• A University of Oxford study negates the idea that violent video game content leads to violence.
• The study instead said it’s frustration that causes aggressive thoughts and violence.
• Games that challenge players’ competence are most likely to lead to frustration.
Content in video games may not be the cause of violent tendencies in players, a new study shows.
The University of Oxford study shows the aggression comes from frustration at being unable to master the game.
The researchers, Andrew Przybylski, Edward Deci, Scott Rigby and Richard Ryan, compared participants playing violent video games to those playing nonviolent games.
They found games that were too difficult for players to master or if they had trouble getting the hang of the game, the players were more likely to feel aggressive afterward.
Lambert Deckers, a professor of psychological science, said he thought the logic of the study made sense.
“If you can’t achieve the task, then that produces frustration and a likely product of frustration is aggression,” Deckers said.
He said if players consistently fail at a game, such as something like “Flappy Bird,” they could feel frustrated and could lead to aggression. Developer Dong Nguyen removed No. 1 app store download “Flappy Bird” from the market in February because it became addictive. The game also caused many users to get frustrated and angry.
Deckers said if games lead to aggression, failure could produce other aggressive actions in the player’s life.
Sophomore computer science major Louis Montes said he is an avid video game player. However, he said he doesn’t ever feel aggressive after playing video games.
“I would be frustrated, but I would get off for a little bit and then get back on,” Montes said. “But I don’t feel aggressive.”
He said whenever he is getting beat in a game, it fuels him to try harder to beat his opponent.
Montes said the study does seem logical, though.
“You can play a very simple violent game and as long as you’re just having a good time, nothing’s going to upset you,” he said. “But I could see a lot of ‘Call of Duty’ players being upset. Not because they’re being violent, but because they’re frustrated they can’t progress or do better — that someone is always continually destroying them.”
Jeffery Porter, a freshman entrepreneurial management major, also said he never feels violent after playing video games. He said he finds games to be insightful if they challenge him.
“When I play puzzle games and things like that that are challenging, I get a challenge out of them,” Porter said. “I never get really frustrated with them or anything because it’s just challenging, it’s giving me a good workout mentally.”
He said he didn’t think the study is correct in its logic, that aggression in video game players doesn’t have anything to do with the game.
“I don’t believe it’s actually like that,” he said. “I believe that sometimes, in some situations, they’re just trying to take [aggression] out because of something that happened earlier on that day or something that happened before in the week.”
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