Discussion
I had
hypothesized that there would be a linear increase in aggressive affect after
playing nonaggressive, moderately aggressive, and highly aggressive games, but no
such increase occurred. The overall pattern was that the moderately aggressive
game substantially decreased
feelings of aggression, whereas the highly
aggressive game resulted in much less of an increase in aggressiveness than I
expected, although no
more so than occurred in the control game. Generally,
the participants did regard the games to be more aggressive in the expected
order, although the difference of feelings about the two aggressive games was not
as great as might have been expected. However, this pattern could not account for
the irregularity of aggressiveness changes that were found.
The greatest
change was among the men who participated in the nonaggressive game. They showed
substantially more overall aggressiveness afterward. However, the men who played
the nonaggressive game had generally been considerably (although at chance level)
less aggressive both before and after playing than the men randomly assigned to
the two aggressive games. This finding only emphasizes the fact that individual
variability is more important than variability in affect induced by playing
computer games.
I also examined second- and third-order interactions
between gender, aggression level, and personality. Despite careful choice of
variables and materials, none were found.
For over a decade, proponents
of video games have championed their educational value (Malone, 1981), value for
social interaction and growth, and therapeutic value (Leerhsen, Zabarsky, &
McDonald, 1983). However, an explanation for the present results may be more
physiological than psychological. One approach to understanding the causes of
aggression emphasizes the role played by the sympathetic nervous system, with
heightened sympathetic activity seemingly facilitating overt aggression. Winkel
et al. (1987) found that, for
male adolescents, personality traits and heart
rate were separately related to aggression. Personality characteristics similar
to those of the Type A individuals were related in a positive direction to heart
rate in women. Winkel et al. concluded that there was no evidence that the link
between game playing and aggression is due to mimickry per se. Their results
suggest that home video games, regardless of their aggressive content, may
stimulate a more violent reaction in girls than in boys.
The
interactions between the variables are obviously complex, and glib statements
relating aggression to game playing, whether appearing in the mass media or in
scientific journals, seem totally unwarranted. In
addition, Cooper and Mackie
(1986) suggested that only their female participants felt there was little
difference in aggressiveness content between the games played - Pac Man and
Missile Command.
In general, one should not overgeneralize the negative
side of computer games playing. During the last decade, the market for fun-laden
educational software has exponentially increased. Also, Funk (1992) suggests that
playing home video games may have a less adverse impact
on academic
functioning than playing in an arcade.
There may also be individual
differences in the effect of game playing. Some people may be able to spend a
great deal of their free time playing arcade videos without any resulting
aggression. Huesmann (1982) concluded that children who are exposed to the least
violence may be
the most aroused and most likely to act aggressively. Because
girls are likely to have less experience with violence, they are the group likely
to be more aroused by the exposure.
The present study points up the need
for considering the strength of individual differences when researching the
effects of video games on feelings of aggression.
References