Lack of empathy, anxiety, inability to express their feelings significantly impede communication of people, translating them look with human faces on the monitor. In this light, the video game - a sign of the problem, not its cause. The reason lies in the identity of the person, regardless of his age.
References
Anderson C. et al. "Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern and Western countries." Psychological Bulletin 2010 136 p151–173.
Anderson C. and Bushman B. "Media violence and the American public: scientific facts versus media misinformation." American Psychology June 2001 56(6) p477–489. Accessed 7 March 2014.
Ferguson, C. J.; Garza, A. (2011). "Call of (civic) duty: Action games and civic behavior in a large sample of youth". Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2): 770.
Radoff, Jon (8 December 2009). "Six wonderful things about video games". Radoff.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
Walling A. "Do video games lead to violent behavior in children?" American Family Physician 1 April 2002 65(7) p1. Accessed 7 September 2008.
Wendling, Patrice (February 2007). "Violent videos alter brain functioning, study shows". Internal Medicine News 40 (3): 20. doi:10.1016/s1097-8690(07)70088-4.
