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Winning a game activates a cerebral reward center, in a way that 'teaches' players to be violent in a Pavlovian way, so the players associate acting violently with gaining a reward. This thesis has been supported by recent MRI scanning research examining the brains of children who have just played violent video games: "A new study employing state-of-the-art brain-scanning technology…say that brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal -- and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention" (Kalning 2006). Rather than enhancing the types of personality traits that are desirable in a harmonious society, video games numb the qualities that make us social animals.
Advocates of video games, however, note that the games have been used in positive ways: "Several studies cited by the ESA [Entertainment Software Association] point to games' potential benefits for developing decision-making skills or bettering reaction times" in a way that can make children better able to cope with stress, and can have an enhancing effect upon the cognition skills of older adults (Kalning 2006). Furthermore, playing a soccer game or playing 'war' in real life, the argument goes, can...
Violence is a part of life, and thus it is a part of children's games that prepare them for life.
Perhaps the most persuasive argument against banning video games is that children will invariably be exposed to violence, but parents must still find a way to communicate positive values. Laboratory studies do not take into account the ways video games are viewed in the home -- if parents take the time to discuss the content, for example. Violating First Amendment principles by banning or eliminating the dissemination of such games to minors might be less effective than parents taking the responsibility to ensure their children use the games judiciously, and do not become obsessed with playing the games, violent or otherwise, at the expense of other activities.
Works Cited
Kalning, K. "Does game violence make teens aggressive?" MSNBC.2006. September 9, 2009.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16099971/
Walsh, David. Video Game Violence and Public Policy. National Institute on Media and the Family. 2001. September 9, 2009.
http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2001/papers/walsh.html
Works Cited
Kalning, K. "Does game violence make teens aggressive?" MSNBC.2006. September 9, 2009.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16099971/
Walsh, David. Video Game Violence and Public Policy. National Institute on Media and the Family. 2001. September 9, 2009.
http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2001/papers/walsh.html
It would seem that on the basis of the causation rationale that age restrictions on violent video game content is no more logically justified than other types of overly broad restrictions (Olson, 2004). In the 1950s, several instances occurred where young children watching the original Superman television series fell to their deaths after trying to emulate the star character's leaping takeoff from high-rise building windows. The series was not cancelled
Methodology The methodology that will be employed in this study will be a desk survey of existing studies. The data complied by the studies will be analyzed, as will be the processes and methodology used in those studies. The data compilation and yield will be discussed in comparison between studies, and an attempt will be made to take the information and use it in an overall presentation that shows that the
Video Games, Violence and Aggression The Effect of Video Games on Violence and Aggression Numerous arguments over video games primarily center on topics such as sexism, nudity, racial profiling, sex and criminal behavior as well as other provocative material. Many conflicting results have been brought out of research and study of the relation between video games and its assumed effects of violence and aggressive behavior. Here, aggression is defined as behavior intended
Video Game Violence Literature Review In January of 2012, psychologist Christian Montag and a team of German researchers sought to explore the link between habitual video game play and reduced emotional or cognitive capability, and the findings of their study were published in an article entitled Does Excessive Play of Violent First-Person-Shooter-Video-Games Dampen Brain Activity in Response to Emotional Stimuli? Montag and his colleagues expanded on the preponderance of empirical evidence
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There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support this theory -- several prominent school shootings have been ostensibly linked to video game playing -- but real scientific evidence is also emerging that suggests a more subtle but similar effect. In one study, college-age participants who had spent time playing Wolfenstein 3D, a first person shooter computer game, "punished" their opponents by subjecting them to loud noises of high intensity more