Political Crossfire Forums

[Wolverine]

Quote: (WebMD) Playing violent video games may dull people’s physical reactions to real-life violence.

"It appears that individuals who play violent video games habituate, or ‘get used to,' all the violence and eventually become physiologically numb to it," write Nicholas Carnagey, M.S., and colleagues.

"The modern entertainment media landscape could accurately be described as an effective systematic violence-desensitization tool," they add.

Their article is in press for the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Carnagey is due to get a doctorate in psychology from Iowa State University this August.

Playing Games

Carnagey’s team studied 257 college students, 124 men and 133 women.

First, the students noted their typical video game use. They also took aggression surveys and had their heart rate and galvanic skin response checked.

(Galvanic skin response measures the skin’s electrical resistance. It's an indication of bodily [physiological] arousal.)

Next, the students played either a violent or nonviolent video game for 20 minutes.

The violent video games were Carmageddon, Duke Nukem, Mortal Kombat, and Future Cop. The nonviolent video games were Glider Pro, 3D Pinball, 3D Munch Man, and Tetra Madness.

When the game session ended, the students repeated the heart rate and galvanic skin response tests. Both groups showed similar results.

But the study wasn’t over yet.

Watching Real-Life Violence

The students' last task: Watch a 10-minute videotape of real-life violence (shootings, prison fights, police confrontations, and courtroom outbursts).

During the screening, the researchers monitored the students' heart rate and galvanic skin responses.

Students who had played violent video games showed less physiological response to the real-life videos.

The study "demonstrates that violent video game exposure can cause desensitization to real-life violence," write Carnagey and colleagues.

"Children receive high doses of media violence," they note.

"It initially is packaged in ways that are not too threatening, with cute cartoon-like characters," the researchers continue. "Older children consume increasingly threatening and realistic violence, but the increases are gradual and always in a way that is fun."

Which medium is most desensitizing: TV, movies, or video games? And are some people more affected than others?

Those are good questions for future research, Carnagey’s team notes.

SOURCES:: Carnagey, N. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, July 17, 2006; online edition. News release, Iowa State University.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/31/health/webmd/main1849262.shtml

Duh. We must ban video games for the children! But we must ignore the fact that R rated movies are more violent than video games! Video are evil, and create killers. :roll:

This is another attempted to get soccer moms riled up.

[micfranklin]

I'll take a guess and say that this is just more propaganda being spewed out that video games are pure evil with a capital "E" and will turn your children into ruthless murderers and its not the parent's fault :roll:

That's what that was, right?

[The Central Scrutinizer]

As someone who has been known to spend as many as twelve hours at one time playing video games, I think there's some validity to the idea. I don't think we should ban them, or even regulate them more. Some ability to handle stressful (or violent) situations might even be construed as a good thing. But it's silly to deny that video games and other competitive pasttimes cause some adverse emotional responses--I've had people do all sorts of s**t to me over the years, but the last four or five times that I can remember ever being so angry that I wanted to hit someone out of sheer frustration, it was caused by video games. I know I'm not the only one, based on my own observations. I'd be interested to know the observations of others, and if they also fit with the research.

[toddytodd]

I guess it all depends on the personality of the person playing the games as well as how they were raised and their maturity level. Personally, some violent video games (which for me, are fighting games) are a way to release stress. At one point, I would name my opponent the name of a person at work that irritated me that day, beat the living crap out of him in the game, and then feel better.
I never got into shooting games though, but again, I think it all depends on the person playing the games.
I am a little concerned about some of the game out there where you get points for killing police, raping women, etc. I think those are playing to the lowest common denominator of society. Adults are free to buy what they want. However, when it comes to kids, parents should be more involved with their kids, have a better handle on their kids and actually parent.

As stated previously, there are many more ways people can see or become numb to violence in today's society than video games. Just turn on the news for cryin' out loud!

[Protostar]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13426631/

Article wrote: Under the law, which was to take effect immediately, violators would face fines of up to $2,000, or one year in prison, or both.

Yay for victimless crimes!! Yay for more people in prison!! Cause thats just what we need with the highest amount of incarcerated people in the world. :roll:

[Darbyh25]

Quote: Adults are free to buy what they want. However, when it comes to kids, parents should be more involved with their kids, have a better handle on their kids and actually parent.

Amen to that. Stop making government be the parents! That's not their responsibility.

[MplsBison]

Video games are a how many billion dollar business?

There is no such thing as a billion dollar business that isn't supported by large quantities of demand.


I hope the government does ban video games.

The market will respond in kind with distribution systems beyond our wildest dreams. Think cocaine and meth, only digital.

[Winchester]

I don't know about making them numb to violence but prolonged video playing, as a whole, sure makes kids fat and weak.

[PricklySponge]

why is being numbed to violence a bad thing, anyway?

[thundertaker]

Is this from the same researchers feeding that Army Colonel idiot who suggested that playing doom turned kids into ruthless killers every bit as skillful as a fully trained US Marine or some such nonsense in the wake of the Columbine shooting?

[Wolverine]

thundertaker wrote: Is this from the same researchers feeding that Army Colonel idiot who suggested that playing doom turned kids into ruthless killers every bit as skillful as a fully trained US Marine or some such nonsense in the wake of the Columbine shooting?
Sounds like Jack Thombson.

[Shady]

To be fair, I think video games DO make kids a better shot. Afterall there was the kid in Missouri that hit 10 people with 9 bullets. Frankly I was impressed.

[Wolverine]

With has many shooting games I have played, and with as many guns I own, thats false. :wink:

[thundertaker]

Wolverine wrote: thundertaker wrote: Is this from the same researchers feeding that Army Colonel idiot who suggested that playing doom turned kids into ruthless killers every bit as skillful as a fully trained US Marine or some such nonsense in the wake of the Columbine shooting?
Sounds like Jack Thombson.

No, his Name is Lt Colonel David Grossman:

http://www.cob-net.org/church/princeofpeace_grossman.htm

[Shady]

Wolverine wrote: With has many shooting games I have played, and with as many guns I own, thats false. :wink:

So you haven't hit 10 people with 9 bullets? Man I'm disappointed. That would be freakin' sweet.

[Wolverine]

thundertaker wrote: Wolverine wrote: thundertaker wrote: Is this from the same researchers feeding that Army Colonel idiot who suggested that playing doom turned kids into ruthless killers every bit as skillful as a fully trained US Marine or some such nonsense in the wake of the Columbine shooting?
Sounds like Jack Thombson.

No, his Name is Lt Colonel David Grossman:

http://www.cob-net.org/church/princeofpeace_grossman.htm
Oh my, look at the soccer moms. I bet he convinced all of them thier kids are killers in training.

Shady wrote: Wolverine wrote: With has many shooting games I have played, and with as many guns I own, thats false. :wink:

So you haven't hit 10 people with 9 bullets? Man I'm disappointed. That would be freakin' sweet.
:-|

[Shady]

Wolverine wrote: :-|

I was being facetious.

[Wolverine]

Shady wrote: Wolverine wrote: :-|

I was being facetious.
Meh, I knew that.

[micfranklin]

Quote: Oh my, look at the soccer moms. I bet he convinced all of them thier kids are killers in training.

That right there could get video games banned :x

[eynon]

so.........why is this a bad thing?

violent crime is lower then in the days before ultra-violent video games....who cares if we're less bothered by violence if we aren't comitting crimes? :-|