Legal Niches

Psychologist: ?Ridiculous? to Assume Games Increase Violence in Players

By pete_gallagher

Two unnamed gamers oppose the opinions of research experts in a BBC story examining the impact, if any, violent games have on players, but the roles are probably reversed from what you might expect.

The academic types, which included Dr. Cheryl Olson and Villanova University Professor Dr. Patrick Markey defended games, with Olson, co-author of Grand Theft Childhood, saying 'Given that the typical young teenage boy plays violent games, and that the youth crime rate has gone down rather than up, it makes sense that these games are meeting needs.'

Markey referenced his previously published research, which indicated that only people who are already angry typically fall under the negative spell of violent games, or, as he told the BBC, 'Those who are negatively affected have pre-existing dispositions, which make them susceptible to such violent media.'

Psychologist Dr. John Ryder had the strongest condemnation of any link between violent games and hostile behavior, stating, 'Usually violence begets violence, not watching it on TV or play-acting in a video game.'
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Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on October 06, 2010 (boomark / email).