September 25, 2005
No Strong Link between violent video games and aggression
This is a response to an article entitled, "No strong link seen between violent video games and aggression"
The debate over the effect of simulated violence in video games on their human players is part of the larger debate over whether violent imagery in any media (books, movies, music) tends to incite aggressive behaviors. This larger debate is really a long-standing feud between free-speech proponents and pro-censorship pundits that has been going on probably nearly as long as mass media entertainment has existed. The general formula has been something like: concerned high-profile congressperson wrings hands, cites study linking media violence to real-world aggression, urges enactment of law restricting violent imagery; rest of world does not notice, continues to buy violent video games in record quantities. At least, that's been my understanding.
The researchers in this article, much to their own amazement, have fired an unexpected salvo on behalf of the free-speechers by reporting the results of a long-term study that shows no link between violent video-game play and violent behavior. This would be a watershed indeed in the history of the video-game violence (VGV) debate if the authors appeared to have any confidence in their results. Instead, they almost apologetically report their findings before completely undermining them by saying, "I'm not saying some games don't lead to aggression. ... I don't think we should make strong predictions ... given this finding." Luckily the point is moot because their research is pretty clearly flawed.
In order for VGV to really have a chance of arousing violent tendencies in its players, it would seem that there are three aspects it would have to have:
- The game-play should be really, really graphically violent (e.g., 3-d blood droplets and grisly limbs flying).
- The game-play should be lifelike (i.e., it should be easily imitable and easy to identify with).
- The game should glorify that violence (i.e., the character, and by extension the player, should seem all the cooler for having slaughtered an enemy).
A couple of games (Carmageddon or Grand Theft Auto in any of its incarnations) come readily to mind as meeting all three requirements above. Asheron's Call 2, the game that the researchers chose to study, could only be said to fulfill the first requirement above, and that seems like a stretch. Granted, I've never played it, but any game in which the following two screenshots are deemed representative (via Asheron's Call 2 Vault) clearly doesn't qualify, does it?
I can't tell what the second picture is, either. A cat-lizard cross riding a cucumber-worm-two-toed-sloth? Even if it could kick serious ass, I'd can't imagine anyone being terribly inclined (or able) to imitate it.
This may be missing the point. The conductors of this study most likely decided to choose an RPG to study because of the immersive quality of the game-play. It's undoubtedly true that RPG, especially MMRPGS, are very conducive to one's losing one's real-world identity in favor of the game's avatar, but what's lacking here is an appreciation for what it is about a game that would incite violence (see the list above). It could even be argued that, in a perhaps counterintuitive way, MMRPGs, due to their social component, might actually encourage moral responsibility. Normal individuals tend to be more influenced by social mores the more a part of their society they feel, and because of the unique social atmosphere in an MMRPG, individuals who are solitary in the flesh world but nonetheless heavily involved in their game may feel themselves to be an integral part of that society. When one is more attuned to how his actions influence the rest of the community, one is less likely to cause harm to that community. These lessons, learned in the online world, might cross over to the player's "real" world.
Even though this research wasn't conducted particularly well, the mere fact that VGV is now considered a valid arena for study may well represent a positive turning point in this debate. Future research should focus on games that are most likely to cause aggressive actions in their players due to their (the games) being most similar to real-life situations of violence. Choosing Asheron's Call 2 to study is like researching the question of whether violent movies cause violent behavior by disregarding Pulp Fiction and instead focusing on Star Wars: Episode I. The day that a light saber-wielding Jar Jar Binks incites violent behavior in viewers is the day that this debate can be considered over.
Posted September 25, 2005 10:49 PM. Categories: Reading Responses , Week 1 | Permalink