Do Video Games Lead to Gun Violence? - Paper Example

Introduction

Gun violence has become a common mode of killing in several countries. In most nations including the United States which has recorded the highest number of gun violence, the shootings have been blamed to factors such as uncontrolled gun licensing. Recently other factors have been ruled out with more focus directed towards the impacts of video games on the rising cases of gun violence. While some people have argued that video games lead to gun violence, others have given contrary opinions. The most alarming aspects are due to the continued use of guns to cause mass shooting in schools. In these incidents, the perpetrators are school going youths. Video games are common among the youth leading to the discussion of whether violent video games are linked to gun violence. This paper will argue in support of the proposition that video games lead to gun violence.

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One of the most recent incidents of gun violence was witnessed in the US on 14th February 2018 at Stoneman Douglas high school. The incident left 17 people dead, and several with severe injuries. In this case, a neighbor reported that the shooter identified as Nikolas Cruz played video games for about 15 hours every day (Salam & Stack, 2018). Although the claims by the neighbor could not be used as enough evidence to conclude that video games lead to gun violence, several studies have confirmed that video games are indeed connected to gun violence incidents. A meta-analyses study by Anderson et al (2010) to assess the effects of video games on aggressive and social behavior incorporated various studies and a data from more than 134, 000 individuals to conclude that video games lead to violent gun behavior. Meta-analyses studies review various studies conducted in a specific area and arrive at the same conclusion. Recent distinct studies have also shown that video games cause gun violence. A research conducted by Hollingdale & Greitemeyer (2014), used 101 study participants who were divided into four groups. Two groups were subjected to offline and online violent games while the other two groups were subjected to neutral video games. The results showed that the group exposed to violent games showed a heightened aggression behavior than the group subjected to neutral games.

The link between video games and the occurrence of a violent behavior is linked to several psychological developments. Some scholars ascertain that people engaging in violent video games consequently learn violent behavior through various means. Bandura theory of learning has been connected to the development of violent behavior after learning from video games. This theory states that people can learn from observation, imitation or modeling. Several video games involve guns where shooting is the main theme. A person involved in long hours in the game will eventually learn the violent behavior expressed in the game and consequently imitate the characters in real life. Bandura theory links the behavioral theories with the cognitive theories with the view that attention, memory, and motivation are used in the development (Anderson et al, 2010). The violent games usually encompass motivation by the notion that shooting more people is equal to achievement.

Social-cognitive aggression models differentiate the aspects that enhance the development of aggressive behavior and those that inhibit such behaviors. Facilitating factors include aggression cues such as weapons. In video games, guns are the most common cues. Unpleasant situations that cause bad mood in people such as provocation are also common aspects associated with the development of aggression. In video games, provocation occurs in various forms such as violent scenes to causes aggression to the player. Video games are meant for fun or to excite the player; however, some games might be boring while some are frustrating and exhilarating. The aspects of harm targets in video games can trigger aggressive conditions as well as emotions, and at the same time have the possibility of elevating physiological arousals. The occurrence of cognition is an interesting phenomenon due to several psychological aspects. First, situational scenes can elevate anger and arousals even in video games that do not have violent scenes. For examples, games such as racing cars, sporting, and motor skills games that demand high concentration and vigorous response can result in an elevated heart rate and rapid blood pressure to the user. Video games designed to offer challenges to the player or are too fast can elevate aggression and anger and consequently leading to activation of aggressive thoughts. Violent video games need activation of violent thoughts for the player engaging in the game while nonviolent video games do not require the violent thoughts at the start of the game. Repeated activation of the aggressive thoughts either in form of novel thoughts or the ones previously encountered forms the base of development of permanent changes in an individual since repetition cement on the structures related to aggression making them automatic, chronic and becomes part of an individual (Strack & Deutsch, 2004). The adverse results and physiological arousals initiated by either violent or nonviolent video games are likely to disappear faster without leaving long-term impacts on the brain compared to the games that involve cognitive learning where aggression demands perceptual as well as social schema repeatedly rehearsed to perfect the game.

Most video games involve rehearsing to earn more scores and move to the next complex level as a reward. The rehearsing abilities are confirmed by the number of hours people spend in playing the video games, sometimes leading to addiction. Youth are more affected, but it can also affect individuals at any age group. According to a recent research conducted by Chen et al (2018), about 30% of college students play computer games while 70% play video games in their phones. Individuals playing computer games spent up to 73 minutes playing video games during the weekdays and up to 128 minutes during weekends per day. People playing video games using their mobile phones spent up to 154 minutes during weekdays and 172 minutes during weekends. These results show that cognitive learning through repeated rehearsal is a possibility with a likelihood of cementing the aggression behavior than in cases where a person rarely plays video games. It is custom for a person who rehearses and perfects a specific video game to be rewarded by getting more points and moved to the next level of the game. This aspect triggers various psychological factors that affect the behavior of the player either by initiating aggression behavior or aggravating the already existing violent behavior. According to Skinner's theory of operant conditioning, behaviors are reinforced through rewards or punishments (Vargas, 2017). In addition to rewards and enhancing rehearsals, video games involve complex steps as someone moves to the next level. The complexity of these levels and time spent at one particular stage trying to gain a reward to the next level can result in a frustration that acts as an initiator of aggression and with an availability of guns in some nations that have poor gun control laws, the aggressive behavior may be expressed through gun violence. Playing of violent games with guns complicates the matter since the players already have a thought of how violence can be expressed using guns.

Despite immense evidence that video games cause gun violence based on various psychological backing, several scholars have refuted the claims. Hilgard, Engelhardt, & Bartholow (2016), ascertains that violent video games with gun cues only triggers the wish to own private guns without necessarily leading to violent actions. Tear & Nielsen (2013) stated that violent video games only aggravates pro-social behavior but has no effects on gun violence behavior. Individuals who believe that video games do not cause violent gun behavior have the notion that there are other psychological factors such as moral values as well as cultural aspects that lead to gun violence in a specific country. These factors are the reasons for the variation in gun violence among countries. Some nations such as the US have more cases of gun violence than Japan due to cultural differences where the US has the culture of using guns which are less regulated than in Japan.

Conclusion

It is evident that video games have a clear connection with development of gun violence. The social-cognitive perspective has established that both violent and nonviolent games are associated with the development of aggression. Since this is a controversial subjected, more research should be conducted to establish the true nature of the assumption. The research should focus on the impacts of all video games regardless of the nature of the game and incorporation of violent acts.

References

Anderson, C., Shibuya, A., Ihori, N., Swing, E., Bushman, B., Sakamoto, A., Rothstein, H & Saleem, M. (2010). Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern and Western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 151-173.

Chen, L., Liu, R., Zeng, H., Xu, X., Zhu, R., Sharma, M., & Zhao, Y. (2018). Predicting the Time Spent Playing Computer and Mobile Games among Medical Undergraduate Students Using Interpersonal Relations and Social Cognitive Theory: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Chongqing, China. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(8), 1664 -1667.

Hilgard, J., Engelhardt, C. R., & Bartholow, B. D. (2016). Brief use of a specific gun in a violent game does not affect attitudes towards that gun. Royal Society open science, 3(11),

Hollingdale, J., & Greitemeyer, T. (2014). The effect of online violent video games on levels of aggression. PloS one, 9(11), 1-5.

Salam, M & Stack, L. (2018). Do Video Games Lead to Mass Shootings? Researchers Say No. The New York Times. Accessed October 7, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/us/politics/trump-video-games-shootings.html

Strack, F., & Deutsch, R. (2004). Reflective and impulsive determinants of social behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8, 220-247.

Tear, M. J., & Nielsen, M. (2013). Failure to demonstrate that playing violent video games diminishes prosocial behavior. PloS one, 8(7), 1-5.

Vargas, E.A. (2017). B. F. Skinner's theory of behavior. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 18(1), 2-38.