By: Kara Nayfa
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the second and third leading causes of death for people ages 15-34 are suicide and homicide respectively (CDC, 2017). Due to these high rates it seems natural that researchers would begin attempting to understand factors that could lead to such aggressive behaviors. Much consideration has been given to whether video game violence leads to real-world violence. The literature thus far has provided mixed results making it difficult to come to a conclusion about this issue.
Video games have become increasingly popular over the last couple of decades. Researchers estimate around 60% of Americans ages 18-29 report playing video games often or sometimes (Brown, 2017). Considering the rates of Americans playing video games, the nature of some of the most popular video games (e.g., Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty) being violent or aggressive, and the second and third leading causes of death for people ages 15-34 being homicide or suicide, it is reasonable to consider that there is a link between video games and potentially violent or aggressive behaviors.
The General Aggression Model (GAM) is a model that considers personality, social, and environmental factors and their effects on aggressive behaviors (Anderson & Bushman, 2018). According to the GAM, exposure to violence in the media can lead to aggressive ideas, emotions related to aggression, the motivation to commit aggressive acts, immediate repetition of the observed aggressive behaviors, increased physiological arousal that can increase aggression, and focus of attention on aggression, which may lead to more aggression. Long-term exposure to violence in the media may lead to more aggression because individuals are learning how to be violent by observing violent behaviors and they may become desensitized by being exposed to violent behaviors repeatedly. Thus, future exposure to violence may garner no reaction after long-term repeated exposure. Bartholow, Bushman, and Sestir (2006) found that individuals who played violent video games showed reduced responses to violent images but not to other negative images, which indicates exposure to violent video games desensitizes individuals to violent images. Additionally, other research has shown that in youth exposure to violent video games specifically, is related to delinquency and violent behaviors regardless of several other correlates (DeLisi, Vaughn, Gentile, Anderson, & Shook, 2012). Considering the evidence provided, a link between video game violence and real-world violence has been established. Despite this evidence, there are other researchers who claim this link does not exist.
Ferguson and Dyck (2012) argue that the GAM should be retired and focus should be on other models that can explain aggression. They argue for a model that is more biopsychosocial in nature and indicate that the GAM hardly acknowledges biological factors. The authors may have a valid argument that the GAM is lacking in some areas (i.e., biological factors); however, that is not necessarily indicative of the need to throw out the GAM altogether. Additionally, Markey, Markey, and French (2014) claim they found no evidence to suggest violent video games were linked to aggressive assaults and homicide. One problem with this statement or assumption is that they simply compared video game sales to violent crime rates. Simply comparing these numbers may not produce anything of significance because they did not compare those individuals playing violent video games and their levels of aggression to those not playing violent video games. Consequently, this research is incomplete at best and makes bold assumptions based on their methodology or lack thereof.
The evidence indicating a link between video game violence and real-world violence is overwhelming. The current GAM is an evidence-based model that at least is a good starting point to begin understanding this link. The model may not include all potential risk factors for violence at this point but adjusting the GAM by adding additional factors to the model to help explain aggressive behavior may be all that is necessary to solve this problem.
Video game violence can lead to real-world violence. Considering biological, social, and environmental factors is key in understanding the relationship between video game violence and aggressive behaviors.
Video games have become increasingly popular over the last couple of decades. Researchers estimate around 60% of Americans ages 18-29 report playing video games often or sometimes (Brown, 2017). Considering the rates of Americans playing video games, the nature of some of the most popular video games (e.g., Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty) being violent or aggressive, and the second and third leading causes of death for people ages 15-34 being homicide or suicide, it is reasonable to consider that there is a link between video games and potentially violent or aggressive behaviors.
The General Aggression Model (GAM) is a model that considers personality, social, and environmental factors and their effects on aggressive behaviors (Anderson & Bushman, 2018). According to the GAM, exposure to violence in the media can lead to aggressive ideas, emotions related to aggression, the motivation to commit aggressive acts, immediate repetition of the observed aggressive behaviors, increased physiological arousal that can increase aggression, and focus of attention on aggression, which may lead to more aggression. Long-term exposure to violence in the media may lead to more aggression because individuals are learning how to be violent by observing violent behaviors and they may become desensitized by being exposed to violent behaviors repeatedly. Thus, future exposure to violence may garner no reaction after long-term repeated exposure. Bartholow, Bushman, and Sestir (2006) found that individuals who played violent video games showed reduced responses to violent images but not to other negative images, which indicates exposure to violent video games desensitizes individuals to violent images. Additionally, other research has shown that in youth exposure to violent video games specifically, is related to delinquency and violent behaviors regardless of several other correlates (DeLisi, Vaughn, Gentile, Anderson, & Shook, 2012). Considering the evidence provided, a link between video game violence and real-world violence has been established. Despite this evidence, there are other researchers who claim this link does not exist.
Ferguson and Dyck (2012) argue that the GAM should be retired and focus should be on other models that can explain aggression. They argue for a model that is more biopsychosocial in nature and indicate that the GAM hardly acknowledges biological factors. The authors may have a valid argument that the GAM is lacking in some areas (i.e., biological factors); however, that is not necessarily indicative of the need to throw out the GAM altogether. Additionally, Markey, Markey, and French (2014) claim they found no evidence to suggest violent video games were linked to aggressive assaults and homicide. One problem with this statement or assumption is that they simply compared video game sales to violent crime rates. Simply comparing these numbers may not produce anything of significance because they did not compare those individuals playing violent video games and their levels of aggression to those not playing violent video games. Consequently, this research is incomplete at best and makes bold assumptions based on their methodology or lack thereof.
The evidence indicating a link between video game violence and real-world violence is overwhelming. The current GAM is an evidence-based model that at least is a good starting point to begin understanding this link. The model may not include all potential risk factors for violence at this point but adjusting the GAM by adding additional factors to the model to help explain aggressive behavior may be all that is necessary to solve this problem.
Video game violence can lead to real-world violence. Considering biological, social, and environmental factors is key in understanding the relationship between video game violence and aggressive behaviors.
References
- Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2018). Media violence and the General Aggression Model. Journal of Social Issues, 74(2), 386-413.
- Bartholow, B. D., Bushman, B. J., & Sestir, M. A. (2006). Chronic violent video game exposure and desensitization to violence: Behavioral and event-related brain potential data. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 532-539.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017). Retrieved March 9, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html
- DeLisi, M., Vaughn, M. G., Gentile, D. A., Anderson, C. A., & Shook, J. J. (2012). Violent video games, delinquency, and youth violence: New evidence. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 11(2), 132-142.
- Ferguson, C. J., & Dyck, D. (2012). Paradigm change in aggression research: The time has come to retire the General Aggression Model. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17, 220-228.
- Markey, P. M., Markey, C. N., & French, J. E. (2015). Violent video games and real-world violence: Rhetoric versus data. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 4(4), 277-295.
- Pew Research Center (2017). Retrieved March, 9, 2019, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/11/younger-men-play-video-games-but-so-do-a-diverse-group-of-other-americans/