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Does playing violent video games increase aggression in teenagers?

August 25, 2000

Playing violent video games seems to increase hostility and anger in teenagers, but it may not be just related to whether the game contains violence.

A study carried out by Anna Warm, whilst at the Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, presented today Thursday 7 September at The British Psychological Society's Social Psychology Section Annual Conference at Nottingham Trent University, explored the role of video game violence on short-term states of hostility, anger and anxiety.

Dr. Warm carried out a preliminary study to identify two video games that were considered significantly different in terms of violent content. 192 people (114 undergraduates and 78 teenagers) were randomly allocated to play one of 12 games for 10 minutes and asked to fill out the Game Characteristics Rating scale, which measures 14 aspects of games, as well as content, eg pace, sound, colour. Two games that differed only in terms of violent content were selected for the main experiment.

For the main experiment 71 teenagers between 12 and 16 were allocated to play either a violent or non-violent video game and to fill out ratings of their hostility, anger and anxiety. Analyses showed that both groups had higher ratings on hostility and anger after playing the games, though the effect was more pronounced for the group playing the game with the violent content. This suggest that there are factors other than just content playing a role in responses to video games. These results were discussed in relation to current theories of aggression.

British Psychological Society (BPS)