Stetson University Professor's Research Shows Video Games Don't Cause Violence

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DeLand, FL – A Professor at Stetson University is arguing that video games do not cause violent behavior, despite recent worry. As students enter their summer break, these concerns are increased as more hours will be spent playing video games. Professor and clinical psychologist, Christopher Ferguson, Ph.D., finds through his research of violent video games and behavior that there is no evidence of this correlation that some parents worry about. Ferguson’s evidence is laid out in his book, Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong. He has collected evidence over the past decade that he believes shows there is no connection between violent behaviors and violent video games. “For many years, journalists and government officials would point to violent video games as a contributing factor in mass homicides, particularly in cases where the perpetrator is a young male, but this is not supported by the evidence,” says Ferguson. “Most children and teens play video games without exhibiting violent behavior, and spikes in sales of violent video games actually corresponds to decreased rates of violent crime.”

(Photo of Ferguson courtesy of Stetson University)

Division 46 of the American Psychology Association (Society for Media Psychology and Technology), agrees with Ferguson’s views on the topic in their statement, Societal Violence and Video Games: Public Statements of a Link are Problematic. Division 46 believes that putting out claims that video games can cause violence is dangerous and it can take away from the fact that many other issues contribute to aggressive behaviors. Some factors that have been proven to influence violent behaviors are conditions such as poverty, mental health and socioeconomic inequalities. Division 46 also warns public officials and the media on how to address crimes and video games. It is advised that when speaking about a crime, you should not draw conclusions by referencing video games or a criminal’s video game habits. Photo courtesy of Igor Kardasov and Shutterstock.com. Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.