SPECIAL FEATURE | Debate over violent video games deepens (Part 2 of 3)
Unlike earlier debates that focused almost exclusively on physical violence, contemporary researchers increasingly examine how violent games affect cognition, emotions, empathy, social interaction and decision-making.
PART 2 OF 3
If the 2022 Chinese study provides new empirical evidence linking violent video game exposure to behavioral problems among children and adolescents, the broader scientific literature paints a far more complicated picture. The challenge facing researchers today is no longer determining whether violent games can influence behavior under certain circumstances. Instead, the question has evolved into understanding why some adolescents appear vulnerable to those effects while others do not.
A 2025 narrative review published in Psychology International attempted to answer that question by synthesizing evidence from more than two decades of international research spanning psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, education, behavioral science and public health. The review analyzed more than 100 studies involving children, adolescents and adults from multiple countries, making it one of the most comprehensive recent examinations of the subject.
The authors concluded that evidence generally supports an association between violent video game exposure and aggression, although they repeatedly stressed that the relationship remains influenced by numerous biological, psychological and environmental variables.
Borrego-Ruiz and Borrego wrote that “Exposure to violent content through video games can shape perceptions of aggression as normative or acceptable, potentially desensitizing adolescents to violence and increasing the likelihood that they will engage in aggressive behavior in their real-world interactions.”
The review further stated that “VVG exposure may promote moral disengagement and reinforce aggressive behavior through rewarding violent actions, potentially leading to real-life aggression.”
Unlike earlier debates that focused almost exclusively on physical violence, contemporary researchers increasingly examine how violent games affect cognition, emotions, empathy, social interaction and decision-making.
Why interactivity matters
One reason video games have attracted greater scientific scrutiny than television or films is their interactive nature.
Traditional media present violence passively. Video games require players to actively participate, repeatedly making decisions, executing attacks and receiving rewards for violent actions.
The review explains that repeated exposure may gradually normalize aggressive thinking through reinforcement.
Much of this work is based on Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, which argues that individuals acquire behaviors by observing and imitating others, particularly when those behaviors appear successful or rewarded.
The review also discusses the General Aggression Model developed by Craig Anderson and Brad Bushman. According to this model, violent games can influence aggressive thoughts, emotions and physiological arousal in the short term while repeated exposure may strengthen aggressive knowledge structures over time.
The review cites decades of research by Anderson, Bushman and colleagues, including longitudinal studies in Japan and the United States, experimental investigations and meta-analyses examining how repeated exposure to violent media influences aggressive cognition and behavior.
These theoretical frameworks remain among the most influential explanations for why violent gameplay may affect some players more strongly than others.
The brain’s reward system
The 2025 review also summarizes growing evidence from neuroscience.
Brain imaging studies suggest that violent gameplay activates neural reward systems in ways similar to other pleasurable experiences. Successfully defeating opponents or completing violent objectives may stimulate dopamine-related reward pathways that reinforce learned behaviors.
The review cites studies showing selective reward responses during violent success events inside video games and research examining serotonergic systems involved in aggression regulation.
Researchers also examined physiological responses following violent gameplay.
Several experimental studies reported changes in cortisol levels, activation of the sympathetic nervous system and alterations in emotional regulation following exposure to violent games.
However, these biological responses have not been entirely consistent across studies.
For example, one 2024 study summarized in the review found significant decreases in cortisol among participants playing violent games but found no significant effects on implicit aggressive cognition, suggesting that biological stress responses do not necessarily translate directly into aggressive behavior.
The review therefore concludes that neuroscience offers valuable insights but does not yet provide definitive proof that violent games directly cause violent actions.
Desensitization and empathy
One of the longest-running concerns surrounding violent games involves emotional desensitization.
Repeated exposure to digital violence may reduce emotional reactions to suffering, potentially making aggressive behavior appear more acceptable.
According to the review, studies have associated violent gameplay with reduced empathy, diminished prosocial behavior and greater moral disengagement.
However, the evidence again remains mixed.
A Dutch study involving adolescent males found that although violent gameplay temporarily reduced empathetic responses to pain, participants continued to exhibit strong pain responses afterward, suggesting that empathy was not permanently impaired.
Similarly, recent research reviewed by Borrego-Ruiz and Borrego found that while some adolescents displaying higher aggression also consumed more violent games, increasing violent game exposure did not necessarily reduce empathy within individuals over time.
These findings illustrate why researchers increasingly avoid sweeping conclusions.
Violent games may influence empathy under some conditions, but individual differences appear to play an equally important role.
Internet gaming disorder
Modern discussions of violent games increasingly overlap with concerns about internet gaming disorder (IGD).
Rather than focusing solely on violent content, researchers now examine excessive gaming itself as a potential mental health issue.
The 2025 review summarizes recent Chinese research involving more than 9,200 adolescents.
The study reported significant associations between violent video game exposure, gaming frequency, psychological distress and aggression.
Participants exhibiting severe symptoms of internet gaming disorder also demonstrated greater psychological distress and more aggressive behavior than casual players.
Importantly, the researchers suggest that excessive gaming and violent content may reinforce one another.
Violent games may encourage longer playing sessions, while prolonged gaming may increase emotional distress, creating a cycle that becomes increasingly difficult for vulnerable adolescents to escape.
Bullying and cyberbullying
Researchers are also paying greater attention to social behavior beyond physical aggression.
The review highlights growing evidence linking violent video games with bullying, cyberbullying and antisocial online behavior.
Some studies found adolescents exposed to violent games were more likely to engage in bullying or to become victims of bullying themselves.
The relationship appears particularly strong when violent gameplay is combined with internet gaming disorder, poor emotional regulation or weak parental supervision.
The authors argue that digital media function as powerful socializing agents capable of shaping behavior through repeated interaction with peers and online communities.
This observation complements the findings of the Chinese study, which emphasized the mediating influence of deviant peer affiliation.
Together, the studies suggest that online gaming communities may become environments where aggressive norms are reinforced, although researchers emphasize that healthy gaming communities can also foster cooperation, teamwork and friendship.
The Arab world review
A third important contribution comes from a 2023 systematic review published in Acta Biomedica, which examined research concerning video games and violence, particularly within Arab populations.
The review notes that video games have become a global pastime involving an estimated three billion players.
Citing market research, the authors reported that approximately 434 million players were located in the Middle East and Africa alone.
The paper acknowledges substantial evidence linking violent games with aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, aggressive behavior and reduced empathy.
It also notes that adolescents exposed to violent games were more likely to display hostile behavior and physical aggression, while prolonged gaming has been associated with depression, substance abuse and poorer social outcomes.
Nevertheless, the review reaches a cautious conclusion.
According to the authors, “The discrepancy of reported results between video games and amount of violence could be attributed to the lack of standardization across studies. Therefore, it becomes imperative to further explore the association through conclusive studies with standardized measures.”
That conclusion closely mirrors the position taken by the 2025 review.
Neither paper dismisses the possibility that violent games contribute to aggression.
Neither claims the evidence is definitive.
Instead, both emphasize the need for better research capable of separating correlation from causation while accounting for family environment, personality, mental health, peer influence and broader social conditions.
As the scientific literature continues to expand, researchers increasingly agree on one point: violent video games cannot be examined in isolation. Understanding their effects requires examining the entire developmental environment surrounding the child or adolescent.
END OF PART 2
Link to Part 1
Link to Part 3
EDITOR’S NOTE: This feature is based on peer-reviewed studies published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2022), Acta Biomedica (2023), and Psychology International (2025), together with the earlier longitudinal studies, meta-analyses and systematic reviews synthesized within those publications.
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