For a long time, people have been talking about how video games might be linked to extreme acts of violence, such as school shootings. The fact is millions of youth have played violent video games, and far less than 1% will ever do any such acts of violence.

This does not, however, mean that young people are not impacted by hours of gaming that has at its core the idea of aggression — of fighting, killing, and so forth.

Of course, the degree of aggression and violence in games is on a continuum. However, research on the impact of aggression from violent games finds similarities regardless of whether there is fighting in a game like Fortnite or more realistic graphics in a game like Call of Duty. 

It is not unusual for family members to disagree about any possible effects of such types of games. 

Take, for example, this little moment in Screenagers Elementary School Age Edition:

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Mom of 11-year-old Thomas says, “I don't think I've rationalized that playing violent games is okay,”

Then Thomas's dad says, “ I played board games out in the neighborhood when I was a kid, and this is something different than that, but it's similar.

Then Thomas says while playing a first-person shooter game, “I'm guessing that it would impact some but not really me.”

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So today, let's look at two important studies that explain the impact of these games.

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Study 1: In one study with over 3,000 children, Dr. Gentile and his team followed the kids over three years, looking at how playing violent video games might impact their thoughts and behaviors. The study measured something called “hostile attribution bias,” which looks at how likely a child is to interpret someone’s actions as hostile. They found that kids who played a lot of violent video games showed a noticeable increase in this bias, making them more likely to assume the worst in a situation, which can lead to more aggressive responses.

Another part of Dr. Gentile’s research focused on the kids’ beliefs about aggression. In a different study than above, his team found that kids who frequently played violent video games began to view aggressive responses as more acceptable when they felt provoked. This shift didn’t just influence their actions; it also subtly shaped their beliefs about aggression, making it seem more justifiable in everyday situations.

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Study 2: Meanwhile, several studies have explored the effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior using hot sauce allocation and loud noise blasts as measures. These experiments often use random assignment to different game conditions to test whether players who engage in violent gameplay show increased aggressive behaviors afterward.

In one typical setup, participants are divided into groups, one playing a violent video game (like Call of Duty) and the other playing a non-violent game (like Tetris). Afterward, aggression levels are measured by how much hot sauce they assign to another person who dislikes spicy food or how loudly they blast an unpleasant sound toward another participant. Findings from studies like those by Anderson and Dill have shown that participants exposed to violent games tend to administer more hot sauce and higher volumes of noise, suggesting heightened aggression​.

These methods, while not directly measuring real-world violence, aim to assess the participants' willingness to cause discomfort in others, providing a controlled environment for studying aggression resulting from media exposure.

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These studies derived important empirical data showing that violent video games can gradually influence a child’s mindset, impacting both their reactions and their beliefs about what’s acceptable. While not every child will react the same way, Gentile’s research and these other studies underscore the importance of considering the kinds of impacts these games have. 

Working to have a variety of video games, such as prosocial ones, is a great idea, and having discussions about fighting games is key. 

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Questions to get the conversation started with your group or family: 

1. Do the research findings seem in line with what you would think?
2. Do you think many people believe that violent games have no impact on people’s thoughts and behaviors?
3. What fighting/violent games are popular these days?
4. Would it be a good time to try out a new video game? Maybe we could try one that is completely new to all of us as a family.

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