Video games and agressive behavior

Started by saturnschild, April 28, 2009, 01:33:19 PM

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saturnschild

I do believe the way we act towards certain games can differ based on gender. I not really sure but sometimes I see and feel that guys get more you know competitively aggressive more then girls do. One of my research that i have found saw that boys where seen to out expression there newly hyped up aggression on other more then girls will do.
The greatest thing you can ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.-Moulin Rouge
In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.- Walking Dead
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts, And I looked and behold: a pale horse. And his name, that sat on him, was Death. And Hell followed with him. - Johnny Cash

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Silk

#26
I find its the opposite and that females tend to get alot more aggressive, my theory for that is based more on the way we are brought up. Boys in school on the most part spend their time in team games, and throughout everything because of this trend of playing games vs others get taught the ethics of sportsmanship, as well as learning from a early stage that it is only a game and not the end of the world.

Girls who are more inclined to not take part in team games and spend more time conversing do not get what is the sportsmanship ethic and are a great deal more competitive and aggressive in competition because of this.

For a example of this situation is during one of my units I had to do a essay on a subject and how it relates to people. My choice was at a laser tag business in a forest terrain. I was there for three weeks, the guys who came were up for a fun game, no hassles between them. But when teams with girls arrived.. I think only 4 in 21 games involving girls and women did not have some sort of incident where it was taken too seriously. I even asked the owner and he agreed with these findings in that guys are generally there for the fun of the game while the girls seemed to play the game as if it was life or death.

Guys may be willing to play more agressive games such as paintballing or rugby than girls are, but that does not make them more agressive in general. If anything it works as a vent in itself.

And i will leave this with a well known saying here in england

"Rugby is a thugs game played by gentlemen, while football is a gentlemens game played by thugs"

Gracie

I feel that this depends on the individual playing the game.  For some individuals its an outlet for aggression and helps to calm them down. For others, it may put ideas into their heads if they blur the line between fantasy and reality: shooting people is fun in this game, lets try it in real life! It is the parent's responsibility to ensure that their child knows how to behave appropriately, as well as to provide appropriate games for their child.

I have seen kids get aggressive from non-violent video games. One kid I know has several times yelled in frustration and threw the controller at the wall because he couldn't get passed a level he had tried multiple times. But this kid is just as likely to get frustrated while playing outside, if for example he kept missing the hoop when shooting a basketball. So this aggression was not necessarily caused by the video game, but more likely the kid's frustration with himself.

It's all in the individual's personality. I do not think video games are to blame for violent behavior.

Trieste

I know you already gave your speech, but this is an interesting topic for me. Video games are a mixed blessing, very solidly.

I do not believe violent video games cause an increase in aggression in the people who play them often. What I do believe is that they are generally a solitary activity which, if played a lot during the formative years, can result in reduced social skills, general awkwardness and a feeling of ostracism. Of course, being a dedicated bookworm through my formative years - and well into high school - I am well aware that it isn't the only thing that can result in these traits. Only one of them. There is also the fact that multiplayer video games exist and can somewhat mitigate this trend, although that causes some of its own problems re: conflict resolution and sharing. Remember the squared-off edges of the original NES controllers? My oldest (younger) brother and I used to beat each other with them over whose turn it was.

It is a great outlet for aggression. If I've had a difficult time with something, it's cathartic to go on games and shoot the crap out of something for a while. However, it's often more cathartic (for me) to grab my sneaks and go for a good run. When I lived in an apartment complex with a pool, going for a good swim was fantastic. And if I felt un-productive, or like I was failing at something, taking some of the weighted pool toys and diving after them was a good way to get an easy sense of accomplishment. So while games are good for some aggression, they should not be relied on as the only outlet.

Do they encourage dependence? They certainly do... but so does everything else. I have an ex who developed an MMO-dependence. I also have a friend who developed a dependence on weed. I have another friend who really, really seems to be unnaturally fond of his television. And one of my relatives has described behaviours in his girlfriend that make me think she has become dependent on (and possibly also addicted to, since there's a chemical element) exercise. Anything that makes you feel good can cause dependence.

What it boils down to is parenting initially, and people who care about you once you're an adult. In your formative years, you must be taught to seek many, varied ways to vent your frustration. You must be taught that cookies are a sometimes food (even if I resent the fact that the cookie monster is used to teach it). You must be taught that sharing is just something we do, and all play and no work makes Jack a lonely boy in the long run. If you are sliding into unhealthy behaviours as an adult, someone will need to take you by the hand and discuss them with you.

Either way, the blame does not rest on exercise, or sports (which seems to send the parents into a rage more than the children, these days), or video games, or candy, or McDonald's. The blame rests on the parents, and in part on genetics. More and more, contemporary science is learning that while we may be born with certain genetic characteristics, those characteristics may remain dormant in our genes for our whole lives. We may have the gene that makes us a psycho serial killer, but perhaps we have parents who are attentive, consistent, and overall make us feel loved ... so the conditions are never right for that gene to activate and begin producing anything. It's called nature via nurture, and if you think about it, it makes a whole lot of sense.

... that was longer than I initially intended.

saturnschild

OMG Trieste I wish I had you doing my speech when I had to do it. I mean I thought about some of the things you said really make sense I never really thought it about the way you did.
The greatest thing you can ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.-Moulin Rouge
In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.- Walking Dead
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts, And I looked and behold: a pale horse. And his name, that sat on him, was Death. And Hell followed with him. - Johnny Cash

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Trieste

Well, I've thought about it a whole lot, more than most people have. :) I'm glad you liked it, though.

Pumpkin Seeds

Never really understood the whole debate to be honest.  Thus far I have not seen any compelling evidence to make a case linking the two outside of some fairly flimsy data that seems more circumstantial than factual.

Trieste

I feel that it's a scapegoat. A straw man to point at when something like the Columbine massacre happens. It is the refuge of the parents who aren't.

LaCroix

I have to agree with Trieste here. Theres a famous quote that I read in one my gaming magazines a while back that stated something along the lines of "If video games were really having any effect on children's behavior then wouldn't an entire generation of adults be locked up in dark maze like rooms running around eating pellets and fruit at this point?" making an allusion to PacMan which was an insanely huge craze after it was released.
Mickey Mouse's birthday being announced on the television news as if it were an actual event! I don't give a shit! If I cared about Mickey Mouse's birthday I would have memorized it years ago! And I'd send him a card, 'Dear Mickey, Happy Birthday, Love George'. I don't do that, why, don't give a shit! Fuck Mickey Mouse! Fuck him in the ass with a big rubber dick! Then break it off and beat him with it!

Oniya

QuoteI played Pac-Man loads when I was younger and do you see me running around in dark rooms popping pills and chasing ghosts?

Yeah, it was a dig at both sides though, because of the pill craze that was growing in the drug culture at the time as well (being slightly less conspicuous than smoking or shooting up).  It's a fine example of how correlation doesn't necessarily imply causality.
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Risa

I feel that violent video games actually decreases aggression. Well, with my brother, he can have a very prominent violent streak and tantrums. He is autistic, you see, and so he thinks differently than the rest of us. Playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl helps him calm down the aggressive feelings in his system and calms him. Maybe it varies with the person, but it's a fact that I've grown up with, and it happens with my other smaller brother as well, and he is not autistic. And I know that if I have bottled-up feelings of anger or frustration, playing video games like SSBB help me calm myself down.

saturnschild

Yes that was my point the last time I spoke about this in another one of my classes. That video games are just a scapegoat for the real problems that could be happening at home or just the government it self.

@LaCroix that is a quote I never heard before and it is a good one. If I talk about this topic again in anouther class that is for sure is going to to be used. what magazine was it do you remember.
The greatest thing you can ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.-Moulin Rouge
In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.- Walking Dead
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts, And I looked and behold: a pale horse. And his name, that sat on him, was Death. And Hell followed with him. - Johnny Cash

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