Rinehults 1 Jennifer Rinehults English 1102 Malcolm Campbell 04/08/13

Violent Video Games cause Violent Behavior in Teens and Children. Can a violent shooting video game bring out violent or aggressive behaviors in young teens and children that play them? Some would say yes and others would say the behavior is caused by other factors such as stress or just getting frustrated and being violent. When playing a shooting game you are in the zone and playing to win therefore you get into the mind of the character you are playing, causing you to feel some of the same moods. Researchers say that violent video games such as Call of Duty and Halo can cause violent behaviors such as throwing, punching, yelling, and kicking in teens and children. Many have found that the violent video games have brought hostile and aggressive feelings out when playing them. Hostile and aggressive behaviors are different from feelings, people tend to act more on feelings and behaviors are caused by the feelings that someone might feel. Feelings of rage can cause the violent behaviors in teens and children that are seen when playing violent video games. Due to consumer demand over the last three decades, most video games made and sold to people today are violent. A violent video game can be the difference between acting and feeling violence. Violent video games can cause those negative behaviors from children and teens by promoting the shooting aspects of the game. In recent studies it shows that a single session of playing a violent video game increased short-term aggression according to Brad Bushman, the co-author of the study and professor at Ohio State University. Playing video games could be

Rinehults 2 Jennifer Rinehults English 1102 Malcolm Campbell 04/08/13 compared to smoking cigarettes. A single cigarette wont cause lung cancer, but smoking over weeks or months or years greatly increases the risk. In the same way, repeated exposure to violent video games may have a cumulative effect on aggression. says Bushman in his study about the aggression caused by playing violent video games. (Anderson and Bushman) "More than any other media, these video games encourage active participation in violence," said Bruce Bartholow, associate professor of psychology in the MU College of Arts and Science. (Bartholow) After the 1999 Columbine High School shootings, researchers became increasingly concerned with the dangerous effects of violent video games. Violent video games therefore do cause violent behavior in teens and children. For example when a child plays a violent or first person shooting game they experience what the character is as well, therefore making the player feel aggressive or have negative feelings towards the real world. Children learn to behave from watching the people around them and by observing the characters in the violent video games they play. Knowing a child that was affected by violent video games proves the statement that violent video games do in fact bring out violent and aggressive behaviors in teens and children. Khalil was a boy down the street from me who was 8 years old. He got his Xbox at a young age, he started off playing the super Mario games but as he grew up he started playing more violent games. He purchased Call of Duty and seeing him each day I noticed the change from playing the game all the time. He was harder to approach when there was a conflict because he got frustrated and hit a lot. Another boy on my street, Keaton, plays violent video games on a daily basis; he yells curses and throws things around his room

Rinehults 3 Jennifer Rinehults English 1102 Malcolm Campbell 04/08/13 constantly when playing. This is caused by the games and how violent they are in the shooting and fighting aspects, or the negative factors of playing a multiplayer game. Coming from this point of view I could tell he was affected by the negative effects of violent video games. Coming from my perspective as a fellow gamer myself I would have to say violent video games do increase the likelihood of having violent behaviors. I have played a violent video game that made me frustrated, it made me mad and playing the shooting games caused me to want to hit someone if they talked to me or bothered me during the game. When playing the game the player may get lost in the amount of effort it takes to kill the people, causing the player to get more and more frustrated and angry towards the game or people around them. Jack Thompson, a lawyer who has argued for the acquittal of defendants in violent video game cases notes, In every school shooting, we find that kids who pull the trigger are video gamers. The researchers found that participants who played one of several popular violent games, such as Call of Duty, Hitman, Killzone and Grand Theft Auto, set louder noise blasts for their enemies during the competitive task, they were more aggressive than participants who played a nonviolent game. Playing a violent shooting video game for too long will cause anyone to become flustered or angry causing them to be more aggressive with the people or things around them. The National Television Violence Study in 1996 says that 73 percent of the violent video games reward violence as an effective way to handle the conflict in the games. In a study done by Gentile, Lynch, Linder and Walsh they found that adolescent girls played video games 5 hours a week while boys played video games 13 hours a week. They also found that teens that

Rinehults 4 Jennifer Rinehults English 1102 Malcolm Campbell 04/08/13 played violent video games for extended periods of time tend to be more aggressive, they are more prone to confrontation with their teachers, and they may engage in fights with their peers. In other studies they state that playing video games may increase the aggressive behaviors because the violent acts are repeated throughout the games. The method of repetition has been considered an effective teaching method in reinforcing learning patterns in teens and children. Hostile expectations are probably not the only reason that players of violent games are more aggressive, but our study suggests it is certainly one important factor, (Bushman.) This quote by Brad Bushman a professor at Ohio University states that the hostile feelings are truly related to the expectations the game has. It is said that after playing a violent video game, people expect others to behave aggressively. The expectation may make them more defensive and more likely to respond with aggression themselves, as found in a study and in other studies that have been conducted. Violent media or violent video games may be the causes of the violent shootings all around the US. The Adam Lanza shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary was supposedly connected to violent video game playing. Adam Lanza spent hours playing the video game World of War Craft; this could have been the reason for his hostile and violent behaviors. Violent video games can be the cause of so many violent outbursts from teens and children all around, the games are showing them that it is natural to be violent or to have those feelings of aggressiveness and hostility. Video games have different types of violence levels and the amount of graphics they show in them causing different behaviors and feelings from the players that play them.

Rinehults 5 Jennifer Rinehults English 1102 Malcolm Campbell 04/08/13 Ratings can help to show a parent if they should allow their child to play the video games. There are many different ratings that go along with video games, such as EC (Early Childhood) where the content is suitable for children 3 years and older. E (Everyone) the content is suitable for people 6 years and older, and it may contain minimal violence and some comic mischief. T (Teen) includes content that is suitable for people 13 and older. It contains more violence than E rating and contains mild or strong language with suggestive themes. M (Mature) includes content that is suitable for people 17 and older. It contains material with mature sexual themes and intense violence and also strong language. Most games that children and teens are playing these days are rated M for mature, meaning they are exposed to the violence and the hostility of the game and the killing aspects. Teens and children are learning the behaviors and are becoming violent themselves or more aggressive in certain situations.

Rinehults 6 Jennifer Rinehults English 1102 Malcolm Campbell 04/08/13 This chart shows the mean number of aggressive responses for each type of video game played. As you can see the more violent video games are higher than the less violent games. Therefore violent video games do have an effect on the players that play them. The violent behaviors seen in children and teens that play them are influenced by the types of video games they play. The games are the cause of the aggressive and hostile feeling that the players experience and the effects from the games can be fatal if played by the wrong person. Shootings are happening and this may be the cause. Violent behavior is learned, often early in a child's life, meaning they do not need to be exposed to the violent video games those children and teens are playing. Violent video games are called violent for a reason they promote violent acts and show the player doing it. The violent behavior shown by kids playing these video games is proof for the question do violent video games cause violent behavior in teens and children. Violent behaviors in teens and children are caused by the violent video games they play.

Rinehults 7 Jennifer Rinehults English 1102 Malcolm Campbell 04/08/13 Works Cited Page Anderson, Craig A., and Brad J. Bushman. "Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and ProsocialBehavior." General Article. 12.05 (2001): n. page. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.

Anderson, C. A., & Dill, K. E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, p.772-790. Grabmeier, Jeff. "Research and Innovation Communications." Violent Video Games: More Playing Time Equals More Aggression. Office of Media and Public Relations, 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2013. Markman, Art. "Video games can teach positive lessons, too.."Psychology Today. (2010): n. page. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. Norcia , Andrea . "Violent Video Games and Aggressive Behaviors." Impact of Video Games on Children(2013): n.pag. Palo Alto Medical Foundation Sutter Health. Web. 13 Mar 2013.