i prefer reports from peer reviewed journals to marketing department releases. They have somewhat more credibility. I also prefer large scale studies or meta-analyses over small studies they have more statistical credibility. They provide a more accurate estimate of the relationships within population. In other words they are far more predictive than a study with only 20 participants. Remember, the Anderson and Bushman (2001), meta-analysis assayed over 50 independent studies, involving over 4000 subjects. That's a pretty good estimate of what's happening in the outside world.
As for my own opinion, I follow what's called the Generalized Aggression Model. Briefly put, the tendency to engage in agressive behavior is very complex and follows a multi stage process, with both short term and long term sequences. Personality and situation variables mediate these processes. To quote D.A. Gentile et al. / Journal of Adolescence 27 (2004) 5â22, Anderson and colleagues (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Anderson & Bushman, 2002) have developed the General Aggression Model (GAM) to explain theoretical links between violent video game exposure and aggressive cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors. This model describes a "multi-stage process by which personological (e.g. aggressive personality) and situational (e.g. video game play D.A. Gentile et al. / Journal of Adolescence 27 (2004) 5â22 and provocation) input variables lead to aggressive behavior by influencing several related internal states and the outcomes of automatic and controlled appraisal (or decision) processes" (Anderson & Dill, 2000, p. 773). GAM differentiates between short- and long-term effects of video game violence on the game player. With regard to the short-term effects of violent video games, GAM predicts that both kinds of input variables, person and situation, can influence the present internal state of the person. Summarizing GAMâs predictions for the effects of violent video games on behavior, Anderson and Dill drew the following conclusions. ââShort-term violent video game increases in aggression are expected by [the model] whenever exposure to violent media primes aggressive thoughts, increases hostile feeling or increases arousalââ (Anderson & Dill, 2000, p. 774). This suggests that in the short term, trait hostility may be a moderator of the effects of violent content, because aggressive thoughts and feelings may be more easily accessible for more hostile individuals. With respect to long-term exposure to violent content, GAM suggests that this may result in the development, over-learning, and reinforcement of aggression-related knowledge structures. These knowledge structures include vigilance for enemies (i.e. hostile attribution bias), aggressive action against others, expectations that others will behave aggressively, positive attitudes towards use of violence, and the belief that violent solutions are effective and appropriate. Repeated exposure to graphic scenes of violence is also postulated to be desensitizing. Furthermore, it is predicted that long-term game players become more aggressive in outlook, perceptual biases, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior than they were before the repeated exposure. Therefore, trait hostility may play a different role in the long term. Over time, increases in trait hostility may result from video game play, and therefore trait hostility may become a mediator of the effects of violent game content on aggressive behaviors (in contrast to being a moderator). -- In other words its not an all or nothing proposition. The Gentile et al (2004) showed that trait hostility was associated with both amount of play and violent video game exposure. Violent video game exposure was both directly associated with physical fights and indirectly associated, with trait hostility mediating the effects of violent video game exposure on physical fights. Another indicator of the direct effects of violent video game exposure was its effect on the low hostility students, it had a very strong influence on whether these students got into physical fights. So the answer is considerably more complex than the simple solution that Thompson suggests or the null results that the video game industry posit. Kids with high levels of hostility are more influenced by violent games and tend to act out more than students with low levels of hostility. However even when you control for trait hostility, violent video games were still positively related to physical fights and aggressing against teachers. With over 600 students in this study, and over 5000 students in the the Anderson and Bushman (2001) meta-analysis, the results are fairly conclusive, there is a link between violent video games and aggressive behavior. Personality factors serve to potentiate this relationship and reinforce it over time, but all in all independent of such personality factors as impulsiveness and hostility, these games still have a negative impact on kids behavior. > Kids fight, physically, much more often than adults in any case. Kids > are just learning how to react to uncomfortable situations. Emulating > games in real-world situation will definately lead to problems - and > it, in my opinion, an education and moderation issue. Parents need to > both limit their children's play and teach them how to respond better. > Kids get over this - they learn how to better deal. > > Games (well, depending on the game) also greatly improve math and > reading skills. They encourage cooperative, prosocial play (for > example this small study: http://www.jyi. > org/volumes/volume11/issue2/articles/lee.html) and increase > understanding of abstract ideas. Games have also been shown to reduce > pain and anxiety in young burn victims. > > Read some of the criticisms of the negative studies by the likes of > Karen Sternheimer or Henry Jenkins. The question is far from > "answered": > > Here are are few recents reports of contradictory works: > > http://gamepolitics. com/2007/02/19/researcher-finds-sc> ant-evidence-linking-violent-games-with-aggressive-behavior/#more-703 > http://www.swin.edu. > au/corporate/marketing/mediacentre/core/releases_article. > php?releaseid=884 > > But forget all of that for a moment. > > Are you honestly suggesting that an increase in indcidents fist-fights > as a child will lead to the crimes that we're discussing? Again, if > that were case where is the correlated increase in violent crime > considering the massive popularity of these games? Where are the > studies showing that violent criminals are more likely to be gamers? > > Do you have information that shows an increase in childhood > non-criminal violence in correlation to the rise of video games? At > least in that arena I would think such a socially pervasive phenomenom > should have have had measurable effects if indeed it were causal. > > Jack Thompson claims that these games CAUSE school shootings - are you > making (or defending) that claim? He's made the claim that this was a > fundamental issue of the VT shootings - despite the fact that no real > evidence has surfaced that this kid even PLAYED games. > > Even if the findings you've quoted are completely, 100% correct in all > conclusions it still doesn't create a defense for Jack Thompson. He's > an asshole using this tradgedy to push his twisted, false agenda. > > Again, violence is a fundamental aspect of humanity. Teaching > children how to deal with it is a basic part of creating society. > Video games are far from the only violent media available and other > violent media have been shown to increase aggression on par with them > (for example, 2000-year-old literature increases aggressiveness: > http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660199036,00.html ). > > We need to stop demonizing such fundamental aspects of our culture and > understand them. People like representations of violence. For the > vast, vast majority this in no way leads to more violent behavior. > > Jim Davis > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Create robust enterprise, web RIAs. 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