CTR's position in the hearing was that the ESRB system, while not perfect, is valid (it measures what it says it measures), and the descriptors are useful for understanding game content. Putting the content descriptors right next to the letter ratings would improve the ESRB system. Many parents don't seem to mind the level of violence in some games, and are trusting their kids (or just don't care).

CTR stated that any store that sells mostly children's products (such as a toy store) has no business selling M rated games at all. This is irresponsible business practice. Stores like Wal-Mart, which Congress singled out during this particular hearing, also sells items like guns, knives and propane tanks. So selling M rated games is logical, as long as they are labeled, and kept away from the E and T rated titles, and age verification is done.

Note that CTR does not evaluate M or AO rated games, but testers do try popular titles, such as Halo and GTA, in order understand the issues around them, and to participate in debates with some degree of credibility.

Finally, CTR's mission is to help adults exploit the power of interactive media for the positive development of all children. While there are a few titles with extreme violence, ethnic stereotyping and very mature themes, they are in the minority. There are many excellent products to steer children to, that can provide wholesome educational and entertainment experiences. These should not be dismissed because of a few bad apples.

A copy of Buckleitner's remarks are here, in PDF format. Comments are always welcome.

Is There a Reasonable Approach to Handling Violence in video games?

Please note: the literature review for this article was done in July of 2002, and should be considered dated.

by Ellen Wolock, Ed.D.

 

Copyright 2002 all rights reserved, Children's Technology Review, July/August 2002, For information about reprinting, please call 908-284-0404.

It's a bit unnerving to hear your seven-year old daughter shout "Kill him! Kill him!", even if she's only hollering at the PlayStation 2. That's what happened last week at the CTR offices when Erin and her 10-year-old brother, Austin, dropped by to test a new sword-fighting game called Pirates. Erin's parents, browsing in the software library in the next room, were upset by their daughter's bloodthirsty outbursts. Yet another debate over video game violence begins.

Historically, parents, educators and society at large have long been interested in the effects of children's exposure to violence, and many studies have been conducted on the topic, especially regarding children's television viewing habits. With computer use and video game playing on the rise over the last five to ten years, the focus of research has switched from TV to more interactive media. Study conclusions, as you might guess, are all over the map, as this is not an easy phenomenon to investigate. Defining variables and separating them out from other related factors are no simple task. Yet, people are concerned, and asking for answers. Should we let our kids play violent games? Will they make our children become more aggressive or immune to real violence?

Defining Violence
The fact that violence is defined in many ways doesn't help us draw conclusions. What's considered violent to one person may seem innocuous to another. Even the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board), the organization who rates video games according to their content, has been questioned about their definitions of violence. According to a report in the August, 2001 Journal of the American Medical Association (Thompson & Haninger), approximately 64% of E-rated games contain what the study authors maintain is intentional violence. Action/adventure games (e.g. Super Mario, Zelda, Sonic Adventure) serve up much of the E-rated violent content, with their largely "Saturday morning cartoon"-like depictions of bopping, smashing, shooting, flying into and rolling over objects and characters. On the other hand, racing and sports games were characterized as containing minimal violence, although one might argue that hockey brawls and car crashing are violent in nature. Determining how researchers have defined and measured violence is the first step to interpreting study findings.

Recent Key Findings
To better understand what we know and don't know about the effects of violent video games on kids, we scoured the recent studies and literature reviews. The measures used to determine if a child is more aggressive after playing a violent video game include children's toy choices (choosing aggressive versus neutral toys), teacher reports, self-reports, projective tests of aggression, and reactions when provoked. Study results vary tremendously, but do seem to show some increase in aggressive behavior directly after playing. (Not surprisingly, these same findings have been shown when looking at the potential influence of cartoon violence.) Here are quick summaries of the key findings of studies conducted in the last 10 years.

Negative Effects
• College students at Iowa State University who reported spending greater time with video games (both violent and non-violent) during junior high and high school engaged in more self-reported aggressive behavior as adults. (Anderson & Dill, Journal of the American Psychological Association, 2000)

• Second-grade boys displayed more aggressive behavior right after playing a violent video game than boys who played a "nonaggressive" game. (Irwin & Gross, Journal of Family Violence, 1995, Volume 10)

• Male college students who played a more violent version of Mortal Kombat scored higher on hostility measures and had higher blood pressure than those who played a less violent version (Ballard & Wiest, Society for Research in Child Development, Spring, 1995)

• Children who played Mortal Kombat responded more negatively to six provocative story questions than those who played a non-violent video game. (Kirsh, ERIC, 1998)

• The level of aggression of 153 middle and high school students (as measured by teachers) was positively correlated with the amount of students' self-reported video game play. (Fling, Smith, Rodriguez, Thornton, Atkins & Nixon, Southwest Texas State University, 1992)

Neutral/Positive Effects
• University students show similar performance on hostility and personality measures after playing with games containing different levels of violence (Strathclyde University, 1995)

• Recent survey figures (for the Interactive Digital Software Association) suggest that video games encourage socialization with family and friends. More specifically, out of 1500 individuals and families surveyed, 42% reported that they enjoy playing games because they can be shared with friends and family (2002). (Note: this study did not separate out violent from non-violent video games, but looked at gameplay as a whole.)

• A literature review of 59 studies conducted by the Washington State Dept of Health concludes that current research evidence is not supportive of a major concern that violent games lead to real life violence. (Bensley and Van Eenwyk, Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol 29, 2001)

• Time spent playing with video games was not correlated with aggression for middle school kids (144 females, 134 males), although boys with a preference for aggressive games were perceived as more aggressive by peers. (Wiegman & van Shie, Social Psychology, 1998)

• No differences in measures of aggressive thought were found for 52 3rd and 4th graders who played Mortal Kombat versus a basketball sim. (Kirsh, Childhood- a Global Journal of Child Research, 5, Volume 2, 1998)

Interpreting the Research
So what does this all mean? As any good researcher can tell you, before conclusions can be drawn, you must examine studies' weaknesses and inconsistencies. We've already discussed the differing definitions of violence. Here are some other issues.

Research Inconsistencies
1. Many of the studies examine only short-term consequences in the form of behavior immediately following exposure to video game violence, as opposed to examining any long-term effects.

2. Each study uses different types of video games (e.g. sports, shooters, action/adventure) with different types and "levels" of violence. Some studies don't report the type or names of video games used in the investigation. These factors make comparisons and conclusions difficult to ascertain.

3. Much of the research is correlational only. Relationships may be shown, but they may be coincidental or caused by other individual, family and social factors.

4. Games have become more realistic in graphics and sounds, in essence a different animal than those used in much of the research. Many studies were conducted using older platforms and games, making them less easily generalized or comparable to more recent games.

Discussing the Findings
So, taking all the above into account, can we definitively say that kids who play violent video games will become more aggressive? No. The issue has simply not been studied adequately, especially in a longitudinal way. There is some evidence that children who play violent games are more aggressive for a few moments immediately following the gameplay. But even that finding is questionable, when you look at the ways in which "aggressivity" is measured-- increase in heart rate and blood pressure, negative responses on questionnaires, toy choice, etc. If children failed to show empathy in real situations, or tried to hurt another child following violent gameplay, THEN we'd have a problem. Even more so if such aggressive acts and feelings were exhibited over time.

It is important not to underestimate the degree to which children are able to separate fantasy from reality, which is a root issue in this debate. According to seven-year-old Erin's parents, she has no problem separating her gaming experience from her real life. In addition to loving action-packed video games, she continues to carefully close her bedroom door each night when she goes to bed to make sure that her cat doesn't scare her new baby gerbils. She is also rule-governed in her approach to most activities, and is concerned when family members hurt themselves. In no way, shape or form, does Erin act out her video game experiences in other aspects of her life.

Drawing the Line
Although we have serious doubts about the long-term impact of video game playing on kids' aggression, we are NOT saying that all video games, regardless of content are okay for children of all ages. As with other media, some kids may be frightened by certain games. The Jak & Daxter game (a favorite of our testers), for instance, has some very scary biting fish scenarios that could result in a bad dream or two. And remember the trampled father scene in the Lion King film? (We're still getting over that one!) Like children's movies, E-rated games aren't automatically for everyone. As with most aspects of raising kids, it comes down to parent supervision and involvement. We see common sense in choosing video games without excessive violence and without gender and ethnic stereotypes. There are hundreds of excellent choices available. Help guide your child to games that you are comfortable with. If you abhor all suggestions of violence, provide alternatives such as racing games or games of logic like Tetris and Super Monkey Ball. Keep in mind that banning all video games may heighten the attraction, and remember to play them yourself once in a while, to better understand the experience. Talk about the issue with your kids and share your values. Giving children an awareness of the debate and helping them become savvy media consumers is important, regardless of whether or not they play the games.

Read this article as a PDF in the original print version

Don't like digging through research papers? We do. Take a minute and read this brief article. It brings up some important points about the effects of violence in video games.

NOTE: on September 26, 2002, the National Coalition Against Censorship, representing the IDSA, filed an appeal on a St. Louis County ruling restricting children's access to violent video games. The appeal provides an excellent review of the literature, from a pro-video game/free speech point of view. Here is the link to the complete brief.

"Human Nature" Plays a Role
Throughout time, humans have been fascinated by violence. Grimm's fairy tales, centuries old, are some of the most violent materials ever written for children. Kids have forever latched on to hero/aggressors like Zorro, Batman, Power Rangers and Pokemon. We can't escape it-- preschools with no-gun policies find that their students make guns out of fingers. As a society, we are obsessed with extremely aggressive sports like hockey and football. Many of us regularly watch "edgy" television programs like ER and Third Watch. It has been argued that children (boys in particular) even go through stages of aggression during development that reach their peak when in adolescence (James Twitchell, Preposterous Violence). Violence is a part of existence-- we can limit its gratuitous display, but we can't eliminate it.

Might there be actually be positive effects?
If you bring the subject of video game violence up with a group of parents, you'll often hear the viewpoint that playing violent games may actually help children channel or reduce their aggression. Playing sports has long been seen as a means of channeling energy and aggressive tendencies-- could it be possible that playing violent video games can have similar positive benefits? It's all conjecture at this point-- we need more and better research.