So, social psychologist Albert Bandura performed a couple of experiments in the 1960s, and he proposed that aggressive behaviour can be learnt. Basically, in experimental group he had kids watch an adult physically and verbally assault a Bobo doll. Kids in control group watched an adult play with other toys while the Bobo doll was left untouched. Then, kids from both groups played with some toys from a different room, until they were no longer allowed (this was done to build up frustration). Instead they were offered to play with toys in a room, where the Bobo doll and some other toys were. The results concluded that kids in experimental group showed more aggressive behaviour towards the Bobo doll. In a different experiment he also concluded that aggressive behaviour can be learnt trough cartoons or movies. [Here’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobo_doll_experiment) a link to a more detailed explanation.
So my question is, how is it possible that there are apparently no newer and stronger links between violent games/movies and violent behaviour, especially since games/movies are getting more realistic?
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Of course there is a connection, but is it important? All Bandura showed was that it was possible. Hardly anybody expected something else. Children are often seen play acting things their parents do.
However, when thousands of people play a violent video game almost all of them do not become violent in real life. Something is “different” in the people who become violent, and it’s not the game.
This is not ELI5 in any way but you might be interested to look at Huessmann & Taylor (2006) review of behavioral studies like this. TLDR is: there’s a link between violence in games and tv and violence in real life. It’s real.
Bandura’s experiment suggests that aggressive play will be mimicked. A better analog would be that children who watch an adult play a violent video game will be more inclined to play that video game.
The Bobo experiment suggests that children will mimic violent behavior which they see others perform. When a child plays a violent video game, they are not seeing violent behavior enacted; they are seeing a video game be played. If the child were watching a video of actual violence, that would fit more neatly with the Bobo experiment.
The Bobo experiment also has more to do with seeing how violent (or other) behavior is responded to; namely, if someone is punished for violent behavior, a child watching that will be less inclined to show violent behavior. There is not this kind of context provided when playing video games.
Long story short – it is an apples and oranges scenario. The Bobo experiment has little to do with violent video games.
The experiment establishes that the kids who watch an adult be violent against a doll, are also more likely to be violent against the doll when they play with it.
This is not the same as establishing that kids who watch an adult be violent against a doll will commit violence against each other.
The experiment shows that kid learn by imitation, but an important part of that is that they also learn boundaries by watching grown up behaviour.
A young child being shown that they can act out against an inanimate object with no repercussions and then doing so is a pretty specific set of conditions, and should not surprise anyone.
If you look at the ratings system for movies and games, and the shows that are being broadcast “for kids” in the morning, you’ll see that they don’t include the type of violence used in this study. So, basically, as a society, we try to not show that stuff to kids, and block access to violence until they’re older and more capable of understanding all the ramifications, and the difference between games and reality.
Also, for adults, the whole idea behind sports and games is to discharge “violence” and stress in settings that are not real and/or have rules behind them. You have a bit of anger, adrenaline, stress, whatever, play a game or a sport to discharge it instead of looking for real fights with other people.
So, TLDR, the experiment shows that aggressive behavior can be learned from observation, but we don’t present children with games/movies at an age when they’re *learning*, we present them much later, AFTER they’ve learned from parents and through school that violence is NOT ok. So sports and games become a way to “discharge” adrenaline / stress without having to perform actual violence.
I believe the key difference is the fact that it’s an adult (therefore a potential role model) making the aggression versus a video game creating an image of aggression.
Kids see an adult act violently, they see that it’s ok to do so in a real life scenario. Their role model did the action, so it must be fine!
On the other hand, even kids can tell the difference between a video game and real life. They know that the acts of aggression aren’t real, and they. certainly aren’t being conducted by a real role model.
In the bobo experiment the person is observing violence. In video games a person is an active participant in violence.
Violence in video games and TV seems too removed from the actual act to me. You can’t just twiddle your thumbs and have your enemies drop dead in front of you. You can’t just lay on your couch and eat popcorn to stop the evil empire. Even if your brain sees violence, this is what your body is learning.
There is a difference between seeing something play out in real life, even if the object of violence is not a real living thing (people are disturbed by violence against robots), and fantasy. We *know* that video-games are not real, therefore it doesn’t inform our actions nearly as much. Having said that, there is a de-sensitization effect that goes on AND people begin to mistake what real violence is for what they see in the movies. Neither of those are good things. Real violence is gritty and harsh while televised violence is glorified. If you actually portrayed violence in a realistic manner people wouldn’t watch your movie or play your game. If you portrayed sex the way it actually happens people would be bored by sex scenes.
TLDR – most humans are good at recognizing what is real and what is not
IMHO, The experiment was very different from movie-to-behavior link.
In experiment, young children see an adult play with a toy in a certain way, and then end up playing with same toy in the same way.
The way the child looks at an adult is very different from how a teen looks at character in movie or videogame. Playing with a toy is very different from acting in a real world, especially since Bobo doll is designed so it is fun to hit it, and it does not look like a human or animal.
There are also boring criticism of their scientific methods:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobo_doll_experiment#Criticisms
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