This paper examines the widely debated relationship between violent video game consumption and real-life aggression in adolescents. Drawing on APA-cited research, it critically evaluates two studies involving college students to distinguish between correlation and causation. The paper challenges the assumption that because violent media use and aggressive behavior co-occur, one necessarily produces the other, offering alternative explanations for the observed association. It also scrutinizes an experimental study designed to demonstrate causation and questions whether its laboratory conditions meaningfully translate to real-world violence.
One controversial issue often debated in the media today is the question of the appropriateness of violent video games for teens. Anecdotally, many people link aggressive behavior in adolescents — especially in young males — with playing violent games. Research correlating violent video game use and real-life violence in adolescents frequently makes headlines. One prominent example is a study cited in an American Psychological Association (APA) media release entitled "Violent Video Games Can Increase Aggression." The study found that 227 college students who scored high on trait aggressiveness and actual aggressive behaviors had played more violent video games during junior high and high school than those who completed the same questionnaire but had not played such games with the same frequency (Willenz 2009). As the release noted, "We also found that amount of time spent playing video games in the past was associated with lower academic grades in college" (Willenz 2009).
However, merely because two behaviors — viewing virtual violence and participating in actual violence — are correlated does not mean that one causes the other. Adolescents who enjoy acting in violent ways may simply be more likely to consume violent media than, for example, playing The Sims, reading Shakespeare, or watching romantic comedies. More violent teens might also be more apt to wear black rather than white t-shirts, but that does not mean the act of wearing a black t-shirt makes a teen more predisposed to act violently. The same logical problem applies to drawing causal conclusions from correlational data about video game use.
The authors of another study did attempt an experiment designed to suggest causation rather than mere correlation. In an experiment involving 210 college students, participants who played a violent video game were more likely to "punish" an opponent by inflicting a noise blast of greater intensity and for "a longer period of time" than did students who played a nonviolent video game (Willenz 2009). This experimental design moves beyond simple correlation by manipulating the independent variable — game type — and measuring a behavioral outcome.
"Noise-blast experiment critiqued for weak real-world validity"
You’re 66% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 1 section.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.