Episode 115 (Video): Violent Video Games – What Does the Research Say?

Michael — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:41:55 +0000

Recent research on violent video games is pretty conclusive and you’re not going to like it: there’s good evidence that people if you play violent video games you might be less likely to a) notice aggressive events, b) perceive fewer or less severe injuries, c) feel less sympathy for violence victims, and d) have less negative attitudes towards violence. In this video I take a close look at this research as well as one study which claims the complete opposite: that violent video games are perceived by players as merely “rough and tumble play” and that violence actually enhances performance. Who should you believe? The video is about 28 minutes long.

Resources on Video Game Violence

Feel free to download the presentation I used in this video episode. You can download them in Apple Keynote format: Violent Video Games, in PowerPoint format: Violent Video Games, and in PDF: Violent Video Games.

You’ll find links to lots of resources on violence video games at Craig Anderson‘s web site.

Center for the Study of Violence

The effect of video game violence on physiological desensitization to real-life violence

Here is Dr. Wolfgang Bösche‘s homepage, author of Violent content enhances video game performance. The site is in German, but you can download the pdf of the article from this site.

Carnagey, N.L., Anderson, C.A., & Bushman, B.J. (2006). The Effects of Video Game Violence on Physiological Desensitization to Real-Life Violence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Anderson, C.A., & Dill, K.E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 772-790.

Violent video games and desensitization from the Cognitive Daily web site.

Safer Children in a Digital World: the report of the Byron Review

Violent video games linked to child aggression

The Psych Files Podcast » Video Game Violence

Episode 115 (Video): Violent Video Games – What Does the Research Say?

Resources on Video Game Violence