There’s a new analysis out of Texas A&M International University’s Department of Behavioral, Applied Sciences and Criminal Justice that debunks the notion that violent games increase violent behaviors.
It seems Dr. Christopher Ferguson conducted an analysis of studies that associate violent video games and aggression behavior and came up with the conclusion the two don’t necessarily correlate.
“Results from the current meta-analysis found that there were about 25 recent studies on violent video game effects, with conflicting results. Overall results of the study found that although violent videogames appear to increase people’s aggressive thoughts they do not appear to increase aggressive behavior,” Ferguson is quoted as saying.
He concluded: “There is little evidence from the current body of literature that playing violent videogames is either causally or correlationally associated with increases in aggressive behavior.”
Ferguson went on to say studies that claim to conclusively prove the link “provide only questionable or inconsistent evidence.”
That’s some serious food for thought as many lawmakers and wannabe lawmakers continue to seek to vilify video games as the root of all evil, blaming them rather than those responsible for acts of violence.
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Labels: video game study, video game violence, violent video games