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Researcher Links Exposure to Video Game Violence to Lower Empathy |
| By
Rebecca Maggard |
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Feb 10, 2004 |
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| Dr. Jeanne Funk |
A new study conducted by University of Toledo researcher Dr. Jeanne Funk suggests there is a link between exposure to violent video games and lower levels of empathy in young children. The study titled “Violence Exposure in Real Life, Video Games, Television, Movies and the Internet: Is There Desensitization?” will be released later this month in the Journal of Adolescence.
As part of the study, the UT professor of psychology and her team of graduate students surveyed 150 fourth- and fifth-graders from Lucas County through a series of questionnaires to determine the level of exposure they had to real-life and media violence, including movies, television, video games and the Internet. The study also examined the level of empathy the children showed toward others and their attitudes toward violence.
“In this study, we were looking for the relationship between the different sources of violence exposure and the degree of empathy the children showed. We found that out of all the sources of violence the children are exposed to, only video game violence was linked to lower levels of empathy and stronger pro-violence attitudes,” Funk said.
According to the study, the link can be due to several factors. First, the active nature of playing video games, intense engagement, and the tendency to be translated into fantasy play makes them unique among screen-based media. “In violent video games, pro-violence attitudes and behaviors are repeatedly rewarded. You must suspend moral reasoning to play these violent games,” Funk said. “Even if children with pre-existing lower empathy levels are simply drawn to violent video games, this exposure is unlikely to improve empathy or decrease pro-violence attitudes.”
Second, Funk said parents tend to be more sensitive to monitoring what their children watch on television and in movies. “We were surprised that television violence didn’t have an impact on empathy, but if we look at the programs kids listed as their favorite, most weren’t the ones that had a lot of violence in them, whereas many of their favorite video games did.” Funk added that for many of the children in the study, Internet activity through chat rooms, online games and e-mail simply wasn’t allowed by their parents.
According to Funk, there are several risk factors that can contribute to a child’s propensity to be influenced by video game violence. “Theoretically, younger kids are more prone to be influenced than older children because the whole process of developing empathy and judgment occurs when children are young,” Funk explained. “In addition, children with problems in emotion regulation and kids that are bullies may also be more at risk for decreased empathy and an increase in pro-violence attitudes, and are therefore more likely to be negatively influenced by video game violence.”
Funk said the next step in her research is to work on developing ways to determine whether playing violent video games contributes to children becoming desensitized to violence. “Children in my research projects often tell me not to worry, they know that the violence in video games is not real. My concern is that exposure to the very realistic violence in some games could lead some children to behave as if even actual violence doesn’t have real consequences,” Funk said.
In addition to Funk, the study was also conducted by Ph.D. students Heidi Bechtoldt Baldacci, Tracie Pasold and Jennifer Baumgardner.
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