Why Do Violent Video Games Cause Aggression?

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Violent Video Games Lead to Violent People
The human mind craves three feelings. According to the Self Determination Theory human behavior is driven by the need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. If those needs are met, we enjoy activities more, even in gaming (Gagné & Deci, 2005). The human mind wants to know that it is in charge (autonomy) when a person plays a video game he or she is choosing to do so. Video games fulfill the feeling of competency when the player can beat the level. That is why most people consider a good video game to be one that is a challenge, while remaining doable. This is like when a trainer gives a dog a treat when he does what he is supposed to, the player’s brain is the trainer and the feeling of achievement …show more content…

In their published work on aggression in young boys two researchers, Carolyn Joy Dayton from Wayne State University, and Johanna C. Malone (2017) from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School use an example of a baby hitting the hand that tries to feed it some unwanted strained peas. The baby is showing that it does not want the peas by hitting, not trying to inflict harm. This goes to show that children as young as 8 months old can be violent to get what they want or need. Instances like these cause people to believe that humans are born to be aggressive, no matter what games or movies they may interact with. They believe that video games have nothing to do with causing violence. They think it might be the opposite of what most people believe, that aggressive children will play aggressive …show more content…

Video games, at least graphic violent ones, and violence go hand in hand. “...our findings demonstrated that violent video gaming was positively related to individual delinquent behavior, whereas non-violent video gaming was not. This indicates that the association between video games and delinquent behavior depends on the content” (Exelmans, Custers, & Bulck, 2015, p. 276). This study proves that violent video games are linked to violent behavior. Video games can lead to violence in real life since they offer children mental fulfillment which leads children to want to play them, and video game makers are targeting the majority of consumers (adults) which means children are playing adult themed games every day, in turn causing children to normalize the violence they see while they are young and impressionable. If this country wants an aggressive future then they should keep letting their children play violent, and graphic video