Literature Review for Video Games and Violence.

(Anderson, 2003) performed a meta-analysis focusing on video games and behaviour. Anderson found that consistently through the study increases in aggressive cognitions, behaviour and heightened physiological arousal, along with a decrease in prosocial behaviour. Furthermore, (Anderson & Bushman, 1997) found that the variables for increasing aggression such as exposure to a violent video game have the same outcome, whether it is conducted within a laboratory or is part of the user’s everyday life.


(Anderson & Dill, 2000) established that young men who were aggressive in nature were more vulnerable to an increase in aggressive behaviour when exposed to violent video games in comparison to their fellow participants.


Bandura supported an alternative theory that aggressive behaviour is learnt. Role models performed aggressive behaviour and reinforced it; the children within his study began to show more aggressive behaviour (Bandura, 1961).


This can be applied to a case study of a boy in Leicester, whom murdered his 14 year old brother by stabbing and beating him to death in 2004 after playing the video game “Manhunt”.

On the other hand, some studies have concluded that there were no significant effects, in the same way that some smoking studies concluded no causal link to lung cancer (Anderson, 2003).


Moreover, (Dr Dmitri Williams, 2005) found no strong effect on participants playing violent video games when exposed on average 56 hours per week.