Cited by 162Bullying, Victimization, and AggressionDigital Games and MediaMeta-analysis and systematic reviews

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Overstated evidence for short-term effects of violent games on affect and behavior: A reanalysis of Anderson et al. (2010).

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Hilgard, Joseph, Engelhardt, Christopher R., Rouder, Jeffrey N.·2017·Psychological Bulletin

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Abstract

Violent video games are theorized to be a significant cause of aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Important evidence for this claim comes from a large meta-analysis by Anderson and colleagues (2010), who found effects of violent games in experimental, cross-sectional, and longitudinal research. In that meta-analysis, the authors argued that there is little publication or analytic bias in the literature, an argument supported by their use of the trim-and-fill procedure. In the present manuscript, we reexamine their meta-analysis using a wider array of techniques for detecting bias and adjusting effect sizes. Our conclusions differ from those of Anderson and colleagues in 3 salient ways. First, we detect substantial publication bias in experimental research on the effects of violent games on aggressive affect and aggressive behavior. Second, after adjustment for bias, the effects of violent games on aggressive behavior in experimental research are estimated as being very small, and estimates of effects on aggressive affect are much reduced. In contrast, the cross-sectional literature finds correlations that appear largely unbiased. Third, experiments meeting the original authors' criteria for methodological quality do not yield larger adjusted effects than other experiments, but instead yield larger indications of bias, indicating that perhaps they were selected for significance. We outline future directions for stronger experimental research. The results indicate th…

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“An example of the need for caution in such research is the study by Hilgard et al. (2017), who re-analysed meta-analytical data on this issue, bringing together results on GAM research.”
Is It Still Double Edged? Not for University Students’ Development of Moral Reasoning and Video Game Play
Hodge, S., Taylor, J., & McAlaney, J. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01313 · Cited by 10
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Barrington, G., & Ferguson, C. J. (2022) · Trends in Psychology · doi:10.1007/s43076-022-00141-2 · Cited by 11
“However, a reanalysis of this data concluded that effects, particularly for experimental studies, were largely driven by publication bias (Hilgard et al., 2017).”
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Aldoney, D., Coo, S., Mira, A., & Valdivia, J. (2022) · International Journal of Play · doi:10.1080/21594937.2022.2069346 · Cited by 9
“The majority of the existing studies explore the effect of electronic games on aggression (Hilgard et al., 2017), attention (Zivan et al., 2019), and executive function (Yang et al., 2020) and have yielded mixed results; thus suggesting that we still have a very limited understanding of the…”
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The Basic Needs in Games Model of Video Game Play and Mental Health
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“However, this is a topic of ongoing debate, e.g., [42, 46, 47], and the literature faces continuing concerns surrounding publication bias [45, 70].”
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Ward, M. R. (2019) · Contemporary Economic Policy · doi:10.1111/coep.12451 · Cited by 7
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Teaching Students About Violent Media Effects
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“Some scholars have questioned how robust the meta-analytic results are for violent video game effects, due to possible publication bias (see Hilgard, Engelhardt & Rouder, 2017; but also see response to Hilgard et al., 2017, by Kepes, Bushman, & Anderson, 2017 for a response).”
Background
Action Video Game Training and Its Effects on Perception and Attentional Control
Bediou, B., Bavelier, D., & Green, C. S. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-39292-5_15 · Cited by 7
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Hilgard, J. (2019) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797618815434 · Cited by 6
Self-citation
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“However, a clear consensus remains elusive (de Vrieze, 2018; Mehta & Lakens, 2023), and some researchers argue that VVG research is hampered by methodological flaws and publication bias, leading to an overestimation of the actual effect (e.g., Hilgard et al., 2017).”
Background
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Andersson, A., & Milam, P. (2023) · Ethics and Information Technology · doi:10.1007/s10676-023-09726-6 · Cited by 6
“Others have argued that the field suffers from a publication bias that favors finding an effect of VVGs on aggression (Ferguson, 2007; Ferguson & Kilburn, 2009; Hilgard et al., 2017).”
Background
ADHD symptoms and callous‐unemotional traits as predictors of violent media use in adolescence
Rydell, A., & Brocki, K. C. (2020) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12693 · Cited by 5
Cultural literacy acquisition through video game environments of a digitally born generation.
Shliakhovchuk, O. (2019) · doi:10.4995/thesis/10251/130848 · Cited by 5
Hate and Extremism on Gaming Platforms
Amarasingam, A., & Kelley, D. (2024) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003388371-7 · Cited by 4
Şiddet İçerikli Video Oyunları ve Saldırganlık İlişkisinin Gözden Geçirilmesi
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‘Material likely to harm or disturb them’: testing the alignment between film and game classification decisions and psychological research evidence
Handsley, E., & Warburton, W. (2021) · Psychiatry Psychology and Law · doi:10.1080/13218719.2021.1904446 · Cited by 4
“….14, Ferguson, 2015; r ¼ .02 to .15, Hilgard et al., 2017; pooled estimates .04 to .17, Mathur & VanderWeele, 2019), and to the concerns of some researchers sceptical of a media violence–aggression link (e.g. Elson & Ferguson, 2014; Ferguson, 2015; Ferguson & Beresin, 2017; Hilgard et al., 2017).”
BackgroundInfluential
Effects of Same-Sex Avatar versus Opposite-Sex Avatar Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior among Chinese Children
Zhang, Q., & Gao, J. (2021) · Journal of Aggression Maltreatment & Trauma · doi:10.1080/10926771.2021.1984351 · Cited by 4
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Authors: Hilgard, J., Engelhardt, C. R., & Rouder, J. N.
Affiliations: University of Pennsylvania (US)
University of Missouri (US)
ORCID: Hilgard, Joseph
Engelhardt, Christopher R.
Rouder, Jeffrey N.
Venue: Psychological Bulletin
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2017-07
Volume: 143
Issue: 7
Pages: 757-774
ISSN: 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
1939-1455
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000074
OpenAlex: W2633438608
Semantic Scholar: 2a45c07624c58a274ddadd219b25c3f2a23ac534
Cited by: 162
References: 64
Citations by year: 2026: 11 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 7
FWCI: 25.90
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: hybrid
doi.org
Licence: other-oa
www.apa.org/pubs/journals/resources/open-access.aspx (am, 356 d)
Locations: Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion, other-oa)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: Annenberg Public Policy Center
National Science Foundation (BCS-1240359 and SES-102408)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
Keywords: violent video games, aggression, aggressive affect, publication bias, research bias, trim and fill, methodological quality, preregistration, reanalysis
MeSH terms: Aggression, Humans, Violence, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Publication Bias, Video Games

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Overstated evidence for short-term effects of violent games on affect and behavior: A reanalysis of Anderson et al. (2010).

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