Are Video Games Related To Aggression In Students?

By Author: Philbert Manalo
Total Articles: 77
Comment this article

A lot of studies and findings tend to revolve around video games nowadays, most of which suggest various cognitive benefits and others of which suggest behavioral problems that might persist through time.

Some of these studies are relatively small and would require more investigations. Some journalists tend to confuse correlation with causation, as well. However, Ohio State University researchers have discovered that video games can actually result in aggression in students.

For their study, 70 university students were made to play violent and non-violent video games for 20 minutes every day for 3 days. As a result, it was seen that the students who played the violent games were noticeably more aggressive and hostile compared to the students who played the non-violent games.

The researchers said that being exposed to this kind of violence on a regular basis can cumulatively affect students. However, although they say that violent video games and aggression are clearly related, there ...
... is no cause-and-effect relationship present.

The fact of the matter is that a lot of young people play video games on a regular basis nowadays. Because of this, it would be vital to learn more about the causal effects that violent games might have on them in the long run.

Just think about how cigarettes work, for example. Although one cigarette in itself might not bring about lung cancer; smoking for weeks, months or years could significantly increase a person's risk of suffering from lung cancer in the future. On that same note, regularly playing violent games for years might cumulatively effect on aggression.

To learn more about the actual possibility of this cumulative effect, 70 university students in France were told that they were about to participate in a study about the brightness of video games