Negative interaction on the psyche of the American teenagers caused by Research Paper

Negative interaction on the psyche of the American teenagers caused by the violence in video games - Research Paper Example However, even with the rating systems can’t prevent exposure to violence as a staggering 89% of video games contain a degree of violent content and specifically it can also be found in more than half of E-rated (for Everyone) games (Gentile). Figure 1. Computer and video game sales from 2000 to 2011 (NPD) Violence in video games is not a relatively novel subject. Since the emergence of the video gaming industry in the 1970’s the notion that video games promoted violence became a major controversy with the release of â€Å"Death Race† in 1976 (Kent). The game involved the player as an automobile driver running over screaming â€Å"gremlins† that resembled human figures due to the primitive graphics of that era. Believing that the game appeared to condone killing of innocent civilians with a car, protestors started pulling machines out of the arcades and burning them, eventually leading to the termination of the game. Newer controversies included the p opular â€Å"Wolfesnstein 3D† and the franchises of â€Å"Street Fighter† and â€Å"Mortal Kombat†, which featured one-on-one fights and gory graphic sequences (Carnagey and Anderson). Over the past 25 years, numerous studies have researched the effects on video games on adolescents. The most prominent interest of researches has been games with violent content and the association between video game use and aggressive behavior, as well on school performance. The aggressive elements portrayed have been linked to aggression on children and adolescents, but the empirical evidence was not present to validate these assumptions (Schutte et al.; Irwin and Gross). Recent meta-analytic reviews have employed both short-term experimental and correlation studies to study the harmful effects of exposure to violent games and associated them with higher levels of aggressive behavior, physiological arousal and decreased prosocial behavior (C. A. Anderson 113-22; Anderson et al.). Most of the research has associated videogame violence with school shooting incidents while some assessed their influence from a developmental perspective (Kirsh). This review will assess the effects of video games to the adolescents as reported from various studies, discuss the underlying psychological processes and theories employed to understand them. 2. Effects of Violent Video Games The research on the effects of violent video games, however small, mirrors the larger body of research on the effects of violent films and television programs (Whaley). While many of the effects in those genres are similar, at least three reasons to believe that the former have stronger effect than violent television formats (C. Anderson, Backwell) . These include the active process of playing videogames instead of the â€Å"passive† television viewing while higher probability of players to identify with a violent character occurs in first person shooters (Anderson and Dill). Additionally, most violent games reward violent behavior often with verbal praise such as â€Å"Nice shot† after killing enemies with a gun – as studies show, rewarding behavior increases its frequency (Bozza). 2.1 Aggressive behaviors, cognitions and feelings The primary concern over violent video games is the behavior that players will assume as a result to their