Is There a Link Between Video Games and Violence?
Do some kinds of video games cause violence? Scientific studies do not suggest a link.
But the idea that there is a link between violent video games and violent acts reappeared following the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, last weekend.
An online statement thought to be written by the El Paso gunman mentioned the combat game “Call of Duty.”
On Monday, President Donald Trump said that “gruesome and grisly video games” contribute to a “glorification of violence.”
American politicians have long made similar statements.
“Politicians on both sides go after video games... it is this weird unifying force,” said Patrick Markey, a psychology professor at Villanova University who studies video games.
Research on Video Games and Violence
Benjamin Burroughs is a professor of media at the University of Las Vegas. “... There is no linkage to gun violence,” he said about video games.
Burroughs said that some studies show a short-term increase in aggressive thoughts and feelings after playing video games, but nothing that rises to the level of violence.
“Plenty of gamers... get upset when they lose or feel the game was ‘cheating,’ but it doesn’t lead to violent outputs,” Burroughs said.
In 2006, a small study by researchers at Indiana University found that teenagers who played violent video games showed higher levels of emotional arousal – strong emotions like anger or fear. The teenagers also showed less activity in the parts of the brain associated with the ability to plan, control and direct thoughts and behavior.
Patrick Markey, the psychology professor, found in his research that men who commit severe acts of violence actually play violent video games less than the average male.
Another study by Markey and other researchers showed that violence tends to go down when a new violent movie or video game comes out. One possible explanation: people are at home playing the game or in theaters watching the movie.
Markey believes that video games might excite people, but they do not change who people are. “It is like going to see a sad movie,” Markey said of playing video games. “It might make you cry but it doesn't make you clinically depressed,” he said.
电子游戏和暴力之间有关联吗?
某些类型的电子游戏会导致暴力吗?科学研究表明两者并无联系。
但是随着上周末德克萨斯州埃尔帕索市发生大规模枪击事件，暴力电子游戏同暴力行为之间存在联系的说法再次出现。
被认为是埃尔帕索枪手所写的一份网上宣言提到了战争游戏《使命召呼》。
特朗普总统周一表示，“令人毛骨悚然的、可怕的电子游戏”有助于“美化暴力”。
美国政界人士一直发出类似言论。
维拉诺瓦大学研究电子游戏的心理学教授帕特里克·马基说：“两派政治家都追着电子游戏咬，这是一种怪异的凝聚力。”
研究电子游戏和暴力
班杰明·伯勒斯是拉斯维加斯大学的媒体学教授。他在谈到电子游戏时表示：“电子游戏跟枪支暴力之间没有联系。”
伯勒斯表示，一些研究表明，玩电子游戏之后的攻击性思维和情绪会短暂提升，但是并未上升到暴力程度。
伯勒斯说：“很多游戏玩家在打输了之后会心烦，或是认为该游戏在‘作弊’，但是这并不会导致暴力输出。”
2006年，印第安纳大学的研究人员进行的一项小研究发现，玩暴力电子游戏的青少年会表现出更高昂的情绪激发，像是愤怒或恐惧之类的强烈情绪。这些青少年负责计划、控制和指导思想及行为的大脑功能区也更不活跃。
心理学教授帕特里克·马基在他的研究中发现，犯下严重暴力行为的男性实际上比普通男性更少玩暴力电子游戏。
马基和其他研究人员完成的另一项研究表明，当一部新的暴力电影或电子游戏问世时，暴力事件往往会下降。一种可能的解释是：人们都在家里玩游戏或在电影院看电影。
马基认为，电子游戏可能会激发人们的情绪，但是它们不能改变人们的本性。马基谈到玩电子游戏时说：“这就像是看一部悲伤的电影，它可能会让你哭泣，但是不会让你被诊断为抑郁。”
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