Towards Understanding the Positive Effect of Playing Violent Video Games on Children's Development

Problem Statement: In the literature, playing the violent games still considers as double-edged sword (Agina & Kommers, 2008). On one edge, the focus was on the aspect of using video games in teaching, social settings, and improving human-computer interfaces (e.g., Malone 1981; ...). On the other edge, the focus was on the negative outcomes and later effects (e.g., Griffiths & Hunt 1998; ...). However, the literature clearly lacks investigating the positive effect of playing violent games on children's development processes when children act and react alone and without human's external regulation. Purpose of Study: Given the fact that the world is clearly unable to stop the production of the violent games as avoiding children to play violent games is almost impossible, the present study aimed towards understanding the positive effect of playing violent games on children's development to clarify what the future research should highly take into account. Stated differently, the present study was an attempt towards clarifying the importance of embedding violent arousal as a process of learning. Research Methods: Hundred children (50 boys, 50 girls) who, almost, daily played violent games were specifically selected. Each child was given one hour to play with "CAR-RACING" and "THE-PUNISHER". After the session, a Friendly-Chat-Questionnaire, through nonhumn's external regulator, was achieved with each child where all children's utterances were recorded and tabulated. An extra meeting with children was achieved after the entire session. Findings: Children's self-regulation and thinking-aloud verbalization were affected by the game hero's gender; both were fluctuated even among the same gender where boys showed higher level of violent arousal. Children also showed high level of self-regulation when engaging them as deign-partners that confirmed Agina and Kommers (2008). Conclusions: Despite the negative effect of playing violent games, violent arousal has positive effect on children's development especially self-regulation and thinking aloud to express their mind's content. Thus, the most significant question for the future research on children's developmet is that: How can the violent arousal be safely transferred into children's learning settings to enable children to be "Violent-Arousal-Learners" through "Violent-Arousal-Learning"?