Young adolescents who play a lot of violent video games see the world as more hostile.
Compared with nongaming kids, they get into more arguments and fights and get worse grades
(Gentile, 2009). Ah, but is this merely because naturally hostile kids are drawn to such games?
Apparently not. Comparisons of gamers and nongamers who scored low in hostility revealed a
difference in the number of reported fights: 38 percent of the violent-game players had been in
fights, versus only 4 percent of the nongamers. Over time, the nongamers became more likely to
have fights only if they started playing the violent games (Anderson, 2004a). Among German
adolescents, today's violent game playing also predicts future aggression, but today's aggression
does not predict future game playing (Möller & Krahé, 2008).
Some researchers believe that, due partly to the more active participation and rewarded violence
of game play, violent video games have even greater effects on aggressive behavior and
cognition than do violent television and movies (Anderson & Warburton, 2012). Some of these
researchers suggest that the effects of violent gaming are comparable to the toxic effects of
asbestos or second-hand smoke exposure (Bushman et al., 2010). "Playing violent video games
probably will not turn your child into a psychopathic killer," acknowledged researcher Brad
Bushman (2011), "but I would want to know how the child treats his or her parents, how they
treat their siblings, how much compassion they have."
Others are unimpressed by violent-game-effect findings (Ferguson & Kilburn, 2010). They note
that from 1996 to 2006, youth violence was declining while video game sales were increasing.
Moreover, some point out that avid game players are quick and sharp: They develop speedy
reaction times and enhanced visual skills (Dye et al., 2009; Green et al., 2010). The focused fun
of game playing can satisfy basic needs for a sense of competence, control, and social connection
(Przbylski et al., 2010). And in fact, a 2011 Supreme Court decision overturned a California state
law that banned violent video game sales to children (modeled after the bans on sales of sexually
explicit materials to children). The First Amendment's free speech guarantee protects even
offensive games, said the court's majority, which was unpersuaded by the evidence of harm. So,
the debate continues.
To sum up, significant behaviors, such as aggression, usually have many determinants, making
any single explanation an oversimplification. Asking what causes aggression is therefore like
asking what causes cancer. Asbestos exposure, for example, is indeed a cancer cause, albeit only
one among many. Research reveals many different biological, psychological, and social-cultural
influences on aggressive behavior. Like so much else, aggression is a biopsychosocial
phenomenon (Figure 11).
