Post subject: Interesting study on Video games and violence
Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:56 pm
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:36 am Posts: 5458 Location: Left field
Game Violence Debate Killed?
Study says simulated violence is not the same as real violence.
by Micah Seff
February 28, 2007 - In a recent issue of the American Sociological Association's Context magazine, sociologist Karen Sternheimer put some heavy doubt into the theories that videogame violence directly result in real-world violence. Sternheimer claims that there is no such correlation, and that the reality might be exactly the opposite.
Sternheimer cited as evidence of this trend the fact that as annual sales of videogames and accessories has risen to over $10 billion, juvenile homicide arrests have fallen 77%. According to Sternheimer, students now have a chance of less than 7 in 10 million of being killed by school-related violence.
In a very frank and forthright manner, Sternheimer stated, "If we want to understand why young people become homicidal, we need to look beyond the games they play."
Like many have argued before her, Sterheimer contends that videogame violence has been used as a straw man argument. Rather than paying attention to more pertinent issues that might nurture violence -- such as poverty, instability, domestic abuse, unemployment, and mental illness -- reactionaries have been directing their ire at the games industry, effectively exonerating these other factors of their impact.
"It is equally likely that more aggressive people seek out violent entertainment," Sternheimer said. "After adult rampage shootings in the workplace, which happen more often than school shootings, reporters seldom mention if the shooters played video games."
Sternheimer seemed to disagree with the analytical methods of a 2001 study which found that videogames did increase aggressive behavior, stating: "They don't offer much insight as to why a few isolated kids, and not the millions of others who play these games, decided to pick up real weapons and shoot real people."
While the debate is far from over, it's nice to see sociologists looking critically at the issue.
_________________ seen it all, not at all can't defend fucked up man take me a for a ride before we leave...
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Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:14 pm Posts: 15317 Location: Concord, NC Gender: Male
i've always gone with the theory that if someone absolutely needs to release some energy, i'd rather someone blow shit up in the virtual world as opposed to the real world
good article.
_________________ 255 characters are nowhere near enough
I've never seen a study that said anything different from this one in any convincing way, but I've often heard or read interpretations that claim a clear correlation. I think this is a case of complete misinterpretations of studies becoming almost sacrosanct. It's about time this ridiculousness is debunked.
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:51 am Posts: 43609 Location: My city smells like Cheerios Gender: Male
I am a pretty peaceful person. I played the first 3 Mortal Kombats, most of the Grand Theft Auto series and plenty of shooters. I own guns, never have they been pointed towards a person.
_________________ "No matter how hard you kill Jesus, he would always just come back and hit you twice as hard."
_________________ "i'm the crescent, the sickle, so sharp the blade i'm the flick of the shank that opened your veins i'm the dusk, i'm the frightening calm i'm a hole in the pipeline, i'm a road side bomb..."
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:54 pm Posts: 12287 Location: Manguetown Gender: Male
O RLY? You dont need to do a fuckin research to know that, just look at Japan.
_________________ There's just no mercy in your eyes There ain't no time to set things right And I'm afraid I've lost the fight I'm just a painful reminder Another day you leave behind
Video games turn kids into killers? Not so, says new book Just because you play as a criminal doesn't mean you'll become one.
By Ben Silverman
While their digital pastime is often credited with eroding the state of contemporary literature, gamers have found an unlikely ally within the pages of a new book.
Penned by Harvard Med School researchers Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olsen, "Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do" refutes common conceptions about the causal relationship between violent video games and violent behavior.
In other words, playing a few hours of GTA IV will not result in your kid stealing a car, careening through traffic and gunning down civilians.
"What I hope people realize is that there is no data to support the simple-minded concerns that video games cause violence," Kutner told Reuters News Service in an interview.
Their findings are a result of a two-year study of over 1,200 middle-school students. Unlike most studies set in sterile lab environments using psychological triggers, much of their data was collected by -- brace yourself -- actually talking to their young subjects.
The researchers did note a link between mature-rated titles and aggressive behavior, as a significant number of both boys and girls who played M-rated titles reported getting into more fights over the past year than kids who didn't play M-rated games.
However, Kutner and Olson point out that this simply demonstrates a correlation between violent games and aggression, not that one causes the other, suggesting the possibility that the kids attracted to mature-rated games were naturally aggressive to begin with.
Ultimately, "Grand Theft Childhood" advises parents concerned about their child's behavior to consider a wider range of factors than just their interest in violent games, including bad grades, too much fighting and, of course, obsessive gaming, so you might want to start trimming down those marathon sessions of Halo 3 when mom's around (or better yet, get her to play along with you).
Post subject: Re: Interesting study on Video games and violence
Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 4:04 am
Menace to Dogciety
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:54 pm Posts: 12287 Location: Manguetown Gender: Male
One big flaw of those studies is that only focoused on american society.
Japan a lot of people play a lot of very violent games...and we all know how low are homicides rate there and peaceful they are.
Europeans too play a lot of video game.
_________________ There's just no mercy in your eyes There ain't no time to set things right And I'm afraid I've lost the fight I'm just a painful reminder Another day you leave behind
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