Does Aggression Equal Violence?
Aggressive behavior does not necessarily mean violence. For decades, politicians and parents have been blaming violent video games as the catalyst for violent behavior in those who play them. A year ago, the American Psychological Association released a study indicating that video games do increase aggression and decrease empathy and sensitivity. At face value, one might think that this proves the claims correct, and that video games do incite violence out of its audience. However, this study does not quite prove that. The study says violent video games increase aggressive behavior, but there is still no correlation between this changed behavior and outright violence.
To better understand what I mean, one must better understand what aggressive behavior entails. According to the University of North Carolina, aggressive behavior is a persistent pattern of behavior that causes or threatens harm to people. Aggression is seen in many forms. There are verbal forms such as taunts and threats. Physical forms such as tantrums, throwing, and fights. Covert forms such as lying, stealing and drug use. Besides, these there are many other types. The fact of the matter is that some forms of aggression are less severe than others. Without a doubt, any form of physical aggression can easily lead to violence, but other forms such as lying or taunting are less clear. With such a broad spectrum of what is considered aggression, saying violent video games causes aggressive activities is a weak argument in blaming them for violent crimes.
To elaborate, someone who plays violent video games might end up being more prone to taunt others. They may even lie or steal more often. There is even the potential that these games could lead to a violent crime, but each form of aggression listed above is very different. Whether it be verbal or physical, noticeable or subtle. There is nothing that truly links one form of aggression to another, besides them just being a form of aggression. Violent video games may only increase one form of aggressive behavior, or it could increase all of them. Despite the research done, there is not enough to pinpoint violent behavior as an effect of increased aggression. In turn, this also means there is not enough to indicate violent behavior as an effect of video games.
Works Cited
American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association, 13 Aug. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
Fraser, Mark W., James K. Nash, Maeda J. Galinsky, and Kathleen M. Darwin. “The Making Choices Program: Social Problem- Solving Skills …” University of North Carolina. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
Rowan Counterintuitive 