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An article highlighting that video game violence does not cause aggression.

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Explains how children can or sometimes can't tell the difference of reality and fantasy. This can mean they aren't affected by the violence in video games.

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When my twins, Drew and Claire, were 2, they got into the habit of ending their phone calls to me with loud kissing noises and the question "Did you get my kiss?"

"Yes," I'd say, making smacking sounds in return. "Did you get mine?"

At age 7 they're still telephoning kisses to me, and I'm starting to wonder: Do they actually think their kisses travel through the phone and plant themselves on my cheek? What do they truly believe? What do any kids think is real? And what should parents tell them?

One of the awesome things about being a parent is the constant mingling of real and pretend, the concrete and the imagined. It can be a blast to swoop a spoonful of mush through the air like an airplane or howl together at the moon like a wolf family. But when a child says she won't go downstairs because of the monster, does she really think there's a creature in the living room, and should we dismiss it as nonsense?

Figuring out the difference between real and pretend is one of the major tasks of childhood. While some understanding will evolve naturally as her brain grows, your child will need your help in four key areas:

Lies

Jackie Gundaker of Indianapolis, 3, was quick with a lie when she hit her friend: "It was an accident." When her 5-year-old sister, Carly, spilled her milk, she said, "I didn't do it." Mom Lisa wasn't fooled by either of them, of course, but in deciding how to respond to your child's lies, it's helpful to understand her relationship with the truth.

A lot of this depends on age. Because the frontal lobes of their brains are just developing, toddlers don't have the brain circuitry they need to delay gratification. Two- and 3-year-olds are focused on getting what they want, and don't think it's wrong to lie about having washed their hands as long as it gets them to the pretzels faster. "It's not a conscious effort on a three-year-old's part to mislead," says Stanford University developmental psychologist John Flavell, Ph.D.

Yet even though they lie a lot, toddlers are wildly unconvincing. This is because they haven't yet developed an understanding that people see the world from different perspectives. As far as your 2-year-old is concerned, if she says she didn't color the wall, it doesn't occur to her that you might look at the marker on the floor and the smudge of color on her hand and draw your own conclusion. And though she's trying to deceive, she doesn't really understand that it's wrong to do so.

By age 5, it's a different story. The child who says she didn't spill her milk is trying to deceive and knows it's wrong. Make it clear you expect her to tell the truth. (On the positive side, the ability to deceive improves the social graces of a 4- or 5-year-old. She's able to thank Grandma for a homemade sweater even if she thinks it looks weird -- this is called empathy.)
More deception busters:
Display the evidence. Hold up the broken toy or the muddy shoe and explain that you know what happened. But don't make too big a deal about lies told by a very young child. With older kids, it's safe to expect two or three denials before they finally admit to a lie.

Preempt the lie. Instead of giving your kids the temptation to lie by asking if they've brushed their teeth, say, "You didn't brush your teeth. Go brush." And "You drew on the wall" is less of a potential minefield for a 3-year-old than asking her about it.

Discourage exaggeration. A kindergartner in my son's class swore he'd cut off a boy's head in karate. My son told a friend he'd been playing wall ball since he was 3. Not true. Tell your child that her achievements don't need exaggeration and that friendships can't be based on lies -- friends are special people with whom we're extra honest.

Scary thoughts

Once I surprised 2-year-old Drew and Claire with a four-foot-high giraffe piñata. In what I thought was a clever move, I crept around the side of the house and held up the giraffe so it seemed to be walking by the window. The kids shrieked, but not with delight.

What seems blatantly unreal to us -- a four-foot-high giraffe piñata -- is often startling, confusing, and frightening to young children. Even if they don't think the giraffe is real, that fact offers no consolation. Knowledge is swamped by a flood of emotion and becomes irrelevant. After all, we've asked them to believe in Santa Claus (and they do, bless their little hearts), so how surprising is it that they could believe in ferocious herbivores?

Particularly in the dark of night, thinking about a monster can be just as unsettling as seeing something frightening. "Some children are straightforward and rational," says Paul Harris, Ph.D., author of The Work of the Imagination. "Others allow their fantasies to run away with them."

Harris remembers when his 7-year-old son had trouble going to sleep because he was conjuring up images of spiders. "I told him, 'I'm certain there are no tarantulas in this house,'" says Harris. His son wasn't reassured, so Harris tried another tack.

"I asked him, 'Is it because when you think about tarantulas they're scary?' and he said, 'Yes, that's it.'" Talking about the scary image may help it to dissipate. Similarly, it's often hard for young kids to believe that a friend in a costume is still a friend. Dressed in a skeleton outfit, with gloves and a head mask, 6-year-old Ethan Sieben of Chicago didn't look like Ethan anymore. Scared, his 2-year-old sister, Kyra, ran to mom Amy for comfort.

Kyra needs to grapple with separating what's real from what she sees, explains Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., coauthor of Einstein Never Used Flashcards. Is it the mask that defines this person, or is it the face and voice and personality that are underneath the mask?

This sophisticated line of thinking is usually out of the realm of toddlers, Hirsh-Pasek says. Once kids have the memory and experience to understand that things aren't always as they appear, usually by age 5, costume transformations aren't as frightening. In the meantime, keep the masks off as much as possible and let your child watch as big brother puts the mask on and takes it off.
Other ways to fight fright:
Problem-solve. Explaining that monsters don't exist probably won't make much of a difference. Instead, tell your child you get how he feels, and help him come up with ways to defeat the monster. Ask him what might work. A "No Monsters" sign? A nightlight?

Read something scary together. Encountering bad guys in a book can allow a child to explore his fear. Try Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. "Convey that you're not anxious, and that you're quite confident the book is not going to scare them," says Frances Stott, Ph.D., professor of child development at the Erikson Institute, a Chicago graduate school.

Make it go away. If your child begs to leave a scary movie, do. Staying longer won't help him "get over" his fear. "A child learns to be brave by feeling safe," says Stott. Same with a book that scares him -- hide it or give it away.

The realm of pretend

In his second year, your child develops the brain circuitry that allows him to hold a block and imagine it's a car. Drinking from an imaginary cup of tea, hammering pretend nails, and playing a tiger roaming the wilds of the living room are ways for him to learn about reality. He's figuring out the emotions and behaviors of tea-drinking mommies, nail-banging carpenters, and roaring tigers.

Absorption into these fascinating new worlds can be intense.

For babies and young toddlers, the ability to distinguish between what's real and what's pretend isn't reliable. "I've got a ten-month-old who loves to talk on the play phone," says Mary Manix, who works in the infant room of a childcare provider in Spokane, Washington. "I think he thinks he's doing the same thing we're doing." At that age, it's likely he doesn't know what a real phone is, so imitation is reality to him.

He won't stay confused for long. Older toddlers know what's real when they're playing but often ignore it. Fiction is simply more fun. "It's like they want to get out of their own reality," says Katie Koralia, a preschool teacher in Duluth, Minnesota, who has a 3-year-old student who often prefers to be addressed as Batboy. "I don't think he really thinks he's Batboy," she says.

"Two-and-a-half-year-olds understand the distinction between real and pretend," says Susan Engel, Ph.D., author of Real Kids. "But when they're in play mode, they can lose sight of that distinction, or it becomes unimportant."

With language improvement comes more sophisticated role-playing and more interest in crossing and recrossing the boundary of reality. In Charlottesville, Virginia, Cindy Cartwright's then 3-year-old daughter Meridith talked at length about her imaginary friend Mana. But Meridith was in charge of the fantasy. "After we moved, Meridith said that Mana had moved, too. But when I asked, 'Is Mana going to come over?' " says Cartwright, "Meridith said, 'Oh, she's just pretend.' "
To make peace with make-believe:
Respect their world. "He won't answer to Eric," says Koralia of her student. "So I say, 'Batboy, time to clean up.'"

Work with him. If it's pj's time but your child is lost in playland, make bedtime part of the game.

Don't worry. Pretend play lets kids figure out the real world of emotions, relationships, and ideas.

The reality of TV

As if life itself isn't confusing enough for kids, along comes television, with images of flying purple dragons and, occasionally, even pictures of themselves. Learning to decode how TV operates can be complicated.

Babies and toddlers don't suspect that wires and circuit boards lurk behind the screen. Show a 9-month-old a TV-screen image of a ball, and he'll try to reach and get it, says Daniel Anderson, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and a consultant on the television show Blue's Clues.

Similarly, a lot of 3-year-olds will say that a bowl of popcorn on the television screen would spill if the TV tipped over.

But more so than with other challenges to reality, children should be educated about the fictional nature of much of what's on TV. Because they'll see so many ads and images, they need to figure out sooner rather than later how the whole thing works so they can view critically. "It's not until around age twelve that kids start forming an adult understanding of media," Anderson says.
For the littlest viewers:
Roll the camera. Let your child press the "record" button on the video camera and film family members. Have him watch it, and explain what he's seeing.

Introduce the idea of acting. Have the kids perform a play while you record it. When you all watch the videotape or DVD, explain that your child is an actor in the play, just the way Maria is played by an actor on Sesame Street.

Let them know when TV ads begin. Say, "Oh, it's a commercial," and explain that ads try to get you to buy certain things.

So I finally asked Drew and Claire what they think happens when they telephone a kiss to me. Does it really travel through the phone line and land on me? Drew, my rational guy, said, "No." But Claire, she looked away and declined to talk about it. I know that she knows kisses aren't magical little beings, and don't fly, but clearly she'd rather not concede as much just yet.

Contributing editor Jane Meredith Adams also writes for the Chicago Tribune.

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When my twins, Drew and Claire, were 2, they got into the habit of ending their phone calls to me with loud kissing noises and the question "Did you get my kiss?" "Yes," I'd say, making smacking sounds in return. "Did you get mine?"

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Explains how video game violence can lead to aggression but refers back to tho fact that it isn't confirmed.

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Lauren Goldbeck and Alex Pew, National Center for Health Research

After mass shootings, the media and public officials often question the role of the shooter's video game habits.

The American Psychological Association (APA) considers violent video games a risk factor for aggression.[1] In 2017, the APA Task Force on Violent Media concluded that violent video game exposure was linked to increased aggressive behaviors, thoughts, and emotions, as well as decreased empathy. However, it is not clear whether violent video game exposure was linked to criminality or delinquency.

Do Violent Video Games Increase Aggression?

Studies have shown that playing violent video games can increase aggressive thoughts, behaviors, and feelings in both the short-term and long-term.[2] Violent video games can also desensitize people to seeing aggressive behavior and decrease prosocial behaviors such as helping another person and feeling empathy (the ability to understand others). The longer that individuals are exposed to violent video games, the more likely they are to have aggressive behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. These effects have been seen in studies in both Eastern and Western countries. Although males spend more time than females playing violent video games, violent video game exposure can increase aggressive thoughts, behaviors, and feelings in both sexes.

Aggressive behavior is measured by scientists in a number of ways. Some studies looked at self-reports of hitting or pushing, and some looked at peer or teacher ratings on aggressive behaviors. Other studies looked at how likely an individual was to subject others to an unpleasant exposure to hot sauce or a loud noise after playing violent video games.

Unfortunately, few studies have been completed on violent video game exposure and aggression in children under age 10. There is also little information about the impact of violent video game exposure on minority children.

There have not been many studies on the effects of different characteristics of video games, such as perspective or plot. However, some studies have found that competition among players in video games is a better predictor of aggressive behavior than is the level of violence.[3]

Do Violent Video Games Increase Violence?

Violence is a form of aggression, but not all aggressive behaviors are violent. Very few studies have looked at whether playing violent video games increases the chances of later delinquency, criminal behavior, or lethal violence. Such studies are difficult to conduct, and require very large numbers of children. It makes sense that since playing violent video games tends to increase the level of aggressive behavior it would also results in more lethal violence or other criminal behaviors, but there is no clear evidence to support that assumption.

Policy

In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting in Florida in 2018, policymakers are again questioning the influence of violent video games. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) affirms that their rating system is effective, but the APA Task Force on Violent Media recommends that the ESRB revise their rating system to make the level of violence clearer. The Task Force also recommends that further research must be done using delinquency, violence, and criminal behavior as outcomes to determine whether or not violent video games are linked to violence.

Bottom Line

It is important to keep in mind that violent video game exposure is only one risk factor of aggressive behavior. For example, mental illness, adverse environments, and access to guns are all risk factors of aggression and violence.
All articles are reviewed and approved by Dr. Diana Zuckerman and other senior staff. The National Center for Health Research is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research, education and advocacy organization that analyzes and explains the latest medical research and speaks out on policies and programs. We do not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies or medical device manufacturers. Find out how you can support us here.
References:

1. The American Psychological Association Task Force on Violent Media. (2017). The American Psychological Association Task Force Assessment of Violent Video Games: Science in the Service of Public Interest. American Psychologist. 72(2): 126-143. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0040413. Accessed on March 9, 2018.

2. Anderson CA, Shibuya A, Ihori N, Swing EL, Bushman BJ, Sakamoto A, Rothstein HR, Muniba. Violent Video Game Effects on Aggression, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior in Eastern and Western Countries: A Meta-Analytic Review. Psychological Bulletin. 2010.

3. Adachi, PJ and Willoughby, T. (2013). Demolishing the Competition: The Longitudinal Link Between Competitive Video Games, Competitive Gambling, and Aggression. Journal of Youth Adolescence. 42(7): 1090-104. doi: 10.1007/s10964-013-9952-2.

4. Sanstock, JW. A Topical Approach to Life Span Development 4th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Ch 15. 489-491

5. Lemmens JS, Valkenburg PM, Peter J. The Effects of Pathological Gaming on Aggressive Behavior. Journal of Youth Adolescence. 2010.

6. Huesmann LR, Moise J, Podolski CP, Eron LD. (2003). Longitudinal relations between childhood exposure to media violence and adult aggression and violence. Developmental Psychology. 35:201-221.

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Violent Video Games and Aggression | National Center for Health Research

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Lauren Goldbeck and Alex Pew, National Center for Health Research After mass shootings, the media and public officials often question the role of the shooter's video game habits. The American Psychological Association (APA) considers violent video games a risk factor for aggression.[1] In 2017, the APA Task Force on Violent Media concluded that violent video game exposure was linked to increased aggressive behaviors, thoughts, and emotions, as well as decreased empathy.

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Explains how video game violence can have an effect on the brain.

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Shows how much people have spent on video games and how it is getting more popular.

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New Study Claims to Find Link Between Violent Video Games and Adolescent Aggression

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A new study has said that there's a link between adolescent aggression and whether those children played video games in the home.

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Explains how video games can lead to aggression/violence.

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Violence can lead to violent children. This picture depicts an angry child

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Addresses the whole topic by giving pros and cons about it.

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Do violent video games contribute to youth violence?

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More and more people get a console or some way to play video games as time goes on. Many of which are children.

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Children and people usually don't pay attention to the age restriction. This can lead to young kids playing adult games.

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Explains studies and viewpoints about how video game violence can be affecting children.

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Source that has facts and information but skip until paragraph 4 or 5.

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The latest in the long-standing debate over violent video games: They do cause players to become more physically aggressive.

An international study looking at more than 17,000 adolescents, ages nine to 19, from 2010 to 2017, found playing violent video games led to increased physical aggression over time.

The analysis of 24 studies from countries including the U.S., Canada, Germany and Japan found those who played violent games such as "Grand Theft Auto," "Call of Duty" and "Manhunt" were more likely to exhibit behavior such as being sent to the principal's office for fighting or hitting a non-family member.

"Although no single research project is definitive, our research aims to provide the most current and compelling responses to key criticisms on this topic," said Jay Hull, lead author of the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Based on our findings, we feel it is clear that violent video game play is associated with subsequent increases in physical aggression," said Hull, associate dean of faculty for the social sciences at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and the Dartmouth Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

Video game violence has been a hot-button issue for more than a decade. Interest in research on video games' potential for violence increased after it was learned Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two teenagers who committed the Columbine High School shooting, played the first-person shooting computer game "Doom."

But in a 2011 Supreme Court decision overturning California's ban on the sale of violent video games to minors, the late Justice Antonin Scalia dismissed a link between the games and aggression. "These studies have been rejected by every court to consider them, and with good reason: They do not prove that violent video games cause minors to act aggressively," he wrote in the majority opinion.

Since then, an American Psychological Association task force report in 2015 found a link between violent video games and increased aggression in players but insufficient evidence that violent games lead to criminal violence.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump convened a video game summit a month after the February shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Prior to that meeting, Trump said, "I'm hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts."

The Dartmouth researchers sought to reduce confusion about research findings - including disputes about the association between violent games and aggression - with a finely structured meta-analysis.

Those in the study who played violent games, whether frequently or infrequently, had an increase risk of aggressive behavior. The new research echoes Hull's previous finding that playing violent games equates to about twice the risk of being sent to the principal's office for fighting during an eight-month period, he said. A separate 2014 study he oversaw of violent video games in 2,000 families is one of the 24 included in the meta-analysis.

The effect is "relatively small, but statistically reliable. The effect does exist," Hull said.

While there's not research suggesting violent video games lead to criminal behavior, Hull's previous research suggests players may practice riskier behaviors such as reckless driving, binge drinking, smoking and unsafe sex.

"A lot of people ask, do these games really cause these kids to behave aggressively? I would say that is one possibility," he said. "The other possibility is that it's a really bad sign. If your kids are playing these games, either these games are having a warping effect on right and wrong or they have a warped sense of right or wrong and that's why they are attracted to these games. Either way you should be concerned about it."

In the research paper, Hull and the co-authors say they hope the findings will help research move "past the question of whether violent video games increase aggressive behavior, and toward questions regarding why, when, and for whom they have such effects."
Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.

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Study confirms link between violent video games and physical aggression

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The latest in the long-standing debate over violent video games: They do cause players to become more physically aggressive. An international study looking at more than 17,000 adolescents, ages nine to 19, from 2010 to 2017, found playing violent video games led to increased physical aggression over time.

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Violence is the over all topic of this padlet, especially video games violence

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The brain in a child is still developing and sometimes violence can get to them when exposed to it.