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Jon Allison, Nick Larson, Sabrina Hernandez, Ernesto Muro

Group 6
11am
Argument Paper Final Product
Do Video Games Cause Aggression in Children Ages 6-12
Technology is consistently finding new ways to make things much more advanced; the
same goes with video games. Children love video games because they are able to control the
game and have fun doing it. However, sometimes video games cause children to act out from
losing the game or not being able to accomplish a task throughout the game. Video games are
becoming a hot topic in todays society. It is a highly controversial topic, where one can question
if video games indeed cause aggression among children. As a group, we have done extensive
research on this topic through the use of books, articles and credible websites and have come to a
conclusion that video games are causing children to become more aggressive. We have evidence
that supports our claim that it is indeed video games that contribute to aggressive behavior such
as studies done to provide evidence, how video games lead to criminal acts and the long-term
effects.
Aggression may be defined in many different ways depending on experience with
aggression shown by different people. However, according to (dictionary.com) aggression is
over or suppressed hostility, either innate or resulting from continued frustration and directed
outward or against oneself. Basically any expressed act that can be harmful to oneself or
another is considered aggression. We state that video games are causing this because based on
countless research done by professional psychologists it has been found that the cause could
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relate to addiction. Usually a gamer will become hooked on a game, consistently playing and
experiencing the violent content that leads them to become more aggressive over time. It is
becoming more common for psychologists and other professionals to research the effects of
video games on children. One of the recent studies was done by Dr. Craig A. Anderson. He
conducted a study that consisted of 181 Japanese students ages 12 to 15, 1050 Japanese
students aged 13 to 18, and 364 U.S. kids ages 9 to 12. He had everyone who participated in
the study rate their own behavior, such as aggression over time, and he also took reports from
teachers throughout the study. In every single group the children who had more exposure to
video game violence became more aggressive than those with less exposure. The researchers
did take into account the aggression levels of the subjects before they started observing them,
to rule out the possibility of some kids being more aggressive than others from the beginning.
Dr. Craig A. Anderson was a co-author of the article Violent Video Game Effects on
Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy. In this article he stated
that Students level of exposure to violent video games is directly related to a variety of
forms of aggression ranging from verbal aggression to outright violence. Not only that, they
report, It appears that not only does repeated exposure to violent video games increase
aggressive behavior, but it also decreases empathic helpful behavior. This is from just
one study of many where it has been concluded that video games do cause children to
become more aggressive.
Furthermore, another study done by Dr. Mario Vance, a psychological researcher at the
Rapture Institute for headline-inspired science, conducted a study that lasted for seven years.
He monitored the anger levels in over a thousand volunteers. His results showed that people
who did play a lot of video games were more aggressive than those who didnt play as many.
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These results are identical to the results of Dr. Craig A. Anderson, when he concluded that
children did become more aggressive when they were exposed to violent video games. The
article where we found Dr. Mario Vances research information claims that, video games lead
to violence. He then interviewed one of the participants, Kerry Goodliff, a 16-year-old student
where she said, It expanded my vocabulary for homophobic insults considerably. While that
doesnt directly show that she is aggressive, it does show that she is being exposed to people
who are more aggressive than the common person which could then in turn make it so she
becomes more aggressive. Everyone has heard that you can be affected by those around you,
and in her case she can easily become influenced by the aggressive people that she is being
exposed to.
We can take a look at even more studies on this widely controversial topic. Researches
from Iowa State say that there is a strong connection between violent video games and youth
violence and delinquency. Matt DeLisi, a professor of sociology, clearly points out in the
article Violent Video Games Are a Risk Factor for Criminal Behavior and Aggression:
When critics say, Well, its probably not video games, its probably how antisocial they
are we can address that directly because we controlled for a lot of things that we know
matter. Even if you account for the childs sex, age, race, and the age they were first
referred to juvenile court-which is a very powerful effect- and a bunch of other media
effects, like screen time and exposure. Even with all of that, the video game measure still
mattered.
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The researchers took in the consideration of every possible variable that could be linked
to why a child is aggressive, yet still they concluded that video games are a great contributing
factor to a childs aggression no matter age, race, sex, etc.
All of these research studies not good enough for you yet? Well one of the leading
researchers on this topic is Dr. Craig A. Anderson, who played a role in all three of the
previously mentioned studies. He wasnt the head researcher on all of them so we can
rule out the possibility that it is only his opinion on this subject, instead of multiple
researchers. Executive Intelligence Review interviewed Dr. Anderson, and the interview
appeared in the June 1, 2007 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. When Dr. Anderson
was asked Wouldnt you say there was a qualitative difference between watching a violent
movie, and playing a first-person shooter game? Dr. Anderson said Yes, we do think
the violent video games are likely to have a bigger effect, mainly because of the active
participation. You are practicing all the aspects of violence: decision-making and carrying it
out. What can be taken out of this question is that it is actually the video games causing
the aggression and not the movies that children are seeing. We can also correlate the movies
to the media violence that they see almost every day. They are correlated because both are
just being witnessed and the children dont have any say in what happens unlike in the
video games where, they are the ones who decide what happens, they pull the trigger, they
decide to attack, or they decide to blow something up. The direct involvement is a huge factor
into how video games make children more aggressive.
We have heard the stories about kids gone wild, to the point of criminal offense, when
they confuse fantasy with reality. That is what happened to Devin Moore who went on a killing
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spree in June 2003. This teenager was a fan of Grand Theft Auto, a video game based on
famous cities throughout America that takes you through a story based upon automobiles.
Devin decided that he wanted to experience the events that take place in this video game in real
life. Moore, grabbed a gun, and shot two police officers and a 911 dispatcher, then took a set
of car keys and took off in a police cruiser. When he was caught he explained how he
compared life to video games, and acted like there was no difference between the two. If
Devin Moore was kept from seeing the violence in the game these incidents could have been
avoided, but sadly were not.
On the other side of the argument, one might say video games are beneficial for kids
nowadays. One might argue that video games improve cognitive development, education, and
the fact that technology is rising which makes it almost impossible for a child to avoid exposure
to violent gaming. However, the cons outweigh the pros in this case. Even if video games
contain some sort of beneficial factor it still does not make up for the negative effects it brings
to children who play them.
One might begin to argue that cognitive skills are being developed through the use of
video games especially at a young age. According to John M. Grohol, Playing video games is
intellectually lazy but it strengthens a range of cognitive skills such as, special navigation,
reasoning, memory and perception. While this might be factual, have they considered the
difference between the good video games and the violent video games? Is shooting and stealing
really helping a child develop healthy cognitive skills that can be used throughout their lives?
One may continue to believe that video games are practicing skills used in a childs everyday
life; for instance problem solving and multi-tasking. Brain scientist Daphne Bavelier did many
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tests to prove a point that states gamers are in fact better at multi-tasking compared to the
average non-playing person. For example when playing call of duty, a popular game in
todays culture; many tasks include multiple requirements to kill one person while fighting
off another, sending a helicopter while rescuing a teammate, all in a set time frame.
This doesnt only include this game but many other games include the multi-tasking ability.
We can then relate this back to real life situations. For example, driving; while driving we
must track multiple objects at a time, the changing light, the car beside you, the kid on the
street, the dog running toward the crosswalk, etc. We must recognize all these things while
driving otherwise we end up in a dangerous situation. Video games practice this skill so that
later when we apply it to life we will succeed. But truly there must be another way to practice
multi-tasking then just video games. Yes it does increase your ability to manage multiple tasks at
a time but so does school, a job, or even daily life. A child learns how to multi-task at a young
age, from being involved in sports, going to school and doing light chores. They dont need a
video game to teach them that skill; it is something the American culture worships uponthe
ability to multi-task. This is why no matter the facts brought up on the benefits of video games; it
still doesnt touch upon the aggression video games can cause.
Still not convinced? Additionally, one might still believe that video games benefit a childs
education. For example, according to Fun Education, It can improve the ability to solve
mathematical and verbal problems. Also it causes children to solve problems, do
strategic thinking and Wall street journal states it can increase your overall IQ. One
might also go on to say how video games can help the lives of ones education such that as
one plays, their coordination, hearing, and motion improves because they are focused in the
game thus when class time arrives, their senses are activated when the teacher is explaining.
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According to the Daily Titan, Video games can give a calming event on youths and help
reduce aggressiveness and bullying behavior. However, who is to guarantee the child will be
much more focused in class due to video games. Video games are more likely t o cause
distractions in a childs education. Each hour wasted playing video games are contributing to
the child becoming more unfocused and unmotivated about school. Close to every child
enjoys playing video games because it was made for entertainment but since they are so young
it is safer to enjoy the life of a child and not waste it inside on the TV. Similar to how we
stated earlier about Devin Moore, he spent majority of his time playing Grand Theft Auto that
it caused him to be involved in criminal activity at such a young age. If he had played less
video game when growing up, he wouldnt have been exposed to the aggression. Video games
might increase an IQ level but based on our research it causes more aggression among young
children rather than benefiting their education.
We as a group came to the conclusion that video games do cause aggression in children.
With all of the countless studies that have been done it is hard to argue that video games do
not cause aggression in children. These video games are causing children to act out at
home and in school. This topic is one that really needs to be focused on. If todays kids
are playing video games and becoming more aggressive whos to say that they wont
remain aggressive throughout their entire lives. That makes the next generation of adults
more aggressive, and if this pattern continues then it may cause problems in the future and
completely change todays society.


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