Kerri Roberts

In this article, I will be discussing the

ongoing debate about whether
violent video games are linked to
violent behaviour. Some people
would argue that there is not enough
evidence that could possible link the
two together, while others say that
playing video games with violent
images for a certain amount of hours
a day, will cause young people to
react more aggressively compared to
kids who do not play video games.
The American Psychological
Association (APA) has stated in a
research analysis that playing violent
games is linked to aggression, but
that theres insufficient evidence to
link the games to actual criminal
violence. In the article below, I have
looked at two video games- Mortal
Kombat and Call of Duty with case
studies linking them to real life
violence. I have also looked at two
theories- The Hypodermic Theory
and The Uses and Gratifications
Theory and whether these prove or
disprove any link between violent
video games and acts of violence in
real life.

Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat is a video game that
was created by Midway Games in
1992. The game is known for its
high levels of bloody violence,
including its well-known fatalities.
The fatalities led to the ESRB video
game rating system being made. The
game has been part of controversies
involving relation to acts of violence
in real life. An example of this would
be when Yancy Salazar murdered his
friend Noah Wilson with a kitchen
knife.
In 1997, thirteen-year-old Noah
Wilson was killed by his friend Yancy
Salazar after being stabbed in the
chest with a kitchen knife, which

severed his aorta, leaving him to die

after an hour of blood loss. The
victim's mother, Andrea Wilson,
claimed that her son was killed due
to Yancy Salazar's strong interest in
Mortal Kombat, and claimed that
Salazar was so "obsessed" with the
game that he thought he was

actually the Mortal Kombat character

Cyrax who uses a Fatality in which he
grabs the opponent in a headlock
and stabs his opponent in the chest,
which actually isnt in the game. The
verdict of the United States District
Court for the case Wilson v. Midway
Games, was that "Wilson's complaint
fails to state a claim upon which
relief can be granted."

Kerri Roberts

Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter
video game franchise. Call of Duty
had sold over 175 million copies, as
of April 2015. In the game, players
are to shoot and knife other people.
There have been many controversies
linked between this game and acts of
violence in real life, which has even
resulted in court cases and headlines
on newspapers and articles.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School

shooting happened on December 14,
2012, in Newtown, Connecticut,
when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot
20 children and 6 adult staff
members. It was straight away linked
to video game Call of Duty, and
how the violence in this game had
influenced Adam Lanzas decision
into the school shooting. This was
because Adam Lanza spent hours
playing the game, in order to help
train himself for the school
massacre, according to reports.

NRA President Wayne LaPierre has

blamed violent video games, movies
and music videos for the latest
shooting, saying media
entertainment such as the 1994
movie "Natural Born Killers," video
game Mortal Kombat and
"Kindergarten Killers" promoted as "a
great way to relieve stress."

The game has also been blamed for

having a link between 4 teenage
deaths, because a boy played it in
his bedroom.

People may use The Hypodermic

Needle Theory as an example of
why these cases, and others similar
to this is being blamed for copying
video games. The Hypodermic
Needle Theory is a method used by
the media which allows them to
inject and put ideas and messages
into a group of people, to gain the

Kerri Roberts
response they want. It is a very
useful method for Propaganda.
An example would be the extreme
violence in some video games that
cause an effect on the viewer
without thinking too much into the
message. Some people say it makes
some of the viewers more violent
(though most reports dont support
this), and makes the viewers
number and less reactive to violence.
So, for the case with Mortal Kombat
and Call of Duty for example, people
may agree that the images shown in
these games can be brainwashed
and copied by people who are
playing this, as they believe the
consequences in the game will be
the same in real life- it will just
restart. Politician Kieth Vaz, stated
that violent video games should be
banned as it is causing a negative
effect on the way children are now
behaving. This shows that he does
believe in the Hypodermic Needle,
and that video games and the
violence can affect young people and
their decisions.
Professor of Psychology Craig
Anderson said that exposure to
violent video games makes more
aggressive, less caring kids -regardless of their age, sex or
culture. He also said that exposure
to violent video games is a causal
risk factor for increased aggressive
thoughts and behaviour, and
decreased empathy and prosocial
behaviour in youths. This shows
that violent games can change and
affect the way in which people think
and act. This would support the
article on Adam Lanza, as it is said
that by him playing Call of Duty, it
helped him and trained him for the
massacre in which he committed. It
also supports the Hypodermic Needle
Theory.

But, because there isnt enough

evidence to support any sort of
relation between video games and
cases of violence in real life, it makes
you wonder if the people committing
these crimes are just insane. An
Oxford University study has
suggested that playing violent video
games is no more likely to be
damaging to young childrens
behaviour than those considered
harmless. This shows that violent
video games effects a person no
more than any other game.
Psychology Professor Patrick M.
Markey and his wife Charlotte N.
Markey, a University associate
professor, conducted a study that
shows violent video games do not
provoke violence, instead it is more
likely to make them violent if they
have certain personality traits.
Patrick M. Markey commented after
the experiment that he hadnt
expected the results he got.
He said that Its counterintuitive to
what we thought would happen. In
the study, it compared 30 years of
FBI crime statistics and how they
line up with violent video game
releases. Markey expected to see an
increase in shootings but, instead
saw the exact reverse. Analysis of
the most popular violent video
games (Grand Theft Auto, Call of
Duty, and Halo) showed that
homicides steadily decreased
following the release of new versions
of the games.
Markey theorized that violent people
might be attracted to violent media
and be inside playing games, rather
than out on the streets causing
trouble. By removing people with a
tendency towards violence by
keeping them inside playing video
games, it may work to reduce overall
violence levels.

Kerri Roberts

Uses and gratifications theory is

used to try and understand how and
why people actively seek out specific
media to satisfy specific needs.
Theorist Blumler and Katz believe
that there are as many reasons for
using media. According to their
theory, media consumers have a free
will to decide how they will use the
media and how it will affect them.
Blumler and Katz believe that media
consumers can choose the
influence media has on them. Uses
and gratification is the realists view
of the media. The theory takes out
the possibility that the media can
have a moral influence over lives and
how people view the world.
This shows that as an audience, the
actions of which people do cant be
blamed on video games, and how
long they spend playing them as
they choose to play it, and chose to
commit a crime. So, the murder of
Noah Wilson shouldnt be blamed on
a video game like the mother tried to
do, as it was the childs own decision
and there was also no link between
the way in which the murder took
place and scenes from Mortal
Kombat.
Due to the personal nature of Uses
and Gratification theory, it makes it
difficult try and analysis any of the
information that is taken from it. Katz
said in 1987 that most research
relies on pure recollection of memory
rather than data. This makes these
types of reports complicated and
immeasurable. So, any professor or
theorist that has used this theory as
a guide to try and prove any relation
to violence in real life and video
games will not be 100% accurate.

Call of Duty diverts the user away

from their normal everyday life, and
lets them indulge into behaviour they
wouldnt normally do. It allows them
to be violent to other players,
without them actually causing harm.
Professor Chris Ferguson has argued
that the rise in gaming has led to a
decline in youth violence. Fergusons

routine activities theory shows this:

if you take a group who are already
prone to aggression and give them
something else to do, it takes them
away from scenarios where they are
likely to engage in bullying and
aggression out in the real world.
This shows that people who are
aggressive may choose to play
violent video games in order to help
stop their aggression in real life.
However, gaming might actually be
very beneficial for an individual. At
the University of Geneva, Professor
Daphne Bavelier compared the visual
abilities of gamers and non-gamers.
She carried out an experiment which
focuses more on the benefits of
playing video games, rather than the
negative aspects. Professor Bavelier

Kerri Roberts
found that individuals who play
action video games perform better
than those who dont. Professor
Daphne Bavelier's theory is that fast
action games need the player
constantly switched on in order for
them to be able to switch their
attention from one part of the screen
to another while also staying wary
for what is happening in the game.
From the results of this experiment, it
shows that gaming also has a lot of
benefits, rather than just being the
centre for violent acts. It requires a
person to use concentration, and
actually helps with increasing brain
activity. People playing these games
may not even realise how it is
progressing their concentration and
mind.
Also, in another experiment at the
Max-Planck Institute of Human
Development in Berlin, Professor
Simone Kuhn researched the effects
of video games on the brain. From
the results, she found that three
areas of the brain had grown- the
prefrontal cortex, right hippocampus
and cerebellum - all involved in
navigation and fine motor control.
From a Nintendo DS being used as
the main key in the experiment, Prof
Kuhn believes its the ability of being
able to focus on two screens that
stimulates the increase in brain
activity and growth.

I believe that people that commit

crimes in real life shouldnt be given
the chance of putting the blame on a
video game they have played. Yes, it
might give them ideas or open up
their mind a little bit more but the
video game itself doesnt tell them to
commit a crime or murder someone,
its the person and their own decision
that acts out. Out of every single
person that plays video games, its
only a very small minority of people

who commit crimes of murder, etc.

This isnt the games fault, but the
person mind. I feel in order to stop
younger people being exposed to
such violent images; there should be
a stricter ban on people playing
these types of games underage.
Games that involve explicit images
of death and sex should be 18 rated,
and should definitely not be bought
for people under this age. By doing
this, it will help to stop gaming
companies being under fire for
having influenced a minor in a
crime as they wouldnt have played
it.

Kerri Roberts

Bibliography
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s
cience/study-finds-that-violent-videogames-may- be-linked-toaggressive-behaviour-10458614.html
http://time.com/4000220/violentvideo-games/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/article
s/2015/04/19/mortal-kombat-x-themost-violent-video-game-ever.html
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index
.ssf/2012/12/nra_video_games_movie
s_wayne_lapierre.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic
le-2249854/Sandy-Hook-schoolshooting-Adam-Lanza-spent-hoursplaying-Call-Duty.html
http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/20
10/mar/vvgeffects
http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/
articles/2014/09/30/main_line_times/
news/doc542abfba5d8f2533562937.t
xt
http://icagames.comm.msu.edu/vgu
%26g.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technolog
y-34255492