There are divided opinions on the possible effects of video games violence on real-world behavior.
One side of the spectrum states that there is indeed a link between violent crime/behavior and violent video games, while the opposite side stands firm in their belief that video games and the violent content contained within them don’t cause violence.
However, just recently, a new study has been published that claims there is no evidence to support the idea that violent video games cause an increase in violent (real-world) crime.
Read more details after the break.
Violent Video Games = Violent Crime? No.
The study in question was conducted by researchers from Villanova and Rutgers University, and is titled Violent Video Games and Real-World Violence: Rhetoric Versus Data. Furthermore, the study was recently published in the American Psychological Association’s official journal, Psychology of Popular Media Culture.
The study utilized 4 separate data analyses to observe popular trends in the video games industry, including monthly/annual video games sales, alongside specific keyword search volume in Google Trends, and compared them to crime rates in the real world.
Surprisingly, the research demonstrated that there is no evidence that violent video games have a positive correlation to real-world violent crime rates in the United States.
You can read the study’s summary below:
“Annual trends in video game sales for the past 33 years were unrelated to violent crime both concurrently and up to four years later. Unexpectedly, monthly sales of video games were related to concurrentdecreases in aggravated assaults and were unrelated to homicides. Searches for violent video game walkthroughs and guides were also related to decreases in aggravated assaults and homicides two months later. Finally, homicides tended to decrease in the months following the release of popular M-rated violent video games.”
One of the statements in the study even went so far to say the following:
“Finding that a young man who committed a violent crime also played a popular video game, such as Call of Duty, Halo, or Grand Theft Auto, is as pointless as pointing out that the criminal also wore socks.”
What are your thoughts on the Violent Video Games and Read-World Violence: Rhetoric Versus Data study? Do you agree with the findings that there is no positive correlation between violent video games and real-world crime? Why or why not?
Let us know in the comments section below! As always, stay tuned to GamerHeadlines.com for the latest in video games and technology news.
Source: Psycnet.APA.org
Erwin Murillo
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