Violent Video Games: More Playing Time Equals More Aggression
A 2012 study led by researchers at Ohio State University “provides the first experimental evidence that the negative effects of playing violent video games can accumulate over time.”
Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at OSU, co-authored the study with experts in France and Germany.
Other studies have shown that a single session of playing violent video games increases short-term aggression, but this is the first one to show longer-term effects, Bushman said.
Researchers found that people who played violent video games for three straight days showed increased aggressive behavior. Their expectations that others would behave aggressively also increased.
However, people playing nonviolent games showed no meaningful changes in their aggression or their expectations of hostility.
“People who have a steady diet of playing these violent video games may come to see the world as a hostile and violent place,” Bushman said. “These results suggest there could be a cumulative effect.”
Bushman called for a new study to determine whether the increased aggression would keep increasing after three days or level off over time.
The 2012 study involved 70 French university students.
– Source: Ohio State University, 12/10/12.
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