StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Negative Interaction on the Psyche of the American Teenagers Caused by the Violence in Video Games - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
This paper “Negative Interaction on the Psyche of the American Teenagers Caused by the Violence in Video Games” assesses the effects of video games on adolescents as reported from various studies, discusses the underlying psychological processes and theories employed to understand them…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.8% of users find it useful
Negative Interaction on the Psyche of the American Teenagers Caused by the Violence in Video Games
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Negative Interaction on the Psyche of the American Teenagers Caused by the Violence in Video Games"

?Negative Interaction on the Psyche of the American Teenagers Caused by the Violence in Video Games Introduction Video games have undoubtedly become one of the favorite activities of children in the United States. The gaming industry seems not to be influenced by recession and remains strong, with sales that amount to $16.6 billion in 2011 (Fig.1). Teenagers seem to be the primary target group of these entertainment media, with a nationally representative sample in a survey showing that “99% of boys and 94 of girls play video games”(Lenhart et al.). The remarkable fact in researches on videogames and teenagers is that 70% of 9-18 year old kids have been reported playing games with a M-rated violent rating (for Mature players 17 and older) (Walsh). However, even with the rating systems can’t prevent exposure to violence as a staggering 89% of video games contain a degree of violent content and specifically it can also be found in more than half of E-rated (for Everyone) games (Gentile). Figure 1. Computer and video game sales from 2000 to 2011 (NPD) Violence in video games is not a relatively novel subject. Since the emergence of the video gaming industry in the 1970’s the notion that video games promoted violence became a major controversy with the release of “Death Race” in 1976 (Kent). The game involved the player as an automobile driver running over screaming “gremlins” that resembled human figures due to the primitive graphics of that era. Believing that the game appeared to condone killing of innocent civilians with a car, protestors started pulling machines out of the arcades and burning them, eventually leading to the termination of the game. Newer controversies included the popular “Wolfesnstein 3D” and the franchises of “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Kombat”, which featured one-on-one fights and gory graphic sequences (Carnagey and Anderson). Over the past 25 years, numerous studies have researched the effects on video games on adolescents. The most prominent interest of researches has been games with violent content and the association between video game use and aggressive behavior, as well on school performance. The aggressive elements portrayed have been linked to aggression on children and adolescents, but the empirical evidence was not present to validate these assumptions (Schutte et al.; Irwin and Gross). Recent meta-analytic reviews have employed both short-term experimental and correlation studies to study the harmful effects of exposure to violent games and associated them with higher levels of aggressive behavior, physiological arousal and decreased prosocial behavior (C. A. Anderson 113-22; Anderson et al.). Most of the research has associated videogame violence with school shooting incidents while some assessed their influence from a developmental perspective (Kirsh). This review will assess the effects of video games to the adolescents as reported from various studies, discuss the underlying psychological processes and theories employed to understand them. 2. Effects of Violent Video Games The research on the effects of violent video games, however small, mirrors the larger body of research on the effects of violent films and television programs (Whaley). While many of the effects in those genres are similar, at least three reasons to believe that the former have stronger effect than violent television formats (C. Anderson, Backwell) . These include the active process of playing videogames instead of the “passive” television viewing while higher probability of players to identify with a violent character occurs in first person shooters (Anderson and Dill). Additionally, most violent games reward violent behavior often with verbal praise such as “Nice shot” after killing enemies with a gun – as studies show, rewarding behavior increases its frequency (Bozza). 2.1 Aggressive behaviors, cognitions and feelings The primary concern over violent video games is the behavior that players will assume as a result to their exposure. Experimental research has shown that playing videogames directly causes an increase in aggressive behaviors which could be associated with teenage crime and involvement in physical fights (Gentile et al.). Typically it’s measured with exposure to violent games before measuring shouting through headphones and it has been validated that people who play violent games give louder noise blasts than others that play non-violent video games (Bartholow and Anderson). Correlational data has also shown that violent games increase aggressive cognitions. After playing a violent game, people report to have more aggressive thoughts (Calvert and Tan) and exude a more violent approach to story line progression (Bushman and Anderson). Other studies show that players develop a higher hostile attribution bias (Lynch et al.), in which interpret a situation in a more hostile context – people with this characteristic have been shown to be socially maladjusted (Crick and Dodge). Empirical studies (Anderson and Bushman) have also proved that playing violent games leads to developing a more hostile personality, due to the increase of aggressive feelings. In some studies, people report feeling more anxious and hostile (Ballard and Wiest). 2.2 Physiological arousal In addition to psychological changes, violent video games have shown to affect numerous physiological factors, such as increased heart rate and increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to others gamers (Murphy, Alpert and Walker). An experiment in playing the violent game Mortal Kombat either with the blood graphics on or off, showed increased systolic blood pressure in the former mode than the latter (Ballard and Wiest). Additionally, the effects in already aggressive adolescents are even greater in the context in increasing heart rate, blood pressure, adrenaline, testosterone and cortisol levels in the blood (Koepp et al.; Gentile et al.). This suggests that violent-prone individuals could be affected greatly by exposure to violent behavior. 2.3 Prosocial behavior As it has been shown that exposure to violent games causes physiological desensitization to real-life violence, the voluntary intention to help or benefit another individual, known called “prosocial behavior”, is diminished (Sheese and Graziano). The negative relationship between violence and helping another person can be seen in a study where violent game players were much slower to help a victim of violence than nonviolent game players (Bartholow, Bushman and Sestir). 3. Psychological processes A variety of psychological processes, both short- and long-term, underlie the effects of violent video games on adolescent behavior. 3.1 Explanations for short-term effects The short-term changes that occur in teenagers’ behaviors, thoughts and arousal levels after playing violent video games account for three psychological processes: priming of existing aggressive behavior, cognition and reactions, mimicking the aggressive actions present in the game and stimulating physiological arousal by directly observing violence (Bushman and Huesmann). Priming. Studies have shown that human memory is based on a large associative network containing numerous “nodes” and “links” A concept is represented by each node while links create an association between various nodes. An association between the concept of color yellow and the concept of happiness could lead to the association of yellow with being happy, and is the primary theory of how memories are connected in the brain (Moskowitz). Exposure to external stimuli activates the “nodes” in memory which is the process known as priming. While it’s activated without the awareness of the individual (Bargh and Pietromonaco), the downward process results in the experience of thoughts, emotions and behaviors related to the concepts. In violent video games, various stimuli are present which include weapons and violent concepts which prompt the player to think and behave more aggressively afterwards (Moskowitz). This gradually advances to a “script”, which in psychology refers to the behavior an individual resumes to when exposed to a particular situation. By observing the scenarios in video games, an individual can adopt the same pattern of behavior and recognize it as a “script”. Mimicry. The tendency of people to mimic or copy the actions of others is an innate function of primates due to the presence of “mimicry neurons” in the brain. Scientists also revealed that the brain responds in a similar fashion in when a person does something himself or watching others doing it (Hurley and Chater). Early adolescents are more likely to mimic actions as they tend to identify more with characters as perceiving them similar to themselves. Stimulating physiological arousal. The action-packed pace of violent video games can increase heart rate and blood pressure and such elevated arousal increases the probability of the dominant response tendency – the innate inclination to the manner of acting – being carried out. This is particularly important for individuals with already aggressive tendencies, as violence in videogames can significantly maximize them (Geen and O'Neal). However, even people without inclination to violence can equally misinterpret the increased arousal to provocation via the process of excitation transfer, thus behaving in a more hostile manner (Zillmann et al.). 3.2 Explanations for long-term effects The effects that take place in the long-term are attributed to three psychological processes: the classical and operant conditioning of aggressive responses, desensitization of violent-induced emotional responses and observational learning. Classical and operant conditioning. In these processes the response is different according to the stimulus. In classical conditioning, a natural response is related with a neutral stimulus, as in the example of the Pavlov experiment with the dog that salivates with the presence of food and by pairing it with the sound of the bell, the mere sound elicits the same response (Pavlov). In videogames, violence can elicit the feeling of fear or anger and the stimuli can be generalized. In that case, the association of a situation experienced in the game with feelings of fear or anger can elicit the same response in a future setting (Bushman and Huesmann). In operant conditioning, a behavior that is not normally relevant with a subject can become associated, if a reward is presented (Anderson and Bushman). Videogames that encourage violent behavior do so by rewarding players with an increased score or reputation if they perform specific acts such as killing other characters (Shanks). In this manner a developing adolescent can become accustomed to acting aggressively in the future with the expectation of receiving a reward in the real life. Desensitization. This process involves the habituation of natural emotional and physiological reactions, resulting in the individual becoming less affected by the portrayed violence due to repeated exposure (Funk). Behaviors which may seem concerning at first (like killing someone in the videogame) may translate into normal responses after continuous experiences. Similarly, in the presence of real-life violent situations, the adolescent may not process any negative feelings towards it. By evaluating these behaviors, scientists have observed that the physiological responses are also reduced when repeatedly exposed to the violence stimulus. This is associated with an increased aggressive behavior in the future due to possible neurological fundamental changes for the desensitization that occurs (Bartholow, Bushman and Sestir). Observational learning. This differs from “mimicry” in the concept of the repeated exposure needed to be facilitated instead of a single exposure. The long-lasting changes in the teenager’s actions, feelings and behavior can be influenced by the presence of violence in videogames, thus developing a hostile personality over time and normalizing aggressive actions (Kendall). The extent of affection from observational learning is largely depended on the level of identification with the character in the game as well as how that character is portrayed. The main character in the video game Bully has the task of beating up peers to earn cash, a “script” that can be adopted by teenage users and re-enacted in the real world (Huesmann and Guerra). 4. Conclusion and suggestions The majority of research that has been completed so far denotes a significant correlation between violence in video games and aggressive behavior in teenagers. Both short-term and long-term effects are analyzed, which are crucial during the stages of adolescent development as they can influence the person’s identity and personality in a wrong way. This has been repeatedly proven, with a noteworthy percentage of crimes performed by teenagers having extensive experience with violent videogames. Although recent studies reveal that the impact of video game violence differs from person to person (Markey and Markey), special attention should be given to the subject nonetheless. Eliminating video game from use by adolescents should not be the obvious solution to the problem. However the importance of ESRP rating should be taken seriously and only allow games with appropriate ratings for each age range. Other studies suggest implementing games containing violence with educational information, such as Re –Mission which involves a microscopic female robot that fights cancer cells in patients’ bodies – leading to improved self-efficacy, cancer knowledge and treatment adherence in teen cancer patients (Kato et al.). Finally, adolescents should be encouraged to socialize with their peers, participate in sports and social settings and uptaking hobbies, to minimize general exposure to video games. Works Cited Anderson, C. A., and B. J. Bushman. "Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature." Psychological science 12 5 (2001): 353-9. Print. Anderson, C. A., and K. E. Dill. "Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and in Life." Journal of personality and social psychology 78 4 (2000): 772-90. Print. Anderson, Craig. The Influence of Media Violence on Youth. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2003. Print. Anderson, Craig A. "An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games." Journal of Adolescence 27 1 (2004): 113-22. Print. Anderson, Craig A., et al. "Violent Video Games: Specific Effects of Violent Content on Aggressive Thoughts and Behavior." Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Vol. Volume 36: Academic Press, 2004. 199-249. Print. Ballard, Mary E., and J. Rose Wiest. "Mortal Kombat (Tm): The Effects of Violent Videogame Play on Males' Hostility and Cardiovascular Responding." Journal of applied social psychology. 26 8 (1996): 717. Print. Bargh, John A., and Paula Pietromonaco. "Automatic Information Processing and Social Perception: The Influence of Trait Information Presented Outside of Conscious Awareness on Impression Formation." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 43 3 (1982): 437-49. Print. Bartholow, B. D., B. J. Bushman, and M. A. Sestir. "Chronic Violent Video Game Exposure and Desensitization to Violence: Behavioral and Event-Related Brain Potential Data." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 42 4 (2006): 532-39. Print. Bartholow, Bruce, and Craig Anderson. "Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior: Potential Sex Differences." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 38 3 (2002): 283-90. Print. Bozza, J A. "Benevolent Behavior Modification: Understanding the Nature and Limitations of Problem-Solving Courts." Widener Law Journal (2007). Print. Bushman, B. J., and L. R. Huesmann. "Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Violent Media on Aggression in Children and Adults." Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine 160 4 (2006): 348-52. Print. Bushman, Brad J., and Craig A. Anderson. "Violent Video Games and Hostile Expectations: A Test of the General Aggression Model." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28 12 (2002): 1679-86. Print. Calvert, S. L., and S. L. Tan. "Impact of Virtual Reality on Young Adults' Physiological Arousal and Aggressive Thoughts: Interaction Versus Observation." Journal of applied developmental psychology. 15 1 (1994): 125. Print. Carnagey, N. L., and C. A. Anderson. "The Effects of Reward and Punishment in Violent Video Games on Aggressive Affect, Cognition, and Behavior." Psychological Science Psychological Science 16 11 (2005): 882-89. Print. Crick, Nicki R., and Kenneth A. Dodge. "A Review and Reformulation of Social Information-Processing Mechanisms in Children's Social Adjustment." Psychological Bulletin Psychological Bulletin 115 1 (1994): 74-101. Print. Funk, J. B. "Children's Exposure to Violent Video Games and Desensitization to Violence." Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America 14 3 (2005): 387-404. Print. Geen, R. G., and E. C. O'Neal. "Activation of Cue-Elicited Aggression by General Arousal." Journal of personality and social psychology 11 3 (1969): 289-92. Print. Gentile, Douglas A. Media Violence and Children : A Complete Guide for Parents and Professionals. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. Print. Gentile, Douglas A., et al. "The Effects of Violent Video Game Habits on Adolescent Hostility, Aggressive Behaviors, and School Performance." Journal of adolescence 27 1 (2004): 5-22. Print. Huesmann, L. R., and N. G. Guerra. "Children's Normative Beliefs About Aggression and Aggressive Behavior." Journal of personality and social psychology 72 2 (1997): 408-19. Print. Hurley, S. L., and Nick Chater. Perspectives on Imitation : From Neuroscience to Social Science. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2005. Print. Irwin, A. Roland, and AlanM Gross. "Cognitive Tempo, Violent Video Games, and Aggressive Behavior in Young Boys." Journal of Family Violence 10 3 (1995): 337-50. Print. Kato, P. M., et al. "A Video Game Improves Behavioral Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: A Randomized Trial." Pediatrics Pediatrics 122 2 (2008): e305-e17. Print. Kendall, Philip C. "Advances in Cognitive-Behavioral Research and Therapy." Advances in cognitive-behavioral research and therapy. (1982). Print. Kent, Steve L. The Ultimate History of Video Games : From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond : The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, Calif.: Prima Pub., 2001. Print. Kirsh, Steven J. "Effects of Violent Video Games on Adolescents: The Overlooked Influence of Development." Aggression and Violent Behavior 8 4 (2003): 377-89. Print. Koepp, M. J., et al. "Evidence for Striatal Dopamine Release During a Video Game." Nature 393 6682 (1998): 266-8. Print. Lenhart, Amanda, et al. Teens, Video Games, and Civics. Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2008. Print. Lynch, Paul J., et al. The Effects of Violent Video Game Habits on Adolescent Aggressive Attitudes and Behaviors. 2001. Print. Markey, P. M., and C. N. Markey. "Vulnerability to Violent Video Games: A Review and Integration of Personality Research." Rev. Gen. Psychol. Review of General Psychology 14 2 (2010): 82-91. Print. Moskowitz, Gordon B. Social Cognition : Understanding Self and Others. New York: Guilford Press, 2005. Print. Murphy, J. K., B. S. Alpert, and S. S. Walker. "Whether to Measure Change from Baseline or Absolute Level in Studies of Children's Cardiovascular Reactivity: A Two-Year Follow-Up." Journal of behavioral medicine 14 4 (1991): 409-19. Print. NPD. "Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry 2012." United States: Entertainment Software Association (ESA), June 2012. Print. Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich. Conditioned Reflexes; an Investigation of the Physiological Activity of the Cerebral Cortex. New York: Dover Publications, 1960. Print. Schutte, Nicola S., et al. "Effects of Playing Videogames on Children's Aggressive and Other Behaviors1." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 18 5 (1988): 454-60. Print. Shanks, David R. "Forward and Backward Blocking in Human Contingency Judgement." The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section B 37 1 (1985): 1-21. Print. Sheese, Brad E., and William G. Graziano. "Research Reports: Deciding to Defect the Effects of Video-Game Violence on Cooperative Behavior." Psychological science 16 5 (2005): 354-57. Print. Walsh, David. "Tenth Annual Mediawise Video Game Report Card." (2005). Print. Whaley, Allen Bennett. "Predictors of Verbal Aggression : The Effect of Televised Violence." 1980. Print. Zillmann, Dolf, et al. "Excitation and Hedonic Valence in the Effect of Erotica on Motivated Intermale Aggression." Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. European Journal of Social Psychology 11 3 (1981): 233-52. Print.  Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Negative interaction on the psyche of the American teenagers caused by Research Paper”, n.d.)
Negative interaction on the psyche of the American teenagers caused by Research Paper. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/journalism-communication/1462313-negative-interaction-on-the-psyche-of-the-american
(Negative Interaction on the Psyche of the American Teenagers Caused by Research Paper)
Negative Interaction on the Psyche of the American Teenagers Caused by Research Paper. https://studentshare.org/journalism-communication/1462313-negative-interaction-on-the-psyche-of-the-american.
“Negative Interaction on the Psyche of the American Teenagers Caused by Research Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/journalism-communication/1462313-negative-interaction-on-the-psyche-of-the-american.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Negative Interaction on the Psyche of the American Teenagers Caused by the Violence in Video Games

Do Online Friendships Hurt Adolescent Development

Online friends can help teenagers in making sound decisions with respect to education, employment, purchasing, etc.... Almost 93% of teenagers use the internet for social interaction.... The majority of the teenagers all over the world have a profile at least in one social network now.... The online world provide teenagers an opportunity to access the trends and habits in different parts of the world.... In both cases, teenagers are expressing their creativity in one way or another....
12 Pages (3000 words) Coursework

Banning the Sale of Violent Video Games to Minors

Subject: 02 December 2012 Banning the Sale of Violent video games to Minors Right from the early stages of introduction in crude form by Thomas T Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann in 1948, video games have remained a great source of amusement.... hellip; From Goldsmith's cathode ray tube amusement device, the video games have evolved a great deal to become the seventh generation video gaming that one sees today.... video games often contain violence or sex or a combination of both, which may be inappropriate to children....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

American Teens and Violent Video Games

violence in video games, as with violence in media, had been connected to detrimental effects on children and adolescents.... However since then, various correlation and observation studies have produced ambiguous and different results that either confirm or disprove the connection between violence in video games and aggressive behavior and violence in teenagers.... violence in video games The evolution of videogame technologies and graphics has differentiated the depiction of violence vastly from the original, with more realistic graphics and gore....
17 Pages (4250 words) Research Paper

Packaging and Branding Design in a Chinese Game

Instead of banning children from playing video games or surfing the Internet, these games might provide them with a better option to choose from.... The rise of the nuclear family with working parents has substantially increased the amount of time they spend alone, which makes these games a wonderful getaway from loneliness and imbibes in them the importance of focusing on a particular job for a fixed period of time.... However, since these games require minimum physical movements, they might lead to poor eyesight or lethargy, or create a negative impact on the young mind with pornographic or violent content....
19 Pages (4750 words) Essay

The dangers of Online Gaming

One of the Internet platforms buoyed by dramatic rise in the Internet usage is the growing popularity of addictive online games.... hellip; One of the Internet platforms buoyed by dramatic rise in the Internet usage is the growing popularity of addictive online games.... As these games integrate communication and entertainment in a play environment they become significant to players and their lives, they become more and more popular drawing obsession from players across the globe....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Impact of Screens and Television on Children

Children's personalities shape in everyday games when they fantasize, imagine the whole worlds and realities, and act as if they are parts of them.... Any content from the media deprives them of this possibility, and simple games with peers and toys can look less attractive to the children absorbed by TV screens.... And though many parents do not feel disturbed regarding this issue, pedestrians claim that the impact of screens can be damaging for children's psyche....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Affects of the Internet

The child learns through the monitor, because the computer is a storehouse of… The influence of the computer on the psyche of the child has both positive and negative effects.... Even for small children it became an integral part of their lives with lots of games, cartoons, all kinds of pictures which it may propose to use.... Most games carry aggressive tendencies - murders and destruction.... Still, I'd like to pay particular attention on negative aspects of using computer and Internet in childhood. ...
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

How Kids Are Affected by Media Portrayed in Media

school computers; the Internet has brought violent activity into hundreds of millions of homes with the click of a mouse; video games allow young people to participate in violent acts within the confines of their bedrooms often without the knowledge of their parents; and, adolescents tune into violence portrayed through song on their iPods.... It seems reasonable, therefore, to expect that watching television, playing video games on the computer, and watching films regularly will impact a child's cognitive development....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us