Is There a Link Between Murder and Violent Video Games?

Is There A Link Between Murder and Violent Video Games?

            For years, there has been a debate over the phycological effects of violent video games on young children and adolescents. Scientists have studied this topic for decades, even as early as 1961 when Albert Bandura conducted his BoBo Clown Experiment. In this experiment, Bandura tested how children would treat a BoBo Clown inflatable toy when exposed to violent behavior in comparison to no prior engagement or knowledge of the toy. His study showed that children did react violently to the toy after witnessing an adult act violently. Moving into the modern age, this topic is now further discussed to see whether or not playing violent videogames will increase levels of aggression in children. 

            Dr. Laura Stockdale’s, Cool, Callous and in Control: Superior Inhibitory Control in Frequent Players of Video Games with Violent Content, research focused on response inhibition and how levels of empathy correlates to this when comparing frequent and infrequent players of violent videogames. Using electroencephalography, she was able to monitor brain activity during stop-signal tasks to collect her data. It was concluded that frequent players of violent video games had lower levels of empathy and a reduction in brain activity when compared to infrequent players. The data showed a reduced N200/P300 amplitude during the task, which means there were less neural resources recruited to inhibit the behavior of the frequent player. Dr. Stockdale’s research shows that frequent players of violent video games do in fact have a decrease in empathetic responses and have a reduced ability to inhibit certain behaviors. 

An article from CrimeLibrary discussed a real-life case where Dr. Stockdale’s research can be applied. Daniel Petric, a sixteen-year-old from Ohio, murdered his mother and attempted to kill his father over a video game. Petric had recently been in an accident, which caused him to be bed ridden for months, only able to watch TV and play video games. His parents noticed an increased obsession with the video game Halo 3 and decided to confiscate the device from their son. The article includes an eyewitness account from Daniel’s father, Mark Petric, who says “[Daniel] walked in and said, ‘would you guys close your eyes, I have a surprise for you.’”. Daniel then fatally shot his mother and seriously wounded his father in an attempt to get his game back. Daniel was sentenced to 23 years behind bars because of his actions. Petric’s lawyers explained during the trial that their client had been under a large amount of stress during this time and used the video games to cope. This begs the question, did playing these violent games lead to murder?

            Daniel Petric’s case relates to the findings of Dr. Stockdale’s research because of his obsession with the violent video game, Halo 3. If we were to apply Dr. Stockdale’s research methods, I would expect for Petric to also show a decrease in empathy levels and inhibitory control due to his frequent playing of Halo 3. Petric is just another example of how violent video games are affecting the minds of young people. 

References

“Daniel Petric Teen Killer Murders Mother Over Video Game.” My Crime Library, 17 Jan. 2020, https://mycrimelibrary.com/daniel-petric-teen-killer/

Stockdale, Laura, et al. “Cool, Callous and in Control: Superior Inhibitory Control in Frequent Players of Video Games with Violent Content.” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, vol. 12, no. 12, 2017, pp. 1869–1880., doi:10.1093/scan/nsx115.