Study shows that video game violence won't transform you into a murderer

The back and forth debate has raged on for years over whether or not violent video games can corrupt children's minds and transforms good kids into bad.

Recent research shows, however, that it's not the games that are mainly responsible for the negative effects experienced by some people from prolonged exposure, but rather the player's personality itself. These findings were presented to the American Psychological Association (via USA Today), in an effort to help bring clarity and answer questions that have troubled many parents concerning violence in video games.

“If you’re worried about a video game turning your son or daughter into a killer, don’t worry about that,” said psychologist Patrick Markey, co-author of the study published in the Review of General Psychology. “But is your kid moody, impulsive, or are they unfriendly? It’s probably not the best idea to have that child play violent video games.”

The study aimed to assess the hostility levels of 118 participants who played either a violent or a non-violent video game. Those who were highly neurotic or had low agreeableness and conscientiousness showed to be more adversely affected by playing violent video games. Individuals who didn't have these personality characteristics were virtually or completely unaffected.

A study published in Psychology of Violence, written by Paul Adachi of Brock University in St Catherines, Ontario, supports Markey's findings.

“It appears that competition in games is what may influence aggression, not the violent content,” Adachi said. “We found — irrespective of violent content — the two highly competitive games produced more aggressive behavior than the two less competitive games.”

Essentially, how someone responds to a video game is not determined by its level of violence but by the person's temperament.