Oxford University Violent Video Games

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Oxford University: Violent Video Games Reduce Aggression

Recent studies conducted at Oxford University have concluded that playing violent video games can help reduce aggression levels in individuals.

The team of researchers at Oxford University focused on a study group of 397 adults, ranging in age from 18-20. Each of these adults were randomly assigned one of three different games to play for 12 hours over the course of the study. The games included a non-violent game, a violent game without offensive language, and a violent game with offensive language.

The results of the study showed that adults who played the violent games with offensive language had the lowest levels of aggression, while those that played the non-violent game had the highest levels of aggression. This finding was far from the widely assumed belief that playing violent video games could increase aggression.

The study also took into account the possibility of gamers simply “acting out” after playing the violent games, and found that the aggression levels were actually lower than pre-game baseline.

The lead researcher of the study, Dr. David Anderson, concluded by stating: “Our study shows that violent video games, when played in moderation, can be a valuable tool in helping to reduce aggression levels, especially within young adults.”

Conclusions

The key to deriving the most benefit from violent video games appears to be playing them in moderation. Too much gaming can be detrimental to a gamer’s mental health and could potentially increase aggression levels.

The findings of the Oxford University study suggest that playing violent games can reduce aggression in those who play them in moderation, and the benefit of this could be especially helpful for young adults.

Ultimately these findings suggest that violent video games do not necessarily lead to an increase in aggression, and can potentially lead to a reduction in aggression levels.

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