> "Aggressive Behavior" is very different from violent acts - especially 
> on the scale that we're discussing (premeditated mass-murder).
> 
One of the studies I quoted used as a measure of aggressive behavior how many 
fights the kids were involved in at school, and also whether they agressed 
against their teachers.

>From what I remember of the fights I got into at school, I'd call that sort of 
>aggressive behavior violent.


> I've already admitted that playing violent games does indeed increase 
> aggressiveness - that's been shown.  However the effect is both 
> temporary and does not increase either violent acts or modify morality.

I don't think its temporary. Given the results of the same study, how often the 
kid played violent games was a direct influence on violent behavior. There were 
direct and indirect effects, in other words the effect of the video game showed 
some further influence via over levels of hostility even when the direct effect 
was accounted for.

As for your second point about modifying morality,
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/els/01933973/2003/00000024/00000004/art00073

or this article:


Playing violent video games, desensitization, and moral evaluation in children
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W52-4950R9F-3&_user=10&_coverDate=09%2F30%2F2003&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d8e149c7f57ea97e0db6e585df521915
Jeanne B. Funka, Debra D. Buchmanb, Jennifer Jenksa and Heidi Bechtoldta
Abstract

Relationships between short- and long-term exposure to violent video games and 
desensitization, as measured through components of moral evaluation, were 
examined. Sixty-six children aged 5–12 years old completed questionnaires 
assessing video game experience and preferences and empathy and attitudes 
toward violence. The children played a violent or nonviolent video game and 
then responded to vignettes about everyday occurrences. Vignette responses were 
coded for aggression and empathy. Preexisting empathy and attitudes towards 
violence were positively related to the corresponding vignette scores. 
Long-term exposure to violent video games contributed to lower empathy vignette 
scores. Playing a violent versus a nonviolent game did not affect vignette 
responses. Results suggest that long-term exposure to violent video games may 
be associated with desensitization as reflected in lower empathy, although the 
direction of causality remains unclear. 

It will take some more looking on my part, but I suspect that exposure to 
violent video games has a long term effect on moral development and morality. 
continued exposure to models dealing with situations in a violent manner has an 
impact on how the observer reacts. Enough exposure and it become internalized 
and thought to be the "right" was to react to things.

The scientific literature is fairly clear on the matter, exposure to violent 
video games tend to increase violent behavior. A meta-analysis by Anderson and 
Bushman (2001), see 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11554666&dopt=Citation,
 found that across 54 independent tests of the relation between video game 
violence and aggression, involving 4262 participants, there appear to be five 
consistent results of playing games with violent content. Playing violent games 
increases aggressive behaviors, increases aggressive cognitions, increases 
aggressive emotions, increases physiological arousal, and decreases prosocial 
behaviors. These effects are robust; they have been found in children and 
adults, in males and females, and in experimental and nonexperimental studies. 
This is not to say that no studies have failed to find evidence of an effect. 
However, the majority of studies have found such evidence.

I could go on and on, but I think I have proved my point.

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