VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR: WHAT, IF ANY, IS THE RELATIONSHIP?

Abstract

The aggressive behavior of video game players disturbs the public order and has led to a significant public discussion over the past two decades. Video game players are often students or teens. Colloquial explanations for aggressive behavior among teens often point to an alleged link between aggressive behavior and video game play. This paper will introduce, summarize, and analyze the current empirical research on the aggression-video game link. A review of the literature finds three possible relationships between video game play and aggressive behavior: a positive association, a negative association, and a ‘null’ relationship. This review argues that the most rigorous research generally concludes that there is no relationship between video game play and development of aggressive behavior.