Do Violent Video Games Cause Delinquency?
Is it possible violent video games are becoming the blueprint driving the average teenager to turn their virtual world into actual violence? There’s no doubt videogames are becoming increasingly violent. What is disturbing, video games reward players for killing police, villains and even innocent bystanders. Participants are rewarded in game play as they maim, kill, set off explosions, and fire off flame throwers and even decapitated villains. Consequently, as video games become more violent, violent teenager crime appears to follow suit. Could there be a common denominator between game violence and the real thing?
The Columbine attack and the recent Virginia Tech University shootings have repeatedly raised this question. In both cases, perpetrators’ of these senseless crimes have been reported as avid violent video games players. In the pages that follow, Team “A” of Criminal Justice Administration 430, University of Phoenix, developed a hypothesis, research design and methodology to examine the theory. The team goal was to seek any evidence of causation linking violent video games with teenage delinquency. This assessment summarizes the data and reports our findings as suggested by the collected surveys. We will unveil the research project’s relative reliability as well as discuss how the project could be improved if replicated for future use. In conclusion, we discuss the team’s findings and the results of our study.
Other Studies and Their Findings
In the past, many different activist groups have conducted studies to link violent video games to violent acts. Starting with the Columbine school shootings in 1999, groups such as the American Psychological Association have been trying to make a cause and effect link between the two. David Walsh, Ph.D. with the National Institute on Media and the Family stated the following in his report to these claims:
a. Children are more likely to imitate the actions of... [continues]
Is it possible violent video games are becoming the blueprint driving the average teenager to turn their virtual world into actual violence? There’s no doubt videogames are becoming increasingly violent. What is disturbing, video games reward players for killing police, villains and even innocent bystanders. Participants are rewarded in game play as they maim, kill, set off explosions, and fire off flame throwers and even decapitated villains. Consequently, as video games become more violent, violent teenager crime appears to follow suit. Could there be a common denominator between game violence and the real thing?
The Columbine attack and the recent Virginia Tech University shootings have repeatedly raised this question. In both cases, perpetrators’ of these senseless crimes have been reported as avid violent video games players. In the pages that follow, Team “A” of Criminal Justice Administration 430, University of Phoenix, developed a hypothesis, research design and methodology to examine the theory. The team goal was to seek any evidence of causation linking violent video games with teenage delinquency. This assessment summarizes the data and reports our findings as suggested by the collected surveys. We will unveil the research project’s relative reliability as well as discuss how the project could be improved if replicated for future use. In conclusion, we discuss the team’s findings and the results of our study.
Other Studies and Their Findings
In the past, many different activist groups have conducted studies to link violent video games to violent acts. Starting with the Columbine school shootings in 1999, groups such as the American Psychological Association have been trying to make a cause and effect link between the two. David Walsh, Ph.D. with the National Institute on Media and the Family stated the following in his report to these claims:
a. Children are more likely to imitate the actions of... [continues]
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(2008, 08). Do Violent Video Games Cause Delinquency?. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 08, 2008, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Do-Violent-Video-Games-Cause-Delinquency-159025.html
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"Do Violent Video Games Cause Delinquency?." StudyMode.com. 08, 2008. Accessed 08, 2008. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Do-Violent-Video-Games-Cause-Delinquency-159025.html.