It’s been a long-standing debate for as long as I can remember, but a new study has revealed that there is no proof that violent video games make the players more aggressive in real life. Games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto have taken quite some attacking in the past from concerned parents or loved ones saying their child or significant other is now more aggressive because of these types of games. However, scientists have disproved this argument using brain scans and psychological questionnaires. In fact, their study revealed that those who don’t play any violent video game had the same level of aggression as those that played for hours each day.
The research couldn’t have come sooner if you ask the various game manufacturers who’ve taken the hot for being branded as responsible for the rise in anti-social and criminal behavior across the globe. Participating in the study were a group of gamers who had been playing violent video games for at least two hours a day for the last four years and a control group who were not into gaming on a regular basis. In order to get a better idea as to the long-term effects of exposure to these types of video games, the team waited at least three hours before carrying out the tests rather than straight after gaming as the previous study had.
Psychological questionnaires were given to the participants to evaluate their capacity for both empathy and aggression while their brains were scanned by MRI machines. As they were being examined the participant watched images that were designed to create an emotional or empathetic response. When shown the images they were asked how they would feel if they were in that same situation as in the picture. The results from the study showed no significant differences between a gamer and non-gamers when it came to aggression levels from both the questionnaire and MRI scan.
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