Violent Video Games: More Play Time, More Aggression

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/776406?src=wnl_edit_medn_fmed

Megan Brooks
Dec 19, 2012

The more people play violent video games, the more aggressive they become, hints a novel study that looks at cumulative effects of playing violent video games.

The study found that college students who played a violent video game for 3 consecutive days showed an increase in aggressive behavior and in hostile expectations each day they played, whereas those who played nonviolent games showed no meaningful changes in aggression or hostile expectations during that period.

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"People who have a steady diet of playing these violent games may come to see the world as a hostile and violent place," Dr. Bushman commented in a statement. "These results suggest there could be a cumulative effect."

"After playing a violent video game, we found that people expect others to behave aggressively. That expectation may make them more defensive and more likely to respond with aggression themselves, as we saw in this study and in other studies we have conducted," he added.