Is there a connection between the violence in video games or film and violent behavior? Is there any truth to the theory that people who play violent video games and watch violent movies become desensitized to violence, become disinhibitive of violence, believe in a ‘scary world’ or develop cognitive schemas that are supportive of aggression? This is the topic of research for Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein. As he has pursued the truth in these questions, he has discovered that many of the studies may indeed be flawed. Due to the circumstances under which the studies were conducted (i.e. being forced to play a video game removes the enjoyment component) may likely skew the outcome of the study. So, with that in mind, Goldstein compiled essays written by his colleagues on the subject. The jury may be out whether or not violent or scary movies or violent video games actually affect a person’s tendency to be aggressive, but there is no doubt that people derive a great deal of enjoyment from them.

Get Flash to see this player.

Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein earned his PhD in psychology from Ohio State University. He was a professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but in 1991 he joined the Department of Social and Organizational Psychology at Utrecht University in The Netherlands.

In addition to his academic and professional pursuits, Goldstein has authored and edited a number of books, such as The Psychology of Humor; Sports, Games, and Play; Aggression and Crimes of Violence (Oxford University Press), Toys, Play and Child Development (Cambridge University Press); Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment (which he edited with support from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation; Oxford University Press), and Toys, Games and Media (Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.). He was the co-editor of The Handbook of Computer Game Studies (2005, MIT Press) with Joost Raessens.

His book, The Psychology of Humor; Sports, Games, and Play; Aggression and Crimes of Violence (Oxford University Press) won the best book award in 1988 from the International Society for Research on Aggression. In 2001 he received the BRIO Prize (Sweden) for research ‘for the benefit and development of children and young people.’

Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein is a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. He acts as a consultant on children and media and summarizes scholarly research for clients around the world. Dr. Goldstein is also the chairman of the National Toy Council (London) and serves on the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media, and PEGI, the European video games rating board. He also sits on the Editorial Board of Humor: International Journal of Humor Research and the International Journal of Early Childhood Education.

While Dr. Goldstein may not have directly answered the questions surrounding whether or not violent video games and violent movies have a negative effect on a person’s tendency to become aggressive, he has at least brought the controversy into stronger focus. Perhaps someday the answers will come.