Effects of computer games on aggression

• Methodologies Used

  • The following methodologies are used when psychologists study different forms of media
  • Experimental studies – lab studies of short-term effects of computer games can demonstrate cause and effect
  • Correlational studies – can investigate real-life variables and are usually short-term
  • Longitudinal studies – correlational studies conducted over a period of time looking at long-term effects
  • Meta-analyses – brings together a variety of studies to give a judgement of size of the effect of violent media on aggression
• Experimental Studies:

  Barthlow and Anderson (2002)

  • Participants played a violent game (Mortal Kombat) or a nonviolent game (PGA Tournament Golf)  for 10 mins
  • They then carried out the Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Task (this measures their aggression by asking participants to deliver blasts of white noise, at chosen volumes, to punish an opponent)
  • Those who played the violent game selected significantly higher noise levels compared with non-violent players
• Correlational Studies

  De Lisi et al. (2013)

  • They studied 227 juvenile offenders with histories of serious aggressive behaviour
  • They used structured interviews to gather data on aggression and violent computer-game-playing
  • Aggressive behaviour was positively correlated with how often they played violent computer games and how much they enjoyed them
  • Researchers claim the link is so well-established that computer game violence should be considered a significant risk factor
• Longitudinal studies - Robertson:  

  • Those who watched the most TV were also more likely to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and to have aggressive personality traits
  • Therefore, the most important media-related factor in influencing aggression may be the amount of TV watched rather than whether it includes violent content or not
• Meta-analyses

  Anderson et al. (2010)

  • Meta-analysis of 136 studies included experimental, correlational and longitudinal research 
  • Exposure to violent computer games was associated with increases in aggressive behaviours, thoughts and feelings
  • This applied to both males and females and across collectivist and individualist cultures
  • The researchers claim the effect of playing violent games on aggressive behaviour is greater than the effect of second-hand smoke on cancer
• AO3:

  • One limitation of using experiments to study the influence of computer games on aggression is that lab measures of aggression are artificial
  • For example, the Taylor Competitive Reaction Time task measures aggression depending on the volume of noise selected by participants as punishment – an unrealistic measure
  • This casts doubt over the validity of experiments studying the link between media violence and aggression. This is because researchers cannot be sure that media violence is linked to real-life aggressive acts or just the artificially measured aggression in the lab
• AO3:

  • limitation of correlational studies of the link between computer games and aggression is that we cannot determine cause and effect
  • Correlational studies do not manipulate variables or randomly assign participants to violent or non-violent groups
  • Researchers cannot determine cause and effect between variables or the direction of causal relationships.  because correlational research cannot determine cause and effect between two variables, and it cannot tell us the direction of any causal relationship, it does not tell us exactly how computer games influence aggression
• AO3:

  • One limitation of using longitudinal studies to study the influence of computer games on aggression is confounding variables
  • Longitudinal studies are conducted over a long period of time (from several months to several years)
  • Therefore, there may be several factors, apart from the media, that influence aggressive behaviour over this period (e.g. influence of role models)
  • Therefore it is impossible to conclude that it is violent media such as computer games (rather than confounding variables) that have affected aggression
• AO3:

  • Another limitation of experimental studies researching the influence of computer games on aggression is the non-equivalence problem
  • Experimental studies compare participants who play a violent computer game with those who play a non-violent game – but it is difficult to be sure that the two games are equivalent in all areas apart from being violent or non-violent
• AO3 - non equivalence problem

  • For example, research shows that some games that are more violent than others also happen to be more difficult
  • Therefore, participants may behave more aggressively after playing the violent game – but this could be due to frustration caused by how difficult the game is, rather than the violence in the game. Experimental studies using violent and non-violent games may therefore lack validity as their measurement of aggression may not be the result of violence/non-violence in games
• AO3:

  • One limitation of all methodologies used to study the influence of computer games on aggression is publication bias
  • There is a tendency for only statistically significant findings to be published
  • This is a particular problem for meta-analyses because they generally only include published studies, which mostly show a significant effect
  • Therefore, publication bias creates the false impression that the effects of violent media on aggression are greater than they actually are