Video games, aggression, and the new ESRB ratings system

Author

Kelly Stephen Meyers, University of the PacificFollow

Date of Award

1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Behavioral Analysis

First Advisor

Gary Howells

First Committee Member

Pam Fitzgerald

Second Committee Member

David Hall

Abstract

The current study sought to accomplish three goals: (a) examine the short term effects of the current hi-tech aggressive video games on children who play them; (b) improve upon the methodology of previous studies by using a combination of self-report, physiological (heart rate), and behavioral observations (Bobo doll aggression) together in one study; and (c) examine how the new Entertainment Software Rating Board's (ESRB) ratings system relates to aggression in children who have played aggressive and non-aggressive video games. It was hypothesized that (a) playing video games which depict interpersonal aggression would lead to increased aggression in children, and that (b) the ESRB rating system is useful but incomplete as it relates to post-video game aggression differences. Specifically, games which involve very high levels of interpersonal aggression as their main theme are sometimes given the same classification (rating) as a game containing no or very little aggression. The current study expected to find that the game content rather than game classification predicts post-game aggression on the part of the player. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Pages

71

ISBN

9780591548884 , 0591548887

Recommended Citation

Meyers, Kelly Stephen. (1997). Video games, aggression, and the new ESRB ratings system. University of the Pacific, Thesis. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2631