Aggressive Video Games as a Factor in Aggressive Behavior - Coursework Example

Aggressive Video Games as a Factor in Aggressive Behavior Full The present study investigated the effect of playing violent video games on aggressive behavior in adolescents. One hundred and sixteen participants (65 males, 51 females) aged 13 to 19 years old, attending elementary, middle and high school were recruited from different schools in South Florida. Participants played a violent video game called Destiny for 2 hours each day for 30 consecutive days. The dependent variable was aggressive behavior which is measured using a modified aggression scale that was administered before and after the exposure to the violent video game. Moreover, a pre-test and post-test using a modified aggression scale was given to the participants before and after the gaming periods, respectively. The tests show a significant difference between their mean scores which suggests that participants presented more aggressive behaviors after being exposed to the violent, aggressive video game. The results support a link between violent video games and aggressive behavior. Keywords: violent games, violent video games, aggression, aggressive behavior, modified aggression scale, demographic questionnaire Aggressive Video Games as a Factor in Aggressive behavior An ongoing scholarly debate has long existed over the impact of violent video games on increased aggression in individuals who play them. The majority of studies have focused on the specific impact violent video games have on children between the ages of six and eighteen and while major consensus is that video have a negative effect on aggression and mood, the magnitude of that effect is still unclear (Ferguson & Rueda, 2010; Tear & Nielson, 2014; Hasan et al., 2013). Here, we review what we know about the relation between violent video games and aggression. In the proposed study, we aim to further understand the link between violent video games and aggressive behavior. Some evidence suggests that violent video games do not play a role in aggression and negative attitudes in individuals who play them. For example, Ferguson and Rueda (2010) investigated whether the role played in the violent video game (i.e., either protagonist or antagonist) impacted a participant’s aggressive behaviors and mood. The authors measure whether the baseline attitudes of participants were not significant or different based on playing a violent video game. The participants were divided into 4 groups wherein the first group takes the role of a “bad guy” who is hired to kill while the second group plays the role of a “good guy” fighting the Nazis during WWII in violent video games and the other 2 groups played non-violent video games. These studies suggest that playing the role of either the protagonist or antagonist was not related to aggressive behaviors nor is playing violent or non-violent video game. However, the mean age of the participants is 23.6, a stage when an individual is more in control of his emotions and the playing time was short, leading to this study which considers a vulnerable stage (i.e. ages 13 to 19) in terms of emotions and they are to play for 2 hours every day for 30 days. In a similar line of research, Tear & Nielsen (2014) analyzed the potential for violent video games to promote or reduce pro-social behavior. This study compared pro-social behavior before and after playing the violent video games and found that slight reductions in pro-social behavior as a result of violent video games existed. An identical study was also executed by Jerabeck & Ferguson (2013) who concluded that the connection between violent video games and pro-social behavior was fragile at best. The latter researchers proposed that the participant’s attitudes and foreknowledge, rather than the stimuli from the violent video games, was the primary factor in determining their basic personality baselines including pro-social behaviors. Nevertheless, these findings assisted in providing further evidence of a linkage between a reduction in pro-social behavior and violent video game. Playing violent video games has also been related to having high levels of character identification which impact social attitudes and behaviors (Tear and Neilsen, 2014). For instance, a study conducted by Hollingdale and Greitemeyer (2013) investigated the impact of designing a personalized avatar and a participant’s character identification with the said avatar and increased levels of aggression. Players who designed their own avatars and played a violent video game were more aggressive compared to players who designed their own avatars and played a non-violent video game. In addition, the same participants played violent and non-violent video games without creating an avatar and the results were similar although the aggression showed by those who played regular violent video games were not as significant as those who played personalized violent video games. Collectively, these studies suggest that the impact of playing video games, whether personalized or general, has significant effect on pro-social behavior and aggression. In addition to the impacts on aggression and negative moods, playing violent video games may have negative effects on academic performance (Gentile et al., 2004). In connection with this study, data collected from 8th and 9th graders, 12 to 15 years old show that students “who play more violent video games are more likely to have been involved in physical fights and get into arguments with teachers more frequently” (Gentile et al., 2004). The study clearly shows that violent video games directly affect aggression. However, the research is limited to survey questions and did not really involve the actual gaming experience so the researchers cannot verify the level of violence contained in the video game played by the participants. This issue is addressed in this current study by letting the participants play the same violent video game. The complexity of variables affecting aggression and moods in people makes it difficult to understand the impact of one single variable. Jerabeck and Ferguson (2013) realized that the realm of violent video games cannot be understood in a solitary sense. Indeed, there are other factors that need to be considered when studying the impact of violent video games on violent behaviors but the majority of studies show a direct correlation between violent video games and aggression. Looking at other findings (Anderson & Murphy, 2003; Bartholow & Anderson, 2002; Greitmeyer & McLatchie, 2001; Hasan & Bushman, 2013), it is observed that a pattern of increased aggressive behavior in adolescents associated with video game playing begins to emerge. Considering the potential connection between violent video game playing and aggressive behavior, it is important to understand its long-term effects. Hasan et al. (2013) set out to test the long-term effects of video game violence on aggression rates. The study prolonged the duration of the experiment for 3 days, letting the participants play violent video games 20 minutes each day. The study indicated that there was a connection between hostile attitudes, aggressive behaviors and increased exposure to violent video games. Based on these results, the authors suggest that if individuals play violent video games for 3 days and become more aggressive, then the effect would be worse for longer periods of playing time. Moreover, the study shows that individuals identify with the type of behavior, character and world-view of the protagonist in the video game. This interpretation helps to explain how rates of aggression increased over time. It also helps to explain how the longer adolescents are exposed to violent video games the more likely they are to show decreased pro-social behavior. Greitemeyer & McLatchie (2011) found that playing violent video games effectively promoted dehumanization tendencies. Such tendencies could in turn be understood or represented as fundamental elements of what promoted aggression or anti-social behavior. There were 2 groups of participants for the study. The first experiment aimed to evaluate dehumanization using the Ten Item Personality Inventory which evaluates personality factors such as openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. The second group was exposed to violent video games and negative criticisms from a supposed co-player who was non-existent before giving an assessment on his own human traits such as broadmindedness, activeness and impatience. Moreover, the latter group was also asked to assess the human traits of the co-player who gave negative criticisms. While the researchers did not definitely link particular personality traits to those more likely to play violent video games, it did support the notion that those who do play, exhibit tendencies toward viewing others as objects instead of equals and thus the tendency toward anti-social behavior. Whereas the majority of the studies conducted and reviewed up until this point have outright ignored the issues of gender, Bartholow & Anderson (2002) considered gender an important factor in aggressive tendencies and mood issues. They focused their work on gender analysis and provided a study that analyzed gender differentials that are existent in terms of the connections between violence in video games and aggression levels. Based on their results, men experienced greater aggression levels than did women after playing violent video games. This finding helps to quantify the differentials experienced between the genders, allowing further researchers to understand that a uniform response to violence in video games should not be expected among males and females. Another unique consideration that was not previously given much attention is the issue on children playing a violent video game as compared to watching it. Polman et al. (2008) compared aggressive behavior in males and females aged 10 to 13 years old, who passively watched violent video games versus those who played them. Their findings were groundbreaking since earlier related studies did not show any significant differentials. Polman et al. (2008) found that male participants who played violent video games were more aggressive as opposed to those who passively watched the game on a television set. On the other hand, female participants showed no contradistinction. This helps to reinforce researches showing clear differential in responses to video game violence between males and females. A study conducted by Anderson & Murphy (2003) focusing on female participants shows that violent video games catalyzes aggressive behavior in women compared to non-violent video games. Moreover, same-sex identification is exhibited by the players who showed more aggression when playing violent video games with male antagonists compared to female enemies. This suggests that there could be more to sex differences that are involved in the differential in aggressive behaviors between males and females. Finally, Arriaga et al. (2014) sought to measure physiological responses to video game violence by determining the extent to which participant’s pupil dilated while playing violent video games. Pupil dilation is considered significant because the human pupil has been found to experience what is termed “empathetic pupil dilation” that would normally occur at the sight of violence. Those who exhibit empathy toward the victim of violence show increased dilation of the pupils. What the researchers found was that even a single violent video game session can statistically and measurably reduce the empathetic pupil dilation that would normally occur at the sight of violence. The lack of empathetic pupil dilation then, is concerning to researchers. It suggests that consistent playing of such violent games could conceivably be understood to have a numbing effect on the conscience, requiring the individuals to consume more violent media as a means of retaining the stimulation and shock value that the initial media provided. In view of all the aforementioned studies, it is clear that there is a direct correlation between violent video games and aggressive behaviors which strengthens the hypothesis of this study that violence in video games increases aggression. Unlike the studies mentioned above which gave participants 45 minutes of playing time and at most lasted for 3 days, this study will last for 30 days with an allotted playing time of 2 hours each day. Method Participants One hundred and sixteen students were recruited from 7 elementary, middle and high schools in South Florida. Participants’ ages ranged from 13 to 19 years (M=15, SD=12) were picked through random sampling. Sixty five (56%) were males whereas 51 (44%) were females. Among the participants, 12 (10.4%) were African American, 8 (6.7%) were American Indians, 3(2.7%) were Native Hawaiian and 93 (80.2) were Whites. Participants were included in the study if their parents or they sign a written consent. The Florida International University Institutional Board approved the study. Design The present study used a quasi-experimental, pre-test, post-test design. The independent variable was a violent video game called Destiny. The dependent variable was aggression, measured using the modified aggression scale (Dahlberg, Toal, Swahn & Behrens, 2005). This scale is composed of four subscales: fighting, bullying, anger and caring/cooperative behavior. Each subscale is used to determine if the participants engaged in a particular behavior within the last 30 days. Responses were on a Likert scale (no opportunity, never, 1 or 2 times, 3 or 4 times and 5 or more times) and marked with a circle. This scale was converted to a scale from 0-100 where 0 indicated “not aggressive” while 100 marked “very aggressive”. Materials and Procedure The demographic questionnaire was used to filter out and include those participants who have no preconceived position on the variables that were to be measured through the study. The participants should have at least no aggressive behaviors for the past month to eliminate the possibility of a participant who is simply aggressive. Due to the lack of materials to be provided for this study, the participants should also have any of the consoles available: play station, wii, Xbox, Nintendo or computer and the video game installed in their gadget. They were told that the aim of the study was for them to test the game in the beta phase and offer a way for game developers to know more about teenager’s behaviors and incorporate it in a future release. The students were asked to submit the written consent forms signed by their parent/s or the participants themselves. Each participant was given the modified aggression scale pre-test to establish the baseline aggression scales. After taking the pre-test, the participants were asked to play the violent video game called “Destiny” for a total of 2 hours each day for 30 days at their own free time, in their own space. This particular video game was chosen for the sake of uniformity and to make sure that the game played by all participants has the same level of violent content. The video game is a mythic science fiction that features role-playing which gives players active participation involving shooting with high-powered guns. At the end of 30 days, the participants were made to desist from playing the game and were re-oriented in a mini conference. A post-test using the same modified aggression scale was conducted to measure new levels of aggression in participants. After the post-test, the participants were debriefed. The pre-test and post-test were then compared to see whether violent video games increased aggression. Results A paired sample t-test was conducted in a sample of 116 participants to compare aggressive behaviors before and after an extended period of exposure to violent video games. There was a significant difference in aggressive behaviors between pre-test (M = 61.71, SD = 4.21) and post-test (M = 84.99, SD = 4.61); t (df) = -80.72, p < .001, 95% CI [-23.86, -22.71]. The differential between the mean scores on the pre-test and post-test indicates that violent video game has a direct correlation with aggression. Discussion This study hypothesized that violence in video games cause aggressive behaviors among children ages 13 to 19. The result of this study supports such hypothesis. It also strengthens the findings of Bartholow & Anderson (2002) that violent video games increase aggression regardless of gender. The study of Gentile et al. (2004) sustains the result of this research because based from the surveys they conducted, they found out that students who play more violent video games were more likely to have been involved in physical fights and get into arguments more frequently. This current study also reinforces the theory of Greitemeyer and McLatchie (2011) that violence in video games promotes dehumanization tendencies which consequently affect aggressive behaviors. Moreover, the longer testing time in the study compared with that of the research of Hasan et al. (2013) compounds their hypothesis that the longer an individual is exposed to violent video games, the more aggressive he becomes and the longer the term of effect will be. The 3-day experiment of Hasan et al. (2013) did not show a significant increase in aggression that could definitely conclude that violence in video games was the cause of aggression in the participants but the result of this study backs their theory. It is to be noted that the experiment conducted by Hasan et al. (2013) lasted for 3 days only and a limited time of 20 minutes per session as opposed to the 2 hours per session for 30 consecutive days in this study therefore, the differential in their findings was not as significant as that of the results in the current study. This result should warn parents of the damaging psychological effects of violence in video games especially so that there are more and more engaging violent video games being sold in the market. The result also calls for the attention of researchers for a more in-depth study of the numbing effects on the conscience of players at the sight of violence which could in turn result to aggression. As mentioned earlier, Arriaga et al. (2014) concluded in their study that empathetic pupil dilation increases at the sight of violence in video games. This is an interesting theory that needs more studies because if violent video games indeed have a numbing effect on the conscience, then this would mean that violence in video games can create criminals. If it will be established that the theory is true, then something must be done about violent video games before out world turns upside down. Such suggestion may sound an overstatement to other researchers and understandably so. Ferguson & Ruega (2013) would definitely disagree with such claim because according to their studies, playing violent video games does not affect aggression even if participants create their own avatars in which they can identify themselves with. They claim that the aggression level among violent video game players is inconclusive. Nevertheless, the study was conducted on older participants who were college students meaning, they were more mature and in control of their aggressive behaviors. In addition, the participants were only tested once, let to play violent video games for 45 minutes only which explains the insignificant result of the study. In contrast, the current study was conducted for 2 hours in 30 days because it aims to verify the effect of violence in video games especially for regular players and in children aged 13 to 19 years old, a stage when a person is emotionally vulnerable. Jerabeck & Ferguson (2013) perhaps would argue that the attitudes and foreknowledge of individuals makes them aggressive and their behavior is not affected by violent video games at all as they have claimed in their study. Nevertheless, there is the same problem on the time provided for by the experiment. A one-time playing session is not a reliable factor to conclude that violent video games do not affect aggressive behavior because it would be easy for a person to bounce back to his normal self after playing one 90-minute session on a violent video game. Moreover, in the real world, children and even adults spend hours every day playing violent video games. Considering attitudes and foreknowledge of persons being culprits to exhibiting aggressive behavior as claimed the aforementioned authors, that argument should be given credit. However, it is already a given that there are different personalities of individuals which indeed affect their behaviors. The point here though, is that, violent video games are seen to be aggravating factors to the aggressive behaviors of individuals. The study does not claim that violence in video games is the sole cause of aggressive behavior. Instead, it looks at it as a contributor to the aggressive behavior of players. On the other hand, the claim of Jerabeck & Ferguson (2013) that violent contents in video games promote pro-social could be true. In real-world situations wherein gamers play together online or offline, players often communicate and make the violent video games the common topic that they discuss. This opens communication lines for making new friends or simply socializing with others. Also, they learn the values of helping and sharing as they try to help other players who are struggling in certain stages of the games. Others share techniques which they discover and they even challenge each other to find new tricks to complete a stage with high scores. This indeed is a phase of the game that needs to be appreciated and even encouraged. However, not because the players interact nicely with each other does not mean that the violence in video games does not affect aggressive behaviors. The problem with the study of Jerabeck & Ferguson (2013) is that, they focused on what happens in the laboratory. Surely, pro-social behaviors as the ones described above may be exhibited while the games are ongoing but what about the things that happen when they go out of their play stations, as would happen in the real world? There are still a lot of things that need to be understood regarding emotions and behaviors so it is critical to consider factors that could alter people’s behaviors such as violent video games. Although the study of the effects of violence in video games is still new, one cannot simply choose an argument to accept. Whether violent video games do influence aggressive behaviors or not, people should be cautious about the media they use especially among children who are still establishing the foundations of their principles. Parents should be actively involved in the video games their children choose as they would be involved in other aspects that matter to their growth and development. Based from the results of this study, it is suggested that violent video games should be avoided as much as possible. There is a vast collection of video games already available in the market that are educational and at the same time exciting even though they are non-violent so there is no lack of choices nor reason to choose wisely. Again, the study on the effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior is still new and the results of this study may still need a lot of scrutinizing but it would be wise to play on the safe side. As doctors would say, “prevention is better than cure”, it would be best to avoid violent video games than suffer its consequences. The current study has limitations that could have affected the results. Due to lack of funds, the participants were required to have their own console and the video game installed. For this reason, it was not feasible to monitor the participants if they really completed the required number of hours for the game or if they completed the 30-day period. In case they followed instructions to the letter, the differential between the means of the pre-test and post-test shows that violence in video games do influence aggressive behaviors. If the participants played for less than 2 hours and skipped day/s of playing, then the results would mean that there is a good reason to be more concerned about violent content in video games. However, if the participants played more than the required hours and did not skip any day, the result would mean there should have been less significant result if the participants stuck to the requirements, which necessitates a stricter study. The number of participants recruited from South Florida is quite small for it to be considered representative of children 13 to 19 years of age in the country. Also, the area from which the participants were recruited is not representative of a wider area such as the United States. Perhaps further studies can conduct similar studies in other states for the results to be compared and contrasted. A consolidation of similar studies from other states might also help to analyze the statistics of a wider area that can make a conclusive result regarding the relationship of violent video games and aggressive behavior. For a more precise study, it would be a good idea to conduct the study on a larger number of participants. References Anderson, C. A., & Murphy, C. R. (2003). Violent Video Games and Aggressive Behavior in Young Women. Aggressive Behavior, 29(5), 423-429. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.10042 Arriaga, P., Adrião, J., Madeira, F., Cavaleiro, I., Maia, e. S., Barahona, I., & Esteves, F. (2014). A “Dry eye” for Victims of Violence: Effects of Playing a Violent Video Game on Pupillary Dilation to Victims and on Aggressive Behavior. Psychology of Violence, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0037260 Bartholow, B. D., & Anderson, C. A. (2002). Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior: Potential Sex Differences. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(3), 283-290. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2001.1502 Dahlberg LL, Toal SB, Swahn M, Behrens CB (2005). Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools, 2nd ed., Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 169-170. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/yv_compendium.pdf Ferguson, C. J., & Rueda, S. M. (2010). The Hitman Study: Violent Video Game Exposure Effects on Aggressive Behavior, Hostile Feelings, and Depression. European Psychologist, 15(2), 99-108. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000010 Gentile, D. A., Lynch, P. J., Linder, J. R., & Walsh, D. A. (2004). The effects of Violent Video Game Habits on Adolescent Hostility, Aggressive Behaviors, and School Performance. Journal of Adolescence, 27(1), 5-22. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.10.002 Greitemeyer, T., & McLatchie, N. (2011). Denying Humanness to Others: A Newly Discovered Mechanism by which Violent Video Games Increase Aggressive Behavior. Psychological Science, 22(5), 659-665. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797611403320 Hasan, Y., Bègue, L., Scharkow, M., & Bushman, B. J. (2013). The More You Play, the More Aggressive You Become: A Long-term Experimental Study of Cumulative Violent Video Game Effects on Hostile Expectations and Aggressive Behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49(2), 224-227. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.10.016 Hollingdale, J., & Greitemeyer, T. (2013). The Changing Face of Aggression: The Effect of Personalized Avatars in a Violent Video Game on Levels of Aggressive Behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(9), 1862-1868. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.fiu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1449312029?accoun tid=10901 Jerabeck, J. M., & Ferguson, C. J. (2013). The Influence of Solitary and Cooperative Violent Video Game Play on Aggressive and Pro-social Behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(6), 2573-2578. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.034 Polman, H., de Castro, B. O., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2008). Experimental Study of the Differential Effects of Playing Versus Watching Violent Video Games on Childrens Aggressive Behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 34(3), 256-264. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.20245 Tear, M. J., & Nielsen, M. (2014). Video Games and Pro-social Behavior: A Study of the Effects of Non-Violent, Violent and Ultra-Violent Gameplay. Computers in Human Behavior, 41, 8- 13. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.002 Appendix A - Demographic Questionnaire Sex:  Male  Female Date of Birth: _____/ _____/ __________ Mark one or more races that you consider yourself to be.  American Indian or Alaskan Native  Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander  Asian  White  Black or African American  Other: ______________________________ What is your current GPA? ____________ What is your current grade? ____________ In the past year have you been involved in any aggressive action? For example: fight, yelling, bullying, etc.  Yes  No / If yes, explain: ________________________________________________________ Do you currently play video games?  Yes  No If no, when was the last time (in months) ________ Do you communicate with game friends outside of the game setting? For example: phone, email, etc.  Yes  No How do you play or played video games?  Online  Solo  Both What is or was the way of communication with peers during the game?  Microphone  Chat  Both  No communication What console you use or used to play video games?  Play Station  Xbox  Wii  Nintendo  Computer  Other: _____________________ How many hours of video game you play or played each week?  Less than 1 hour  From 1 hour to 3 hours  From 3 hours to 8 hours  From 8 hours to 14 hours  From 14 hours to 20 hours  More than 20 hours What video games you play or played?  Battlefield  Call of Duty  Destiny  Halo  Assassin’s Creed  Mortal Kombat  Grand Theft Auto  Need for Speed  World of Warcraft  Dragon Ball  Minecraft  Other: _______________________________ What genres of video games you like?  Action  Casual  Fighting  Music & Party  Puzzle & Cards  Role Playing  Shooter  Simulation  Sport  Strategy Which of the following categories best describes your family’s annual gross income?  Less than $15,000  $15,000 to $34,999  $35,000 to $49,999  $50,000 to $74,999  $75,000 to $99,999  $100, 000 or more Read More