Does viewing violent imagery cause aggression? | Teen Ink

Does viewing violent imagery cause aggression?

May 29, 2013
By dragonfly95 SILVER, Argaon, Georgia
dragonfly95 SILVER, Argaon, Georgia
7 articles 0 photos 66 comments

Favorite Quote:
'' there is nothing to fear but fear its self''


According to our text book, violent video games can prime those that play them to have aggressive thoughts, decrease their empathy, and increase their aggression. The book gives us an incident of which in 2002, two Grand Rapids, Michigan, teens and one man in his twenties spent part of a night partying and playing the video game Grand Theft Auto III. These two teens and young man went out and mimicked the precedent of this game. In the game, the players use cars to run down pedestrians and then beat them by punching and kicking, and then leave their bloody bodies behind. These three went driving, saw a bicyclist and ran him over, punched and stomped him and then returned to their home to continue playing the game, after they left the 38 year old father of three to die on the street. Our textbook also says that University men who spent the most percentage of hours playing violent video games tended to be the most psychically aggressive.

On HowStuffWorks.com, in their article Do violent video games lead to real violence? There is a study mentioned that was conducted in 2006 at the Indiana University School of Medicine. The study researchers scanned the brains of 44 kids right after they played video games. Half of these children played the video game ‘’Need for Speed: Underground,’’ a racing game that has a component that is not violent, and the other half of kids played the game ‘’Medal of Honor: Frontline,’’ an action game that includes violent first-person shooter activity. The brain scans of these kids, who played the violent video game, showed increased activity in the amygdala, which stimulates emotions, and decreased activity in the prefrontal lobe, which regulates a person’s inhibitions. The kids who played the nonviolent game on the other hand, did not show any of these changes on their brain scans.

In our textbook is also mentioned the effects of watching violent pornography. It says that people that are heavily exposed to pornography, such as X-Rated films, see the world as being more sexual. Watching X-Rated films repeatedly, even ones that are nonviolent, our textbook says, has many effects such as: ones partner could seem less attractive, extramarital sex could seem less troubling, women’s friendliness could seem more sexual, and sexual aggression could seem to be less serious. So I think, based on the research, that viewing violent imagery such as violent video games and pornography, can lead some to act out aggressively.














Works Cited

Layton, Julia. "Do violent video games lead to real violence?" HowStuffWorks.com. 24 Apr. 2008.
Web. 17 April 2013.
Meyers, David G. Psychology in everyday life. 2 ed. 3 vol. New York: Worth Publishers, 2012.
Print.


The author's comments:
This is an essay that I had to write for my psychology class and I just thought that I would share it.

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This article has 4 comments.


on Aug. 9 2013 at 7:24 am
laurenevansok SILVER, Bromborough, Other
6 articles 0 photos 40 comments

Favorite Quote:
'One person's "annoying" is another person's "inspiring and heroic"' - Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation)

When reading this essay, I was hooked straight away. It is detailed and your explanations are backed up with evidence. I have learned things from this essay that I didn't know before, such as the event of the cyclist etc. I found this piece of writing of a high standard. However, there is a strong lack of sentence structure. Lastly, you need to involve the audience more within the piece. Perhaps a rhetorical question? On the other hand, excellently written. 

VidSach BRONZE said...
on Aug. 8 2013 at 6:28 pm
VidSach BRONZE, San Ramon, California
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
I'd reach for the moon, but I'm too busy gazing at the stars.

That was a well written essay. I think sometimes (especially in the beginning) your argument was a little weak, but you really picked up and had me convinced by the end. Nice job though!

on Jul. 17 2013 at 2:18 pm
dragonfly95 SILVER, Argaon, Georgia
7 articles 0 photos 66 comments

Favorite Quote:
'' there is nothing to fear but fear its self''

Thanks for the tips. I can deffinitely see what your saying about making some of the sentences shorter and making the paper more succinct. But I did this paper for my Psych class and the teacher gave me a 100 and everything was done to the specifications that she gave us. When I uploaded the piece the editors removed the qoutation marks I had around the online article I used as a source and mentioned. I don't know why. Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it.

on Jul. 15 2013 at 10:52 pm
WriteOrWrong BRONZE, Grosse Pointe, Michigan
3 articles 0 photos 105 comments

Favorite Quote:
Sometimes you just need to take a nap and get over it. -Maura Stuard

First off, I have always found this question to be fascinating. I think the biggest issue is lack of variance in sentence length. Don't be afraid of short sentences. There are too many lists. The sentence of the 2002 example could be broken up. The last sentence of the first paragraph is out of place, perhaps a transition should be added. Articles should be in quotes. Also you need more examples. You have done little to prove your opinion. Take out the 'So I think.' Besides it already being apparent, it also detracts from the scholarly tone of the piece. To make it even better you could cite the textbook pages with parenthetical references. Reread what you have written and try to make each sentence more succinct but still effective. There are many good things about this piece but I thought addressing the improvable areas would be more beneficial. Good luck!