Poll: Aggression and Video Games

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Actually, the effects of violent media upon aggression is fairly well established from reliable sources on a scholastic level.

So here is my honest question for you: If games undeniably cause aggression, how can you support them, let alone play them? If violent media causes aggression isn't it by definition extremely detrimental to society and something that needs to be cast aside? I'm just trying to understand how one can say media has a negative effect without also condemning it.

Is aggression negative? I touched on this in my earlier post in this thread, which seems to have gone unnoticed, probably due to its' wall of texty nature. The thing is that most aggression is short-lived, you get pissed at the AI cheating in Civ 5 or the grenade chugging noob in CoD, you curse some and shut the game down in frustration and that's it. After a few minutes you feel better. Aggression also arise from all manners of things, from violent movies to competitive sports to physical discomfort and the list is almost endless.

Aggression is a natural human reaction to threats, challenges and setbacks, it is one of the main motivators we have for getting things done beyond pure survival. Whatever it is aggression meant to incite us into defending against an attacking lion, aggression to make us take back what someone else stole or aggression to protect our group from slander, all aggression is a protective reaction, it is our sympatic nervous systems way of telling us that it is time to do stuff, to set things right.
In modern society the ability to control ones' aggression is paramount, it is arguably on of the most important aspects of self-control that we all have to practice daily. Hence, allowing oneself "controlled aggression" in a safe environment, like your living room, can be argued to be positive. It is far better that you post a rant on the Escapist about how Civ5's AI is a cheating bastard then that you go out, drink too much and pick a fight to vent the same frustration.

We all feel aggression, every day. Aggression on its' own is not dangerous. Aggression can become dangerous when it escalates into conflicts with other people, which is when aggression might lead to violence. The thing that most often connects people who go "postal" is that they had a deep-rooted hatred for something, they had engaged in a conflict with whatever the target of their aggression was (their job, their boss, women, black people etc.) and it was their constant escalation of that conflict pattern that eventually drove them to killing people. Not that they had indulged in some pastimes that served as temporary aggressors.

So how can I play games and still be convinced they can cause aggression? Simple, I don't think some aggression is dangerous. Especially not when taken out on virtual worlds in the confines of my own home.

 

[FalloutJack]

I'm just trying to understand how one can say media has a negative effect without also condemning it.

I'm trying to understand how one can say media has a negative effect with so little evidence of it.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Not any more than any other medium that requires high concentration and can frustrate people when interrupted(if they suffer from poor emotional management).

All games ever do for me, and it's a personal thing, is make me verrrrry lazy.

Still got into the Uni I wanted though, hehe!

 

[Metalmacher]

I think competitive GAMES cause aggression. I don't think it really matters if it's chess, football, or a video game. It's a short term thing, and it seems harmless.

Competition leads to increased aggression and a desire and drive to win. Who'd have thought it?


In other words, I fully agree with this post. Its not "video games", its competition. I know I personally am pretty much totally relaxed when playing single-player, but if I play multiplayer nerves can fray a bit. Look at the average football match and how wound up people can get. Especially the Ultras which can result in people getting STABBED for supporting the opposing team [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/4808246.stm].

You don't get angry when playing single players? Really? You don't get angry when you play an old school platformer, or a souls game, or a Ys game, or Monster Hunter or whatever other hard games are out there? I call bullshit.

When did I say that?

"I know I personally am pretty much totally relaxed when playing single-player"

 

[ed_phelan]

This is a difficult one, isn't it?

From my own personal perspective I can assure you that some competitive games can indeed cause mild short-term aggression. I remember getting incredibly worked up after losing undeservedly on FIFA before. Obviously the disappointment and aggression soon fades away and things return to normal.

I am not sure that you can say that this is down to video games though, as surely anyone would feel the same way when playing a real-life competitive sport? I remember also getting rather worked up playing football on the beach when I was a teenager.

 

[Doom972]

Not in my case at least. I play games to relax and escape reality for a bit. Sometimes a game can make me frustrated (not angry), which causes me to stop playing and do something else until I can overcome said frustration. The only thing that can make me angry is other players in multiplayer (cheaters, griefers, etc) or people disrupting my personal time without a good reason.

So summarize: Games don't make me angry, but people sometimes do. If people get angry due to playing video games, I don't understand why they bother playing. I would guess that people who get angry due to playing video games are prone to anger regardless.

 

[Nailzzz]

I honestly don't know if games cause aggression and frankly I don't care if they do. I do however know something that definitely causes aggression for me: Busybodies attempting to justify vilification of my chosen form of entertainment in a veil thin attempt to justify putting restrictions on it with such flimsy rationale's as "It might cause aggression".

 

[Gray-Philosophy]

As a victim of violent video games, my aggression has reached inhuman levels and I have somehow managed to cause more destruction and murder than there has ever been recorded through history.

On a more serious note. Both yes and no, depending on context. But mostly no.

If anything it's an outlet for aggression. You get to act out destructive behavior in a virtual environment where nobody gets hurt. From personal experience, like many others, I can conclude that all the violent video games I've played hasn't made me any more agressive than I used to be. Even though it's hilarious to go on a killing spree in GTA or mod Skyrim so I can murder children, I know I'd never do it in real life because I can differenciate between the real world and video games.

However, there are times where games can be frustratingly difficult, and in that sense I do suppose they could cause aggression to some degree. But that's more a question of whether you're an aggressive person in general already.

 

[Synigma]

A certain MOBA comes to mind as the #1 offender for me; it definitely causes aggression. As stated in previous posts it's the competitiveness more than the games themselves but single player games cause some too.

But if anything this has taught me how to control my aggressive behavior that much better. The cost of losing your cool in a video game is substantially reduced compared to real life... but it teaches you that whatever you are trying to accomplish is only going to get harder when you give in to anger.

This all being said, I just had to rebuild my computer due to a raid failure... and that was 10x more rage inducing than ANY game I've yelled at!

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

The only aggression games cause to people is losing to a really difficult game (Looking at trying to get Big Boss Emblam in MGS 4)

 

[sageoftruth]

Violent media whether its games, tv shows, movies, theater performances or books will cause aggression as well as most competitive activities. This is pretty well documented but I don't think games are inherently worse in this fashion. For example I live in England where football (or soccer to you folks across the pond) hooliganism is pretty well known... and that's committed by people who just watch it.

Still, don't hooligans have a ton of other reasons to be aggressive as well, like drugs, alcohol, and having a bone to pick with everyone on the planet? Personally, I think they just use football as a place to act on their aggression.

 

[Silence]

Yo, OP, without a definition of what kind of aggression we are talking about, this does mean nothing at all.
There were several studies proving short-term aggression when playing games, and several disproving long-term aggression. So, is this any news?

 

[sageoftruth]

I wouldn't say they make me immediately angry, but I sometimes wonder if they have an influence on my daily revenge fantasies. You know, the ones where someone wrongs you somehow, and you're walking away thinking about how great it would have been to stand up to him and put him in his place?

 

[MiskWisk]

I haven't read all of the comments so someone has probably already said my point but oh well.

Yes, video games raise aggression. You know what else raises aggression? Sports, board games (hello monopoly you little devil you), books, social interaction and reading things on the internet. Aggression is a huge catch all term and it can be measured by tracking brain activity. The argument that this is a problem is what is bull because you then have to do something about all the "perfectly acceptable" things that also cause aggression to not look hypocritical.

 

[Leon Royce]

People who are already aggressive because of their life situations will be attracted to something that can act as a release valve. In my late teens I was seething with inner pressure and anger and played very violent games, watched very violent movies.

I would not touch these types of games today.

It's interesting that people assume that nothing can come from within, it must start from without.

 

[bossfight1]

In a way, sssssssoooorrrrta-kinda? Just not in the way people like Jack Thompson would suggest (all the violence, guns, drugs, etc.) but in the manner of frustration - if a game is infuriating you enough, like you repeatedly get put with a crappy team in multiplayer, or there's one area in a game that is just pissing you off... Consistent frustration could, theoretically, make you more aggressive.

That's not the fault of video games... usually; I mean, there've been times when devs confuse 'difficulty' for 'bullshit', which could REALLY infuriate players. But really, it's more dependent on the player if they become more aggressive from the game, whether from content or difficulty. You could argue games kind of ENABLE that aggression, in the same way a carelessly-discarded cigarette would enable a gas station explosion.

 

[Azure23]

It's actually pretty amazing the things people will hand wave when they think they have something to defend.

Honestly what makes videogames so fucking special that we get offended everytime the same level of critical and social examination every other media is subjected to is applied to videogames? A lot of things in our lives cause aggression, it's one of our most basic protective mechanisms, it activates when we're faced with challenges and when we're excited, it's a ubiquitous reaction to all sorts of things. And yeah, when I have a few bad rounds in the Dark Souls 2 arena I get salty and annoyed, fight a buffed longsword Havel monster a few times a you'll be pissed. And that's aggression, that's aggression that every gamer has felt and if you tell me you haven't you're a goddamn liar and know it. And there's nothing special about videogames, they just cause the same reaction as anything competitive, or driving in heavy traffic, or watching sports. Should we do anything about it? No, of course not, and no one (with any power or influence) is saying we should. But here's the thing, if you're aware of something's effect on you, you can work to curtail it, by acknowledging that this is a thing, you can consciously minimize it. And that's why gamers' knee jerk reaction to this kinda thing is so annoying, it just makes gamers seem that much more unreasonable and aggressive.

Seriously, these studies are done in the spirit of scientific inquiry because we like to know how our brains work, and people are acting like the very existence of these studies is evidence of an sjw conspiracy to take our games away.

 

[Something Amyss]

So here is my honest question for you: If games undeniably cause aggression, how can you support them, let alone play them?

At a guess, because "aggression" very likely doesn't mean the connotation you have in mind. Now, I am not psychic, I cannot read you mind, but I'm going out on a limb because...

If violent media causes aggression isn't it by definition extremely detrimental to society and something that needs to be cast aside?

I'm going to crib this from Gethsemani (Though I see she already replied to you), because she already explained it better than I can (and comes from a stronger backgro9und than I have):

As a closing not, aggressors and aggression are not inherently bad. That something increases aggression does not make it dangerous or bad. Aggression is a natural reaction to stress and threats and properly dealing with aggression is a must in modern society. Better that you curse that freaking noob that keeps spawn camping you then that you go out and pick a fight at a bar, right?

I'm just trying to understand how one can say media has a negative effect without also condemning it.

The simple answer is: we're not.

I'm trying to understand how one can say media has a negative effect with so little evidence of it.

Well, except that's not what's being talked about with aggression. Still, this notion that there's no evidence is untrue and you should probably stop making the claim.

Not in my case at least. I play games to relax and escape reality for a bit. Sometimes a game can make me frustrated (not angry)

You just described a game causing aggression within you right there. Frustration.

It's actually pretty amazing the things people will hand wave when they think they have something to defend.

More interesting is that these are responses from aggression.