Violent Video Games: Not the Cause of Violent Behavior - Essay Example

Recent school shootings have prompted the reinforcement of the belief that their perpetrators were heavy violent games players, thereby stressing that violent video games cause violent conduct. A number of studies, however, suggested that the general literature, which overwhelmingly connects video games and violence, are not entirely persuasive. In their 2008 article, Christopher Ferguson et al. stressed that individual and family factors contribute to violence more than playing video games. In 2013, correspondent Benedict Carey of The New York Times argues that politicians and even scholars are shooting in the dark, if they only blame video games for violent behaviors, especially school shooting. Violent video games do not cause violent behavior because of the weak relations between the existence of more violence in video games and violent crimes, studies do not explore how violent video games can curb violent actions, and the existence of poor evidence that playing video games per se can cause violent behavior. One of the claims of supporters of the violent video games-violence argument is that playing violent video games lead to violent crimes, but they ignore the reality that the relationship between playing violent games and acting violently against others through crimes is weak. Violent crimes have generally declined since 1994, while violent games became more graphically violent and violent in plot. Ferguson asserts in 2007 that scholars and politicians miss an important statistic: violent crimes have fallen since 1994, except for some minimal spikes throughout the decade. If violent video games are more pervasive and more violent than ever, they should be affecting violent crimes positively, if it is true that playing violent video games make people more violent in thoughts and actions. Without this connection between video games and violent crimes, it is hard to prove that violent video games cause violent crimes. Moreover, violent youth crimes dropped from 1994 to 2004 too. Carey mentions the statistic of youth crime: “The number of violent youth offenders fell by more than half between 1994 and 2010, to 224 per 100,000 population, according to government statistics, while video game sales have more than doubled since 1996” (2). The statistic implies that video games do not necessarily shape violent youth behaviors. In addition, video game sales are not related to violent crimes. Carey reports the work of Dr. Ward and colleagues on the week-per-week sales data for video games in different communities. Ward et al. stated that findings showed: “We found that higher rates of violent video game sales related to a decrease in crimes, and especially violent crimes” (Carey 2). The result of their study suggests that video games do not necessarily increase violent crimes. These articles maintain that the proliferation of the violent video games industry has not corresponded to higher violent crimes in adults and adolescents alike. Violent video games may even serve as an outlet for aggressive individuals. Aggression is part of human nature, while some may have more of it than most, and Carey poses an insightful interpretation of the weak relationship between video games prevalence and sales and violent crimes. He says: “It could be that the games provide ‘an outlet’ that satisfies violent urges in some players — a theory that many psychologists dismiss but that many players believe” (2). Researchers should look into the possibility that violent video games may even be therapeutic for violent children, especially those experiencing traumatic or depressing events in their lives. Furthermore, violent kids are attracted to violent games too, and this connection suggests that their violence may be finding an expression in playing violent video games. Carey explores the studies and notes: “Some studies done in schools or elsewhere have found that it is aggressive children who are the most likely to be drawn to violent video games in the first place; they are self-selected to be in more schoolyard conflicts” (1). Violent children tend to be attracted to violence, including violence in games and real life. Some of them are troubled youth, and they might see violent video games as an escape of their lives and as a way of expressing violence without necessarily hurting others. Finally, despite many studies showing a link, causative or otherwise, between playing violent video games and aggressive thoughts and actions, there is no conclusive evidence that violent video games per se cause violent behavior, especially when other elements can be considered as factors that can lead to violent actions. Cumulative exposure to violent video games has not been shown to directly cause violent behaviors in the long run. A psychologist at Iowa State University, Craig Anderson, argues that exposure to violent video games do not always result to violent behaviors (Carey 1). He shows the difference between playing violent games and performing actual violence. In addition, doing something repeatedly and at longer times does not always cause another behavior. Ferguson provides an analogy between violent video games and school shooting: “Using video-game-playing habits to predict school shootings is about as useful as noting that most or all school shooters were in the habit of wearing sneakers and concluding that sneakers must be responsible for such violence.” Indeed, something repeatedly done cannot be said as the cause of something already because it can lead to the fallacy of cause-and-effect. Just because something occurred together, people cannot infer instantly that the first one caused the other. Moreover, violence can socialize children to sometimes develop aggressive thoughts and actions, but it is not enough to cause violent behaviors in the long run. Ferguson et al. studied the connection between exposure to violent video games and aggression in real life and laboratory conditions. Their findings showed that trait aggression, family violence, and male gender are more highly correlated to violence than violent video games. This study underscores that violence has individual and social factors too. Hence, playing violent video games is not a strong causative factor of violent actions. Supporters of the violent video games-violence continue to assert that exposure to violent video games enhances aggressive thoughts and actions, while decreasing pro-social behavior. Anderson and Bushman conducted a meta-analytic review to understand the role of violent video games in aggressive behavior and they realized the association between violent video games and aggressive feelings, thoughts, and actions. Their findings support the connection between these games and different components of aggression. These studies provide evidence that violent video games can detrimentally change how people interact and see one another. Moreover, another study shows that rewards for violence in violent video games encourage aggressive actions through enhancing aggressive thoughts. This study reinforces that violence in video games promotes violence in real life. These articles underscore that playing aggressive video games produces violent emotions and actions too. Publication bias may be affecting meta-analytic studies outcomes, when they publish more studies that show correlations between playing violent video games and having violent thoughts and behaviors. In his 2007 meta-analytic study, Ferguson reviews related articles on video games and violence. He learns that publications have biases when it comes to publishing those that support the violent video games-violence thesis. When this bias occurs, people cannot trust the validity and accuracy of meta-analytic reviews. They might be promoting groupthink on this topic without widening the net of criticism and analysis to find the true causes of human violence. Hence, violence in video games cannot be strongly related to violence. Violent video may induce some aggressive thoughts, emotions, and some laboratory and real-life actions. Nevertheless, studies do not provide conclusive evidence that such violence results to long-term violent tendencies and actions. People have to consider the importance of cultural, family, and individual factors, including free will and aggressive traits. They must not easily dismiss violence as a product of violent video games, or else, as a society, they cannot fully understand the causes of diverse violent crimes in their communities. Instead of blaming violent video games alone, they should also examine individual and environment levels that can cause or mediate violence. Hence, violence in video games is not a strong predictor and cause of violence, though it may sometimes condition some players to develop violent emotions and conduct. Works Cited Anderson, Craig A., and Brad J. Bushman. “Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature.” Psychological Science 12.5 (2001): 353-359. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. . Carey, Benedict. “Shooting in the Dark.” The New York Times, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. . Carnagey, Nicholas L., and Craig A. Anderson. “The Effects of Reward and Punishment in Violent Video Games on Aggressive Affect, Cognition, and Behavior.” Psychological Science 16.11 (2005): 882-889. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. . Ferguson, Christopher John. “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly: A Meta-analytic Review of Positive and Negative Effects of Violent Video Games.” Psychiatric Quarterly 78.4 (2007): 309-316. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. . ---. “Video Games: the Latest Scapegoat for Violence.” The Chronicle, 22 June 2007. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. < http://www.tamiu.edu/~cferguson/VideoGames.html>. Ferguson, Christopher John, Rueda, Stephanie M., Cruz, Amanda M., Fritz, Stacey, and Shawn M. Smith. “Violent Video Games and Aggression Causal Relationship or Byproduct of Family Violence and Intrinsic Violence Motivation?” Criminal Justice and Behavior 35.3 (2008): 311-332. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. < http://cjb.sagepub.com/content/35/3/311.short>. Read More