Video Games and Aggressive Behavior, Essay Example

The debate on the role of video games on agitating behavior among the youth is an ongoing endeavor. According to Huffman, Dowdell, and Sanderson, the major aspects of learning during formative years takes place during playtime (121). Selecting the appropriate game for children can aid in appropriate growth and development of the child`s physical, social and cognitive dimensions. This paper discusses how video games influence the development of aggrieve behavior in children.

During the past decades, volumes of newspaper and magazine articles, books, and academic journals have been published on the with the argument that video games do not influence aggressive behavior among the youth which is not the case. Am a strong believer that video games influence aggressive behavior among the youth. According to Przybylski and Netta, researched over 1000 teens where they urge that neither the parent nor the young realized if there is an increase in aggressive behavior that could be attached to violent video games (16). They did not recognize any antisocial behavior among the youth. This is not the case since if a guardian such as teachers  exposes the young persons to positive attributes, there will be an evolution of warmth and affection leading to trust of the world, but if the infant is exposed to insecure conditions where there is a lack of basic needs and wants, mistrust ends to frustrations and lack of self- esteem. Under normal circumstances, parents can have a great impact on the behavior of their kids. Negative parental behavior can attribute to the formation of negative behavior among children while positive actions by the parents or guardians contribute to positive behavior by the offsprings. If the child is exposed to violent video games, negative personality traits can evolve. According to Anderson et al., human perception refers to the human description of the outer stimuli via the application of bodily sense organs like the skin, eyes, ears, tongue, and nose. Human perception aids persons to comprehend their immediate environments — perceptions of the surroundings such as watching violent videos shape human behavior. According to American Psychological Association task force on violent media, various aspects of linguistics, which includes the usage of the word in the violent videos, such as language acquisition, language formation, among other inter-related fields.

Szycik used Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(fMRI) on a long-term violent video game player to find out if it affected its aggressive behavior and noted that the neural response for a video game player is similar to that of non-gamer (56).  However, this is not the case as there are two broad categories of behaviors that can be aped from watching movies; adaptive behaviors and maladaptive behaviors. According to Lemmens, Valkenburg, and Peter, adaptive behaviors are the socially acceptable virtues that are fully recognized and accepted by other people and their way of life. Maladaptive behaviors make persons to be vulnerable and cannot tolerate external stimuli. According to Lemmens, Valkenburg, and Peter, negative parental behavior and attitudes can attribute to the formation of negative behavior among children while positive actions by the parents or guardians contribute to positive behavior by the offsprings. If the child is exposed to violent video games, negative personality traits can evolve. According to Anderson et al., negative parental behavior can attribute to the formation of negative behavior among children while positive actions by the parents or guardians contribute to positive behavior by the offsprings. The irresponsible behavior of the parents and lack of commitment in knowing the detailed information contained in the videos has produced recurring evil notions which the minds of these children absorb. Once such an evil notion sticks into a child’s mind, the youngsters are inclined to have aggressive behavior. If the child is exposed to violent video games, negative personality traits can evolve. According to Erickson`s psychosocial development theory, during the formative years, children are eager to understand various complicated skills such as critical thinking, running and walking. According to the theory, children should be motivated in watching video games which enhance talent discovery and finally be appreciated for their achievements. If the same children are exposed to violent video games, their brains are well equipped to absorb the contents very fast. Praising the young ones who portray positive characteristics causes the development of desirable qualities such as diligence and perseverance. Children who fail to adhere to watching appropriate videos should not be ridiculed as this may lead to growth and development of inferiority complex about their abilities, development of lack of self-esteem and lack of individual motivation.

Ferguson and Colwell argued that violent video games have no link with bullying or antisocial behavior. That is, use of violent games is not linked to the aggression behavior which is not the case, and as for my case, the mind of the human being is formed in a manner that it can recall past episodes. Furthermore, the mental capacity of human beings is created in a way that humans recall negative episodes more than positive events. The deep analysis of video games postulates that video games trigger aggressive behavior among children and young men. The time spent on watching video games has a strong influence on the chances of aping aggressive actions. Watching violent videos for a long time increases the chances of imitating aggressive behavior. For instance, the act of watching a violent related video with a youngster for a long time may influence the infant to start aping the violent incidents seen in the video.  The imitative nature of humankind is supported by one famous adage that goes, “monkey sees, monkey do,” that is, we do what we see. Therefore, according to Lemmens, Valkenburg, and Peter, a child who has been exposed to a violent related video, on some occasions, will be conceived with the mindset of trying to put the events in the video into action (98). Other underlying factors play a significant contributor to the imitation process. For example, an increase in the economic standards of living ends uprise in the cost of living. A child brought up in such a family facing a severe economic crisis when exposed to violent games, will tend to apply the tactics, skills or violent conducts he or she viewed and learned in a video game to earn his or her living. Children raised in poverty-stricken environments where violent videos are not restricted end up being involved in aggressive behaviors which leads to rampant cases of criminal activities in the society. Lemmens, Valkenburg, and Peter observe that delinquency cases are evident especially in cities particularly in poverty-stricken residential areas such as slums (145). Violence behavior is common for children who are born in poor families. Generally, in virtually all towns, there are video games which are played. The venues act as dens for delinquency cases, and the children learn how to employ their criminal activities to earn their living.

Many cases of robbery with violence and murder cases have turned to be the order of the day in some residential quarters. American Psychological Association task force on violent media games observes that majority of individuals who have been convicted of robbery with violence and murder cases have been proved to have learned that vice of stealing and killing via the video games (67). Criminal activities are common in urban areas where the population of people is relatively high. Thieves and murderers have learned the tricks and tactics to employ through watching the plot of the video games. According to Lemmens, Valkenburg, and Peter, social behaviors are learned but not inherited (132).  American Psychological Association task force on violent media games postulates that most of the vices committed in our society are as a result of an evil notion which has been developing within the mindset of an individual (98). The irresponsible behavior of the parents of lack of commitment in knowing the detailed information contained in the videos has produced recurring evil notions which the minds of these children absorb. Once such an evil notion sticks into a child’s mind, the youngsters are inclined to have aggressive behavior.

Watching video games has a strong influence on unconscious psychological domains. Mandler, observes that deep and systematic study of the unconscious psychological domains has a great impact on human behavior and emotions particularly during formative years (67). According to Lemmens, Valkenburg, and Peter, early childhood experiences particularly watching violent related videos provide systematic and negative expectations to the kids.  According to the American Psychological Association task force on violent media games, an acceptable child behavior is attained after solving the inner anxieties in the child`s mental capacity through watching relevant and educative videos (123).

According to Mandler, the behavioral approach is interested in creating more expectations of proper, guiding, strengthening and converting improper behavior (78). Creating a viable environment for video watching is paramount. The behavioral approach encourages all children caretakers such as guardians and educators at all levels to monitor the type of videos watched by the children as their minds are vulnerable to external influences (Hewitt and Tarrant 115). From the formative years, there is the urge to come up with rules and regulations which focus on clear and achievable expectations.  Mandler, observes that monitoring children behavior by involving them in understanding whatever is happening as well as having the ability to recognize their physical behavior will reduce the cases misbehavior (89). According to Hewitt and Tarrant, if behavioral control is combined with proper care while watching the videos, appropriate positive results are likely to be attained.

Huffman, Dowdell, and Sanderson observe that video games should target at aiding in growth and development of the physical, cognitive and psychosocial domains of humankind (99). The video games assist the youngsters in refining their motor skills while teaching them basic life skills such as cognitive thinking. However not all video games are beneficial. Some video games such as the violent ones lead to the rise of aggressive behavior among the youth hence impairs the child`s memory, and the child fails to acquire the essential life skills. All in all, video games should target at sharpening the basic skills at the individual level and enhance the overall development of a child.

The issue of true and false facts and knowledge on the role of video games on aggressive behavior characteristics has been a controversial issue by psychologists and philosophers for many centuries. The dilemma has been on appropriate evidence necessary for a correct belief, fact, or concept to be justified. The debate has been ongoing, and researchers have proposed numerous explanations on the role of video games in influencing aggressive behavior among the children.  Finally, there is a need for further research in order to comprehend the scope and frameworks for a full understanding of the concept.

Work Cited

Hewitt, Des, and Susan Tarrant. Innovative teaching and learning in primary schools. Sage, 2015.

Huffman, Karen, Mark Vernoy, and Judith Vernoy. Psychology in action. (12^th Ed), J. Wiley, 2018.

Lemmens, Jeroen S., Patti M. Valkenburg, and Jochen Peter. “The effects of pathological gaming on aggressive behavior.” Journal of youth and adolescence 40.1 (2011): 38-47.

Mandler, George. “The limit of mental structures.” The Journal of general psychology 140.4 (2013): 243-250.

Calvert, Sandra L., et al. “The American Psychological Association Task Force assessment of violent video games: Science in the service of public interest.” American Psychologist 72.2 (2017): 126., 72(2): 120-143, 2017.

Przybylski, Andrew K., and Netta Weinstein. “Violent video game engagement is not associated with adolescents’ aggressive behavior: evidence from a registered report.” Royal Society open science 6.2 (2019): 171474.

Szycik, Gregor R., et al. “Lack of evidence that neural empathic responses are blunted in excessive users of violent video games: an fMRI study.” Frontiers in Psychology 8 (2017): 174.

Ferguson, Christopher J., and John Colwell. “Understanding why scholars hold different views on the influences of video games on public health.” Journal of Communication 67.3 (2017): 305-327.