A study carried out at Rutgers and Villanova Universities in the has linked violent behaviour to individual personalities.

Drs Patrick and Charlotte Markey's research indicates that violent behaviour is linked with prior dispositions rather than any particular exposure to violent media such as films, cartoons or games.

Patrick Markey said: "Individuals are not 'blank slates. One's general disposition moderates the effect of violent media. General policy recommendations based on the notion that violent videogames (VVGs) are simply 'bad' and individuals who play violent videogames will inevitably become aggressive appear to be unwarranted."

He added: "Instead it is crucial to consider the dispositional characteristics of the person playing the videogame when predicting the type of effect the violent videogame might have on his or her hostility."

The study examined what the report described as a 'perfect storm' of personality traits that could potentially lead to violent behaviour - namely a high level of neuroticism, low agreeableness and low conscientiousness.

118 teenagers were exposed to violent and non-violent games and then assessed on their levels of hostility. Only those participants who displayed the 'perfect storm' of personality traits were significantly affected by violent games.

This seems to indicate that there is no direct link between violent video games and violent behaviour.

The report ends: "Although the incidences of violence, particularly school violence, linked to videogames are alarming, what should perhaps surprise us more is that there are not more VVG-driven violent episodes. Given the number of youths who regularly engage in VVG play and the general concern regarding this media, it would seem likely that resulting violent episodes would be a regular occurrence. And yet, daily reports of mass are not reported."

Thanks GamesIndustry.biz.

By Ewan Aiton