Professional psychologists utilizing the Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire have conducted a study on aggressiveness in gamers, with some interesting results.
The study was conducted using 964 gamers, who were asked to select three games they enjoy playing the most in order of preference and what system they use to play said games on. They were then asked to complete the Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire, which is a 29 question survey that uses a 5-point Likert scale. The test is meant to gauge the level of aggression in individuals based on how they respond to each question. One’s Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility are all meant to be measured with the Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire.
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According to the study, Xbox gamers are the most aggressive gamers, outranking PlayStation gamers surveyed in all four of the categories. Researchers also found that male gamers were 20% more aggressive than female gamers, and that certain games were associated with more aggression than others. Interestingly, those that played games for 20-30 hours per week were found to be less aggressive than those who played for 11-20 hours per week. Aggression levels were even lower in participants that played video games less than 11 hours per week.
Call of Duty gamers were found to be the most aggressive, along with those that play games like Battlefield and FIFA. Since all three of these games have an extreme focus on competitive multiplayer, this should come as no surprise. Human beings tend to become aggressive when actively competing with one another, whether it be through video games, sports, or anything else, so it makes sense that gamers playing those titles would be more aggressive.
However, even a game without a competitive focus still had some aggressive players. According to the study, Animal Crossing: New Horizons actually had more physically aggressive gamers playing it than those playing Grand Theft Auto 5. This seems to suggest that the level of violence in any given video game isn’t necessarily what causes anyone to be more or less aggressive. Unfortunately, more detailed analysis of how Animal Crossing: New Horizons players answered the survey is unavailable.
Over the years, there have been many studies about aggression and its potential link to video games. Past studies have shown that there is not necessarily a link between aggression and video game violence. However, the argument could be made that aggression from video games comes more from the competitive aspect of them, not so much their level of violence. It’s clear that more research will need to be done into the matter before anyone can reach a definitive conclusion. It would also be interesting to see studies on the subject done about some of the newer ways to play games, like virtual reality headsets, that are designed to make players more immersed than was ever possible before.
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