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Ewell, Jayson

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

UWRT

November 8th, 2018

Are Video Games Worth Playing?

Video games have become more popular over the past couple of decades. Many video

games portray controversial concepts; violence and stereotypes are among a few of those

concepts. For decades, people have been questioning whether or not video games, particularly

violent ones, have an influence on aggression, sexist beliefs and behaviors, and stereotyping in

general. Some aspects of influence have been confirmed, while others have been denied.

However, overall, video games are not harmful to players and society as a whole because not all

effects of playing video games are negative, many of the negative impacts are only short-term,

and the overuse of anything causes more drastic negative consequences.

One of the more popular reasons video games are seen as harmful is that video games,

particularly violent ones, cause players to become more aggressive. Violent games with large

amounts of gore like Mortal Kombat or gun use like Call of Duty are very often the targets of

this criticism. However, the question stands; do video games like the aforementioned cause

increased aggression in players. Multiple studies have been done by multiple people to discover

the possible relation. In a study done by Anne Marie Porter, a researcher with a PhD in Health

Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, participants were asked to play

Mortal Kombat or Tetris, a popular nonviolent video game. During and after playing one of the

games, the study measured the players’ cardiovascular activity, which increases when a person

feels negative emotions. It was hypothesized that the gory, violent game Mortal Kombat would
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cause more aggression than the nonviolent puzzle game, Tetris. This is because of the popular

opinion of violent games causing violent and aggressive behavior. Despite this, the opposite was

true; while Mortal Kombat caused aggression within players, Tetris caused even more

aggression.

Another study by Tobias Greitemeyer, a social psychology professor at the University of

Innsbruck, studied the effects of violent video games on aggression and ethnocentrism. In this

study, participants were asked how often they played video games and what types of video

games they played. Aggression was measured by the short version of the Buss and Perry

aggression questionnaire. The results of this study found that violent video game use is indeed

positively related to how aggressive a person is.

Despite these findings, they do not necessarily mean that video games cause players to

become more aggressive people. In Porter’s study, the aggression caused by playing video games

only lasted about four minutes. There was no sign of long-term aggression being caused by video

games in her study. In Greitemeyer’s study, the positive relationship between violent video

games and aggression is not significant in any manner. This means that video games cause short-

term aggression, but no long-term aggression. A study done by Whitney Decamp, a professor of

sociology at Western Michigan University, supports this. Decamp recorded the living conditions

of adolescents who played violent video games. The study found that many of these children live

in unfavorable conditions such as the lack of a mother, their father losing their job, being bullied,

and felt unsafe in their neighborhood or at school. Decamp notes that the lack of support

networks or role models may be more inclined to play violent video games.

Another reason many people believe video games are harmful is because they promote

negative stereotypes. One criticism that many video games face is the representation of
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characters, particularly non-white and female characters. While these representations do need to

become better regardless, the question still remains as to whether or not these representations

affect the way players view groups of people in real life.

A group of professors including Johannes Breuer, a professor of psychology at the

University of Cologne, studied whether or not video games cause players to adopt sexist attitudes

and behaviors. Participants were given a survey to indicate their use of of video games and the

Brogan and Kutner scale to determine sexist attitudes. Many factors of the participants

influenced sexist attitudes, such as a lack of education and a lack of age. However, there was no

association with video game use and sexist attitudes.

More research shows the positive effects that video games can have on players. A study

by Mayo highlights the benefits of video games in STEM education. Mayo also describes the

popularity of video games to then argue the use of video games in the STEM field. He found that

games can help players learn at their own pace rather than a pace set by another person. He also

talks the way video games can used to make acquiring information easier to remember or hold on

to. This shows that video games can be used to learn very difficult subjects like those in the

STEM field. Not only are video games not harmful in moderation, but they are also beneficial

and can be used as a learning tool.

Sabrina Schenk, Robert K. Lech and Boris Suchan researched further into the use of

video games in the field of education. Their study took a different approach than most others;

each participant’s hippocampus was scanned as they took a weather prediction test, or WTP. The

test is designed to help study a person’s ability to learn and remember information. The testing

found that those who play video games were better capable of learning. It was also found that

video game players were able to answer questions correctly when uncertain more often than
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those who did not play video games. This shows that video games can have positive effects on

learning outside of the STEM field, and proves they are not simply detrimental to players.

Another study by Gabbiadini and Greitemeyer reveal the effects of strategy video games

on self-regulation. Participants of this study reported how often they used video games and took

a Short Self-Regulatory Questionnaire, which was used to determine their ability to regulate their

use of video games. The study found that those who often played strategy video games were the

most self-regulatory. Strategy games were by far the most related to an increase in self-

regulation. This is because many strategy games require critical thinking skills and analysis of

consequences. This ability to assess risk and rewards can translate into players’ daily lives as

time management. This is another positive effect that video games can have on players when

used properly.

While it is possible for video games to negatively impact a player’s daily life, it is only

done through overuse of video games. When not used properly or used too much, anything can

become harmful. This applies to life’s necessities like food and beneficial substances such as

prescription drugs, and video games are no exception. A group of researchers including Tingting

Gao studied the relationships between smartphone addiction and depression, overall quality of

life and neuroticism, a personality trait linked to anxiety, fear and jealousy. To do this, the

researchers answered questionnaires regarding the previously mentioned qualities. Smartphone

addiction increased participants’ rates of neuroticism, depression and quality of life. It was also

found that smartphone addiction caused participants to experience problems in their social lives,

despite the fact that many smartphone apps can help keep people connected. This is proof that

uncontrolled use of anything can do more harm than good. It is unfair to say that video games

make people’s lives worse when it is addiction that causes the problems.
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Determining whether or not a person overuses or is addicted to video games, and

excessive use is not considered a behavioral addiction. Mark Zastrow notes that while overuse of

video games is associated with depression, ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, many

countries do not recognize it as they do alcohol or drug addiction. He says the research that has

gone into the subject has yet to be decisive. However, regardless of whether it is an addiction or

not, Zastrow cautions in his article with a quote from George Koob, the director of the National

Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; “Anything that’s causing… pain and suffering and

manifests itself as a pathology deserves some attention.” Moderated video game use can yield

positive effects, but overuse yields consequences, just like anything else.

Overall, many studies have proven that moderated use of video games is not harmful;

rather, they can helpful in the process of learning and enhance self-regulatory skills. Many of the

negative side-effects of video games sum up to extremely short bursts of aggression. These

aggression spikes become null minutes after playing video games, and do not affect players’

outlooks on life. It is the unchecked overuse of video games that causes players’ overall lives to

become worse, while the opposite instead enhances players’ lives.

In general, video games are played as hobbies for millions of people around the world.

While they can be beneficial, many other technological advances have been beneficial to our

society as well. For example, businesses can operate globally, colleges can offer classes to

students who are not near campus and friends can stay connected regardless of where they are

because of technology. The integration of this technology in society has made many parts of our

lives possible, and made many other parts easier.

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Works Cited

Breuer, Johannes. “Sexist Games =Sexist Gamers? A Longitudinal Study on the

Relationship Between Video Game Use and Sexist Attitudes.” CyberPsychology, Behavior &
Social Networking. Apr. 2015. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018. https://www-liebertpub-
com.librarylink.uncc.edu/doi/pdf/10.1089%2Fcyber.2014.0492.

Gabbiadini, Alessandro. “Uncovering the association between strategy video games and
self-regulation: A correlational study.” ScienceDirect. Jan. 2017. Accessed 6 Nov. 2018.
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https://www-sciencedirect-
com.librarylink.uncc.edu/search/advanced?docId=10.1016/j.paid.2016.07.041.

Gao, Tingting. “Neuroticism and quality of life: Multiple mediating effects of

smartphone addiction and depression.” ScienceDirect. December 2017. Accessed 6 Nov. 2018.
https://www-sciencedirect-
com.librarylink.uncc.edu/search/advanced?docId=10.1016/j.psychres.2017.08.074.

Greitemeyer, Tobias. “Playing Violent Video Games Increases Intergroup Bias.” SAGE.
28 Aug. 2018. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0146167213505872.

Mayo, Merrilea. “Video Games: A Route to Large-Scale STEM Education?” American

Association for the Advancement of Science. 02 Jan. 2009. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018.
http://science.sciencemag.org.librarylink.uncc.edu/content/323/5910/79.

Schenk, Sabrina. “Games people play: How video games improve probabilistic learning.”
ScienceDirect. 29 Sept. 2017. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018. https://www-sciencedirect-
com.librarylink.uncc.edu/search/advanced?docId=10.1016/j.bbr.2017.08.027.

Porter, Anne M. “Do Video Games Reduce or Induce Stress? The Effect of Challenge
and Threat Appraisals on stress and Aggression When Playing Violent and Nonviolent Video
Games.” University of North Carolina at Charlotte. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. 16 Jan.
2017. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018. search.proquest.com/docview/1885067482.

Zastrow, Mark. “Correction for Zastrow, News Feature: Is video game addiction really an
addiction?” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
23 May. 2017. Accessed 6 Nov. 2018. https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-
gov.librarylink.uncc.edu/pmc/articles/PMC5448219/.