Study: Very little evidence linking games to violence

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into killers rages and the summation of all the findings still leaves a big question mark, even as laws are written and repealed regarding the matter.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

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into killers rages and the summation of all the findings still leaves a big question mark, even as laws are written and repealed regarding the matter.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