Cooper and Mackie Study: Effects of Video Games on Aggression in Children

The Cooper and Mackie criminal psychology study investigated the effects of violent video games on children's behavior, specifically focusing on aggression. This page summarizes the methodology, results, and conclusions of the experiment.

Methodology

The study employed a laboratory experiment with an independent measures design. The independent variable was the game played or watched, while the dependent variable was the level of aggression. Participants were allocated to one of three conditions:

1. Missile Command (aggressive game)
2. Pacman (non-aggressive game)
3. Star Wars and Tron paper games (control)

Highlight: The experiment used counterbalancing to avoid confounding variables by having participants swap rooms.

Sample

The study included 84 children aged 4-11 from New Jersey, USA. Parental consent was obtained, and participants were paired with same-age, same-sex partners.

Vocabulary: Counterbalancing - A technique used in experimental design to control for order effects by changing the order of conditions for different groups of participants.

Procedure

1. Participants played or watched their assigned game for 10 minutes.
2. They completed a questionnaire rating their experience.
3. Participants were then placed in either a playroom or a test room.
4. In the playroom, a covert experimenter observed which toys the children played with and for how long.
5. In the test room, participants were asked to demonstrate how they would punish a bad child and reward a good child.

Example: The playroom contained various toys, including a "warrior" toy (aggressive), a basketball set (active), and building blocks (quiet).

Results

The study found that:

1. 61% of participants had a video game console at home, with boys having more than girls.
2. Boys enjoyed Missile Command more than girls.
3. Aggressive games influenced more aggression in girls.
4. No link was found between interpersonal aggression and aggressive games.

Definition: Interpersonal aggression - In this study, it was measured by the length of time a participant pressed a buzzer to punish a hypothetical "bad child."

Conclusions

The researchers concluded that social learning can cause aggression via aggressive games. This supports the social learning theory of aggression, which suggests that children learn aggressive behaviors by observing and imitating others, including characters in video games.

Quote: "There will be a difference in aggression depending on the game played."

This study contributes to the ongoing debate about the negative effects of video games on child development and provides insights into the potential impact of video games on children's behavior.