NewsMax.com, FL
04-18-07
Va. Tech Killer A Violent Video Game Fan
Virginia Tech mass murderer Cho Seung Hui honed his skill as a deadly
marksman by playing violent video games.
According to Washington Post Staff Writer David Cho, several Korean youths
who knew Cho Seung Hui from his high school days said he was a fan of violent
video games, particularly a game called "Counterstrike," a hugely popular online
game in which players join terrorism or counterterrorism groups and try to shoot
each other using all types of guns.
And playing these violent games can do more than help a player improve his
skills, they can help transform him from a player to a killer, psychologists say.
"Countersrike" is a of the First Person Shooter game genre, where the player
becames the participant in simulated murder.
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Playing violent video games can increase a person's aggressive thoughts,
feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life, according to
two studies appearing in the April 2000 issue of the American Psychological
Association's (APA) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The study's authors add that violent video games may be more harmful than
violent television and movies because they are interactive, very engrossing and
require the player to identify with the aggressor, the researchers say.
"One study reveals that young men who are habitually aggressive may be
especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated exposure
to violent games," according to psychologists Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., and
Karen E. Dill, Ph.D. in their article "Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts,
Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and in Life."
A second study by the authors revealed that even a brief exposure to violent
video games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all types of
participants.
"We found that students who reported playing more violent video games in junior
and high school engaged in more aggressive behavior," Anderson, of Iowa State
University explained. "We also found that amount of time spent playing video
games in the past was associated with lower academic grades in college."