Physchology of Video Games
Aggression and the Effects of Frustrating Video Games on Teenage Males In observing the behavior of my peers while watching them play video games, I have noticed that the major source of aggression stems not from the depictions of violence onscreen, but from the frustration that develops from losing. Their observable aggression seems to be at a minimum even when playing the most gratuitously violent games, yet they can easily become enraged when playing a totally non-violent puzzle or strategy game. The purpose of this experiment is to test the theory that frustration caused by difficult video games can result in increased levels of aggression in the players. I believe that too much emphasis is placed on the theory that depictions of violence are solely to blame for aggressive behavior in video game players, and it would be worthwhile to explore the possibility that other factors may be present. Perhaps we will find that violence has nothing to do with causing aggression, and that frustration may be at the root of this behavior. The study will be based on the observation of the behavi
The definition of the level of frustration will coincide with the level of difficulty at which the game is set. The player must maneuver "Bert" across a mock 3-d step pyramid, while avoiding falling objects. For the control group, this level will begin low and increase slowly, with the increase stopping at a moderate difficulty level. Results I expect the outcome of this study to coincide with what I have already observed, namely that the frustration caused by a difficult video game will result in a higher frequency of aggressive behavior in the subjects in the experimental group. ors of a group of subjects while playing a video game. The learning curve for this game is extremely quick, as there are only four controls: left, right, up, and down. The independent variable for this experiment will be the frustration level, which in this case is the level of difficulty the game is played at, the only difference in levels being the speed. They will be randomly assigned to two groups, the control group and the experimental group. For the purposes of this experiment, we will operationally define aggression as observable acts of violence, such as hitting the machine, swearing or yelling. They will be allowed to play until they extinguish all of "Bert's" ten lives. A very simple task, and once the player is comfortable with the controls it is merely a matter of avoiding the falling objects. The dependent variable is the frequency of aggressive acts by the subjects, which has been previously defined as acts of violence or cursing and yelling. For the experimental group, this level will increase quickly to the point of impossibility. The subjects for the study will be drawn from a pool of teenage males who report being moderately experienced in playing video games.
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Acceptance Essays
