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Study: Very little evidence linking games to violence |
Listed in: PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, PC Gaming Tags: Texas
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The debate on whether or not gory games turn kids into killers rages and the summation of all the findings still leaves a big question mark, even as laws are written and repealed regarding the matter.Ph.D. researcher Christopher Ferguson of the Texas A&M International UniversityÂ’s Department of Behavioral, Applied Sciences and Criminal Justice says, " Results from the current meta-analysis found that there were about 25 recent studies on violent video game effects, with conflicting results. "
He also added that publication bias is among the biggest factors why results remain inconclusive. It was also determined that there is very little valid evidence that playing games that depict violence actually causes a person to behave aggressively himself.
The following quotes were found in a copy of Ferguson's findings:
(it) appears that news outlets may promote media violence in general, and video game violence specifically as a direct cause of violent behavior.
Despite the relatively young and sparse nature of the research on violent video game effects, some researchers have claimed that the evidence is conclusiveÂ…
Yet a close read of the literature reveals that many of the studies used to support this link provide only questionable or inconsistent evidence.
Part of the problem may be that video game researchers have adopted unreliable methodologies from media violence research in general… Most of the research (particularly laboratory research) employs unvalidated ad-hoc measures of “aggression”.
Via Game Politics
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The problem is the context in witch you let violence occur and not the violence it self.
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a little background (i'm studying for an MA in digital game design, and as part of my assessed work i looked into this subject - so i treated it quite seriously)
this guy saying that the studies have revealed contradictory results is a bit rich, almost every single study has shown at least a statistically significant increase in aggressive behaviour in the test subjects who were asked to play violent videogames over those who played non-violent games and control groups...
so, he is perfectly within his rights to question the evidence - if there's one thing you should know it's that statistics is almost completely subjective... if you know how to juggle numbers almost anything can come out... so yes, he can say there's no statistical relevance to results, and others can say there is without there ever being any conclusive answer.
but i'll tell you this, this is like the tobacco companies claiming smoking didn't cause cancer (yes i'm being a bit sensational, but try to put the whole 'death' thing out of your mind) basically many studies showed a link, but due to there being one or two where statistically no link could be proven they continue to claim there is no link...
and finally: i understand that any sane person does not go mad when they play a violent game, but as he says the ways they measure it is not in violent acts, but more aggression... so maybe you don't feel violent but it can ever so slightly affect your mindset.
it's the crazy people who are making a bad name for videogames.
and don't give me that 'catharsis' claptrap, that excuse is tired and pretty much useless
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(i've also studied maths and physics, so i know all about stats and results taking - and the subsequent analysis where you twist the data to show what you wanted to show in the first place)
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