GTA V

Some scientists are of the opinion that violent games contribute to aggression, increase impulsivity, interfere with learning and affect a person’s mood. A lot of research has been done in this area, which has mainly focused on the short-term effects of aggressive video games. Some researchers strongly argue that violent video games increase aggression ( 1 , 2 ), while others have repeatedly come to the opposite conclusion that the effects are minimal or completely absent ( 1 , 2 ). In all of these studies, the duration of game sessions varied from four minutes to a maximum of two hours, and most often the effects were checked directly after the game.

New authorsscientific works say that they first studied the effect of a long daily game of one of the most brutal games - Grand Theft Auto V, where the player is allowed to crush passers-by with a car and perform other antisocial actions.

The results of the study were predictable.

The authors responsibly approached the matter and prepared a large series of tests studying various aspects of social relations:

• behavioral assessment of aggression;
• changing the level of sexism;
• empathy and interpersonal competence;
• constructions associated with impulsiveness (for example, the search for sensations / new sensations, a predisposition to boredom, risk, the depreciation of the reward while increasing the interval before it is received);
• mental health (depression, anxiety);
• self-control functions.

Each aspect was evaluated in three groups of subjects before and after a two-month game period. One group played cruel Grand Theft Auto V, the second in The Sims 3, and the third didn’t play anything at all.

For gamers with experience, the research results will not be a revelation. The players in GTA V are not found significant differences from the results of the group playing in the Sims 3, or from the passive control group.

Moreover, no difference was found between the test subjects before and after the intervention period.

Thus, scientists believe, these results are convincing evidence against the often discussed arguments that violent video games in adults lead to negative consequences. Consequently, now in this matter one can rely on a more realistic scientific point of view.

Priming

Scientists assume that violent games can cause a short-term installation fixation effect (priming) that lasts less than five minutes. In fact, previous studies confirm the presence of priming immediately after the game.

But the fact is that a long-term impact on players has never been studied. Simply, the authors of previous studies recorded the fact of priming, and then concluded that according to the general model of aggression (General Aggression Model, GAM or ОМА) repeatedly recorded thoughts and feelings affect the perception of the events and thus cause aggressive behavior as a long-term effect .

The new study convincingly proved that the OMA model does not work, at least in the case of the two-month game of adults in Grand Theft Auto V. It is possible that this model works in some other cases, for younger players or for fixing the installation through other events - of course, this topic deserves further study. However, the fact is that GTA V, one of the most violent games on the market, is subject to priming, but not the OMA model.

Moreover, even the very fact of a short-term fixation of the installation is not always confirmed. As part of some research could not detect the fixation of installation in college students. Also, in some studies, adolescents and students failed to detect priming effects that OMA predicted, such as insensitivity (desensitization) to violent content, reduced empathy or social behavior.

So there will surely be followed by more thorough new research.

But scientists believe that it is not so important for society to ask whether people are aggressive in a few minutes after the game (fixation of the installation). For people, it is more important what long-term consequences a constant game of violent games carries. And now this question has received a clear, albeit boring answer: none.

The test results before and after the game in all groups are shown in the table. The mean and standard deviation (in parentheses) are indicated. Standard deviation indicates the level of variability of results.


^{Interpretation of test titles: BP Buss – Perry Aggression Questionnaire, SHS State Hostility Scale, IRMAS Updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, RPFT Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Test, WVM World View Measurement, BSSS , RCRQ Richardson Conflict Response Questionnaire, STAI State Trait Anxiety Inventory, TS Task switching}

The study involved 90 people aged from 18 to 45 years old who had no psychological problems. The duration of the gaming sessions was at least 30 minutes daily.

The scientific article was published on March 13, 2018 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry (doi: 10.1038 / s41380-018-0031-7).