Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

What Is the Overall State of Evidence Concerning the Effects of Violent Video Games

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Does Playing Video Games Make Players More Violent?

Abstract

A large volume of published research now exists on the effects of video games, and more especially on the effects of games with violent themes. There have been a few attempts to collate all this evidence at the level of ‘effect magnitudes’ through meta-analyses to establish its overall status. This chapter examines the positions adopted by major evidence reviews and meta-analyses, and finds that there remain conflicted positions. Thus, there is no overall agreement about the nature and strength of the effects of playing violent video games.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson, C. A. (2004). An update on the effects of playing violent video games. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 113–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behaviour, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behaviour: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12(5), 353–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. A., Shibuya, A., Ihori, N., Swing, E. L., Bushman, B. J., Sakamoto, A., et al. (2010). Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behaviour in eastern and western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 151–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andison, F. S. (1977). TV violence and viewer aggression: A cumulation of study results. Public Opinion Quarterly, 41, 314–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barlett, C. P., Branch, O., Rodeheffer, C., & Harris, R. J. (2009). How long do the short-term violent video game effects last? Aggressive Behavior, 35, 225–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, W. T., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: I. An evolutionary-developmental theory of the origins and functions of stress reactivity. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 183–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J., Rothstein, H. R., & Anderson, C. A. (2010). Much ado about something: Violent video game effects and a school of red herring: Reply to Ferguson and Kilburn. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 182–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J., & Pollard-Sacks, D. (2014). Supreme Court decision on violent video games was based on the First Amendment, not scientific evidence. American Psychologist, 69(3), 306–307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dill, K. E., & Dill, J. C. (1998). Video game violence: A review of the empirical literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior: A Review Journal, 3, 407–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elson, M., & Ferguson, C. J. (2013). Twenty-five years of research on violence in digital games and aggression: Empirical evidence, perspectives and a debate gone astray. European Psychologist, 19(1), 33–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J. (2002). Media violence: Miscast causality. American Psychologist, 57(6), 446–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J. (2007a). The good, the bad and the ugly: A meta-analytic review of positive and negative effects of violent video games. Psychiatry Quarterly, 78(4), 309–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J. (2007b). Evidence for publication bias in video game violence effects literature: A meta-analytic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 470–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J. (2010). Blazing angels or resident evil? Can violent video games be a force for good? Review of General Psychology, 14, 68–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J., & Kilburn, J. (2009). The public health risks of media violence: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Pediatrics, 154, 759–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J., & Savage, J. (2012). Have recent studies addressed methodological issues raised by five decades of television violence research? A critical review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17, 129–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fikkers, K. M., Piotrowski, J. T., Weeda, W. D., Vossen, H. G. M., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2013). Double dose; high family conflict enhances the effect of media violence exposure on adolescents’ aggression. Societies, 3, 280–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Funk, J. B. (1993). Reevaluating the impact of video games. Clinical Pediatrics, 32, 86–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gretemeyer, T., & Mugge, D. O. (2014). Video games do affect social outcomes: A meta-analytic review of the effects of violent and prosocial video game play. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 578–589.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths, M. (1999). Violent video games and aggression: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 4(2), 203–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hearold, S. (1986). A synthesis of 1043 effects of television on social behaviour. In G. Comstock (Ed.), Public communications and behavior (Vol. 1, pp. 65–113). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitrofan, O., Paul, M., & Spencer, N. (2009). Is aggression in children with behavioural and emotional difficulties associated with television viewing and video game playing? A systematic review. Child Care Health and Development, 35(1), 5–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nikkelen, S. W. C., Valkenburg, P. M., Huizinga, M., & Bushman, B. J. (2014). Media use and ADHD-related behaviours in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Developmental Psychology, 50, 2228–2241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paik, H., & Comstock, G. (1994). The effects of television violence on antisocial behaviour: A meta-analysis. Communication Research, 21, 516–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piotrowski, J. T., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2015). Finding orchids in a field of dandelions: Understanding children’s differential susceptibility to media effects. American Behavioural Scientist, 59, 1776–1789. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from  http://www.pattivalkenburg.nl/images/artikelen_pdf/Piotrowski__Valkenburg_in_press_Finding_Orchids.pdf

  • Rosenthal, R., & Rosnow, R. L. (1991). Essentials of Behavioral Research: methods and Data Analysis. (2nd. Ed). New York, NY: mcGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothstein, H., Sutton, A. J., & Borenstein, M. (2005). Publication Bias in Meta-Analysis: Prevention, Assessment and Adjustment. Chichester, UK: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savage, J. (2008). The role of exposure to media violence in the etiology of violent behavior: A criminologist weighs in. American Behavioral Scientist, 51, 1123–1136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savage, J., & Yancey, C. (2008). The effects of media violence exposure on criminal aggression: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 359(6), 772–781.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherry, J. (2001). The effects of violent video games on aggression. Human Communication Research, 27, 409–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valkenburg, P. M. (2015). The limited informativeness of meta-analyses of media effects. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 10(5), 680–682.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2013a). The differential susceptibility to media effects model. Journal of Communication, 63, 221–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2013b). Five challenges for the future of media-effects research. International Journal of Communication, 7, 197–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, W., Wong, F. Y., & Chachere, J. G. (1991). Effects of media violence on viewers’ aggression in unconstrained social interaction. Psychological Bulletin, 109(3), 371–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Media and Communication, University of Leicester, Loughton, Essex, UK

    Barrie Gunter

Authors
  1. Barrie Gunter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Copyright information

© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Gunter, B. (2016). What Is the Overall State of Evidence Concerning the Effects of Violent Video Games. In: Does Playing Video Games Make Players More Violent?. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57985-0_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation