Aggressor Games

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Aggressor Games: Of Violent Video Games and Aggression among Higher-income Group Schoolchildren in Malaysia Thanaseelen Rajasakran, Andy K.C. Wong, Santhidran Sinnappan, Vashnarekha Kumarasuriar, Geraldine Pangiras and Sivan Koran Science Technology Society 2014 19: 383 DOI: 10.1177/0971721814548113 The online version of this article can be found at: http://sts.sagepub.com/content/19/3/383

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Introduction   383

Aggressor Games: Of Violent Video Games and Aggression among Higher-income Group Schoolchildren in Malaysia Thanaseelen Rajasakran, Andy K.C. Wong, Santhidran Sinnappan, Vashnarekha Kumarasuriar, Geraldine Pangiras and Sivan Koran Violent video games have been linked to being one of the causes for increased aggressive behaviour and juvenile crimes in many developed and developing societies. This exploratory study investigates the effects of high income and gender on playing violent video games in Malaysia, and how it results in poor academic performance amongst secondary school children. This is a case study for other middle income nations in Southeast Asia, which also have strong Eastern cultural and religious beliefs. Contrary to earlier findings, the results indicated that boys from higher income backgrounds had a higher propensity for playing violent video games than adolescents from lower income backgrounds.

Thanaseelen Rajasakran (corresponding author), PhD Candidate, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University/Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Communication and Visual Arts Building, 5, Hereford Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. E-mail: [email protected] Andy K.C. Wong, Assistant Dean (Undergraduate Studies), CUHK Business School, Chinese University, Cheng Yu Tung Building, No. 12 Chak Cheung Street, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong. E-mail: [email protected] Santhidran Sinnappan, Assistant Professor, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Multimedia & Communication Department, Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, No 3 Jalan 13/6, 46200, Petaling Jaya Selangor, Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected] Vashnarekha Kumarasuriar, Lecturer, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Multimedia & Communication Department, Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, No 3 Jalan 13/6, 46200, Petaling Jaya Selangor, Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected] Geraldine Pangiras, Lecturer, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Multimedia & Communication Department, Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, No 3 Jalan 13/6, 46200, Petaling Jaya Selangor, Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected] Sivan Koran, Lecturer, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Multimedia & Communication Department, Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, No 3 Jalan 13/6, 46200, Petaling Jaya Selangor, Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected]

Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398 SAGE Publications Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/Singapore/Washington DC DOI: 10.1177/0971721814548113

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384    Thanaseelen Rajasakran et al. The same effect though, is not manifested on adolescent girls. Nevertheless, playing violent video games was positively related to trait aggressive and negatively to academic performance in both the sexes. Our findings shed new light on socio-economic and demographic factors influencing violent video gaming, offering insights to both policy-makers and theoreticians in researching gaming effects.

Senseless massacres! Cold irrational rapes! All signs of affluence and development—and moral decadence, as suggested by Garland (2001) and Zimring and Hawkins (1997) in the United States and Britain. The recent spate of shoot-out killings in the states of Texas, Wisconsin and Colorado (Forsyth, 2012), USA are all increasing samples of the violent nature that occurs in high-income and developed societies. What perhaps caused concern within society was when news went viral about Anders Behring Breivik and James Holmes, the Norwegian and American mass shooters (Foxnews.com, 2012). It was reported both were obsessed with the bloody, gory and suggestively themed violent video game of World of Warcraft—a fantasy role-playing strategy game rated Teen (T) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (Amazon.com, n.d.). Having said that, globally juvenile crime rates have been on the increase since the 1990s (tdh-childprotection.org, 2003) and crimes committed in most lowand middle-income nations are more severe in nature than high-income nations (Shaw et al., 2000), a sign that does not augur well for these countries. In truth, extensive research has already been conducted on the strong correlation link between violent video games and aggression on males and females (for example, Anderson, 2004; Anderson and Dill, 2000; Kontour, 2009; Uhlmanna and Swanson, 2004). Apparently, previous studies have also shown 89 per cent of video games had elements of serious violence and violent related features towards other characters in the game (childrennow.org, 2001; Dill et al., 2001). However, it must be mentioned that most of the violent video game studies were undertaken in high-income nations—in which violent video games happen to be highly popular (Wei, 2007). What about emerging economies with increasing disposable incomes—with strong Eastern cultural and religious backgrounds? This being the case, and coupled with the contention made by Allahverdipour et al. (2010) that proof is obtainable that violent video games have become rife among adolescents in low- and middleincome nations, it is imperative to conduct studies that link playing violent video games to academic performance and aggression on gender, especially in newly emerging middle-income countries in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam (Sumner et al., 2012). Since video games are increasingly gaining popularity in emerging Southeast Asian economies, and violent video games make up a ‘lion’s share’ (Dill and Dill, 1998), this could ruin the future socio-economic balance of a nation—if this trend is left unchecked for adolescents. All things considered, what then influences adolescents to play violent video games, which aggravates aggression and results in juvenile crimes Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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in many countries, including newly emerging middle-income countries in Southeast Asia? The reasons are plenty. From boredom, lack of love, dysfunctional families and low-income family backgrounds, juveniles look for attention, sensory rewards or arousals elsewhere, which they cannot find at home. Violent video games may be one option (Kirsh, 2003). What is more, with the cheaper cost of technology, easy availability of new media, and the idea of media convergence in many middle-income societies, it will surely lead many juveniles to experience temporary bouts of escapism from their realities of despair on the home front. Research Objective

Focusing on adolescents, the present study examines the effects of family income levels on violent video game exposure, which leads to poor academic performance and increased aggression. To the authors’ knowledge, this interaction between income and gender has not been looked into. If a relationship is established, the authors’ aspiration is that it would become a case study for middle-income Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand to look into the influence of income levels on the propensity to play violent video games. Literature Review Effects of Income on Violent Video Games and Aggression

Generally, aggressiveness has been found to be closely linked to the lowincome group. Farrington and West (1971) indicated self-reported violence at age fourteen by low-income families. Interestingly with regards to low income males, Farrington (1989) had found that 39.8 per cent were aggressive as adolescents (ages twelve–fourteen) and 43.5 per cent as adults (age of thirty-two). Similar views were expressed by Guerra et al. (1995). As for the effect of income on playing video games, those who are from poorer families generally play more video games, are exposed more frequently to mass media, and are more prone to the influence of media (Gentile and Walsh, 2002; Rideout et al., 1999; Roberts and Foehr, 2008). Elsewhere, Konijin et al. (2007) also found that violent video game characters made boys from low income and educational backgrounds aggressive. In sum, the lower income group appears to be the most vulnerable to the detrimental influences of violent video games. However, we advocate that the link between low income and violent game consumption does not always hold valid. Our rationale is threefold. First, though the cost of technology is decreasing, game consoles and software are still pricey and only accessible by families with greater spending power, which Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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incidentally represent new status symbols (Leung, 1998; Rogers, 1986). Second, middle-class families, particularly those in Southeast Asia, require both parents to work (Stanley, 2011). Children are more often than not are looked after by domestic helpers, who sometimes fail to enforce the rules of media consumption set by the parents (Stanley, 2011). As a result, children in these middle-class families enjoy more freedom to pick their media content including video games. Third, gaming is an escape to vicariously experience a vastly different life (Jansz and Tanis, 2007; Schwartz, 2006). Children from high-income families can satisfy their curiosity of a different ‘world’, by immersing themselves in to a realm of fantasy and make-believe. Therefore, we propose a different income effect on violent game consumption from what conventional studies suggest. Specifically, we posit that children from higher income families are exposed more intensely to violent video games than those from lower income families. R1: Students from higher income families are exposed more intensely to violent video games than those from lower income families. Effects of Gender on Violent Video Gaming and Aggression

As the popularity and the availability of video games continue to escalate, research on the antecedents to violent game exposure has been growing, of which gender differences have received significant attention. In fact, Funk et al. (2003) showed there was a significant correlation between gender and violent video game exposure. Thus far research has indicated boys were exposed to more violent video games than girls (for example, Bartholow and Anderson, 2001; Buchman and Funk, 1996; Gentile et al., 2004). In any case, going by the contention made by Meyer (1973) that violent media characters strongly relate more to boys, it may be inferred that exposure to violent media or violent media characters are also strongly related to overt aggressive behaviour in boys in ‘every country’ (Huesmann and Eron, 1984). Nonetheless, much of the previous studies were conducted in high-income Western nations with lax spiritual values. Quite unlike the West, Southeast Asia has a strong religious foundation (Iwamoto and Liu, 2010), and therefore has strong cultural beliefs that are deeply rooted and influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism and Islamic spiritual values. Consequently, their citizens are deemed to be sheltered by their traditions (Suh, 1997). Contrary to this strong Eastern belief system, we however posit the view that boys in middle-income Southeast Asian countries are also attracted by violent video games—in fact, much more than girls. We base our rationale on the observation that the arrival of new digital media— as status icons and fashion statements—has indeed proliferated now that more Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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Southeast Asian nations have higher disposable incomes. This onslaught has resulted in boys being more influenced by such environmental cues, such as video games (Anderson et. al., 2010) towards aggression. Moreover, quite unlike Asian boys, Asian girls are still taught the rudiments, skills, roles and attitudes that encourage dependency (Bialeschki, 1990) on the male figure at a young age by their parents. Thus, we posit boys in Southeast Asian countries, similar to Western nations, are likely to spend more time on electronic games (Olson et al., 2007) seeking increased excitement levels of risks and rewards (Griffiths, 1991)—typically indicating traits of male stereotype behaviour. Moreover, relative to boys, girls reported lower affect and arousal, especially during video games (Kuby and Larson, 1990). Therefore, despite the strong Southeast Asian cultural context, we would like to propose boys are more exposed to violent video gaming than girls. R2: Male students are more exposed to violent video games than female students. Effects of Aggression Traits on Violent Video Gaming and Academic Performance

Individuals who are termed as aggressive are often theorised as angry, having the tendency to engage in verbal and physical aggression or hostility (Anderson and Bushman, 2001; Buss and Perry, 1992). Since the vast majority of the most popular video games have violent content, involving ruthless mass massacres as the principal objective of winning the game (Buchman and Funk, 1996; Dietz, 1998; Funk et al., 1999), this will then have a tendency to attract individuals with more aggressive behaviours (Norris, 2004). Not surprisingly, the Mature (M) rated game that is voted the most popular is Mortal Kombat (Elmer-DeWitt et al., 1993; Funk et al., 1999; Ramadge and Connelly, 2011). The interesting fact is that it is well documented that exposure to violent content in the media also surges aggression levels (Bushman 1998; Signorielli and Gerbner, 1995; Smith and Donnerstein, 1998). Not surprisingly there have been numerous studies that link the amount of time spent on media exposure, that is, playing video games with lackadaisical personal growth, such as poor academic performance (Anderson and Dill, 2000; Gentile et al., 2004; Rideout et al., 1999). Again, these studies have been undertaken in developed nations such as the United States, South Korea and Japan, purely on the reasoning that in most contemporary countries, people of various ages are consistently exposed to large quantities of media violence, including video games (Comstock and Scharrer, 2007; Gentile et al., 2007; Kirsh, 2006). Hence we would like to test if this is true among students in culturally imbibed middle-income Southeast Asia. Our reasoning is that the classic Asian parent’s mentality is that academic performance is crucial for life’s success, and will Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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ensure all resources are available to accomplish this mission (pewsocialtrends.org, 2012). In fact, Asians have been able to nurture themselves despite modernisation and globalisation (Suh, 1997). Though this seems plausible in relation to the Asian context, we however differ in our opinion. So, we would like to postulate that students with higher aggression will perform worse academically than those who are less aggressive in nature. R3: Students who have a greater exposure to violent video games display a higher degree of aggressiveness, and will perform worse academically than those who are less exposed to violent video games. Proposed Theoretical Framework

Our proposed study is synthesised on the General Affective Aggression Model (GAAM), constructed by Anderson and Dill (2000)—a key study on the video game hypotheses. According to the authors, previous studies have not adequately tested this theory, which describes the theoretical relationship between playing violent video games, and the associated aggressive perception, outlook and conduct. GAAM has emerged from extensive aggression-based spheres (for example, Anderson et al., 1996; Anderson et al., 1998; Dill et al., 1997), social learning theory as understood by Bandura (1973), cognitive association model by Berkowitz (1993), social information-processing models by of Crick and Dodge (1994), Geen’s (1990) affective aggression model, Huesmann’s social-cognitive model of media violence effects (Huesmann, 1986), and Zillmann’s (1983) excitation transfer model. On this note, our study figuratively illustrates the moderating effects of income and gender on playing violent video games and the resulting behavioural outcomes on academic performance and aggression, as shown in Figure 1. Methodology

To test our hypotheses pertaining to the effects of income and gender on violent gaming, we have chosen Malaysia as a testing ground. Described by the World Bank as upper middle-income nation, Malaysia with a population of 28.8 million has a middle-income household population of nearly more than 50 per cent. (theborneopost.com, 2011). In fact, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 2012) states the percentage of households in the income class of RM 5000 (US$1600) and above has increased from 16.8 per cent to 24.2 per cent in 2010. By 2015, the United Nations projects Malaysia’s urban population to account for 76 per cent of its total population (theborneopost.com, 2011). In tandem, the average urban household spending is almost double that of rural households (theborneopost.com, 2011). Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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Aggressor Games     389 Figure 1 Theoretical Model of the Effects of Income and Gender on Violent Video Gaming

Source: Adapted from Anderson and Dill (2000).

With a growing population that is increasingly becoming more affluent, many young Malaysian adolescents will more likely adopt new media, which are considered as status symbols, as indicated by Rogers (1986). As is evidenced by Leung (1998) ‘the adoption of certain new media technologies appeared to project certain social identities such as life expansionist, sophisticated and fashionable’. Unfortunately juvenile crimes in Malaysia has also been increasing in tandem— with students being involved in serious crime such as murder, rape and robbery. In 2008, 3,629 students aged between thirteen and eighteen were arrested for various crimes—388 more compared to 2007. In fact, 295 students were caught in the first two months of 2009. This translated to one and a half criminals to every 1000 students in the country, which is an alarming trend (Beh, 2009). Coupled with Price waterhouse Cooper’s (PwC’s) outlook for 2011–2015 that stated the video games market in Malaysia is poised to grow at a compound annual rate of 6.8 per cent (Nayagam, 2011), it all points to the direction that video games is going to be big business in Malaysia—and detrimental to its socio-economic balance. Sample

A total of 984 secondary school students in Malaysia (grade seven through grade ten; average age was fourteen) were recruited to complete the video game habit questionnaires in school. Of these, 495 were female. Both public and private schools were included to cover a wide range of socio-economical background. A total of 63 per cent of the respondents reported a total family income of RM 3500 (US$1120) or below, a figure close to the average household income in Malaysia (Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 2012). Therefore, we used the household income of RM 3500 as a cut-off for dividing the sample into lower (RM 3500 or below) and higher (above RM 3500) income groups for subsequent analyses. Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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390    Thanaseelen Rajasakran et al. Measures

Respondents first answered demographical questions including their age, gender, grade, ethnicity, family income and academic performance in class. Then they completed a 29-item, 7-point Buss–Perry Scale, which measured trait aggressiveness in four dimensions, namely physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility (Buss and Perry, 1992). All four subscales corresponding to these four dimensions showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α’s range from 0.66 to 0.82). They were averaged into four composites of physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility respectively. We also computed a single aggressive personality score by averaging all items of the Buss–Perry Scale (Anderson and Dill, 2000). Next, all respondents wrote down five games that they had played the most since they were a seventh grader. For the top three most played games, they indicated how frequently they played (for example, ‘In recent months, how often have you played this game?’; ‘In the past two years, how often have you played this game?’) and how violent the game was perceived to be (for example, ‘How violent is the content of this game?’; ‘How bloody or gory are the graphics of this game?’). Since the patterns of the top three games were highly consistent, we focused on the most played game in the following analyses. We computed an index of violent game exposure by multiplying the perceived degree of violence of the most played game by the frequency of playing that game(Elmer-DeWitt et al., 1993; Funk et al., 1999; Ramadge and Connelly, 2011). Results Trait Aggressiveness

Past research generally suggests that males are more aggressive in disposition than females. Analysing the data from our sample of high school students in a 2 (gender: male vs female) × 2 (income: low vs high) ANOVA, we did not find a similar gender difference in the trait aggressiveness (Mmale = 3.34 vs Mfemale = 3.26, F(1, 990) = 1.82, p = 0.18). However, we did find a significant main effect of income (F(1, 990) = 23.99, p < 0.001) and an interaction between gender and income (F(1, 990) = 4.23, p = 0.04). Contrary to past studies that children from a poorer family are more aggressive than their richer counterparts, we witness the opposite such that students from the higher income group (M = 3.45) were more aggressive than those from the lower income group (M = 3.15). This income main effect was further qualified by an interaction between gender and income such that the effect was stronger among male than female students. Violent Game Exposure

Submitting the index of violent game exposure to a similar 2 (gender: male vs female) ◊ 2 (income: low vs high) ANOVA, we found significant main effects Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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of gender and income and a marginally significant interaction between gender and income. First, students from the higher income group reported higher exposure to violent games than did those from the lower income group (Mhigh = 13.99 vs Mlow = 12.04, F(1, 990) = 6.75, p = 0.01), lending support to H1. Also, male students’ exposure to violent games were higher than female students (Mmale = 17.14 vs Mfemale = 8.89, F(1, 990) = 120.44, p < 0.001), thus supporting H2. Interestingly, the income effect depended on the students’ gender as suggested by the interaction effect (F(1, 990) = 3.54, p = 0.06). The income effect was only observed among male students (Mhigh = 18.83 vs Mlow = 15.46, t(497) = 2.76, p = 0.006) but not among female students (Mhigh = 9.15 vs Mlow = 8.62, t(493) = 0.62, NS). Academic Performance

As posited in H3, violent game exposure directly threatens academic performance and exerts its effect indirectly through trait aggressiveness. To test our hypotheses we built a series of regression models in accordance with Baron and Kenny (1986) guidelines. First, academic performance was regressed on violent game exposure and the results confirmed the negative impact of violent game exposure on academic performance (β = −0.016, t(992) = −4.29, p < 0.001). Next, trait aggressiveness was regressed on violent game exposure and the positive relationship was observed (β = 0.019, t(992) = 7.76, p < 0.001). Academic performance was then regressed on trait aggressiveness. As expected, academic performance was negatively related to aggressiveness (β= −0.185, t(992) = −3.92, p < 0.001). Finally, both violent game exposure and aggressiveness entered into the regression model to predict academic performance. Both indicators remained significant (βaggression = −0.145, t(992) = −3.00, p = 0.003); (βviolent = −0.013, t(992) = −3.47, p = 0.001). To determine if the effect of violent game exposure was significantly reduced by the inclusion of trait aggressiveness as a mediator, a Sobel test was conducted. In support of our hypothesis, the test revealed a significant effect (z = 3.64, p < 0.001). Taken together, the results from our regression analyses and Sobel test indicated that trait aggressiveness partially mediated the effect of violent game exposure on academic performance. Discussion and Conclusion

This article has made a crucial contribution to game studies in the Southeast Asian context. First, going one step further from Allahverdipour et al. (2010), our findings show boys from higher income backgrounds increase their chances of displaying aggressive behaviour by playing more violent video games, which is going to be a socio-economic challenge for the Malaysia going forward. Our findings indicate violent game exposure which directly threatens academic performance is Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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even more nation threatening. Indeed this is a worrisome trend, as past research have already posited the positive relationship between playing violent games and aggressiveness. Second, this research supports the notion that most company officials turn a blind eye and ear, and ignore relevant theory and data that supports the positive link between violent video games and aggressiveness (Dill and Dill, 1998). With the rising trend in video gaming industry in middle income Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand (iesherpa.com, 2011), and coupled with the fact that there no definite video gaming laws in Thailand and Malaysia (asiaone.com, 2009; Faylor, 2008), it is harder to control the violent content in these countries. Ironically although Vietnam is facing potential dangers due to video games, including murder (Ngo, 2012)—and thinking of enacting a law—it has released its own version of a war game (Gerges, 2012). Meanwhile in Indonesia, it boils down to parenting roles and instilling proper Indonesian values in children (thejakartaglobe.com, 2012). This means it is going to be a major battle for government officials in these countries, as the issue of video game content lies with the relevant game manufacturers. Third, this study concurs with earlier findings that parents need to increasingly supervise adolescents playing video games (Olsonet et al., 2007). In addition child specialists also need to play a crucial role via the media in educating parents on the positive and negative effects of video game playing. Fourth, this study supports the idea that ‘boys [may] use games to channel anger and relieve stress’ (Olson et al., 2008) which may not be in the country’s long-term social interest. Fifth, this study opines that government needs to play a more cohesive role by airing advertorials on mass media on the ill effects of violent video game, and to promote positive mental and social behaviour. Otherwise violent games, which are a mixture of danger and reward (Konijin et al., 2007) will lead early adolescents astray in their ‘risk and novelty seeking’ (Kirsh, 2003). Sixth, the findings have indicated that students who have greater exposure to violent video games are ultimately poor academic performers, as concurred by previous research (Baxter et al., 1995; Huesmann, 1988; Huesmann et al., 1984). Poor academic performers also identify themselves with more violence in reality easily (Huesmann and Eron, 1984). On reflection, these findings have unveiled some interesting antecedents that developing middle-income nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand are facing, and will be encountering with regards to violent video gaming. New emerging lifestyle and living arrangements, reflecting the realities of double-income families and other factors such as increased urbanisation, peer pressures and media have also greatly contributed to this dilemma (tdh-childprotection. org, 2003). Lonely, bored—and without the correct supervision, adolescents are given luxury and money (thestar.com.my, 2012) as a form of substitution for love and time (thestar.com.my, 2004, 2006). Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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As a consequence, adolescents may even tend to splurge on new media goods such as video games, as a form of social interaction to reach out to friends—a common occurrence among the males (Jansz and Tanis, 2007; Lucas and Sherry, 2004). This becomes addictive and loops into a vicious cycle. Why? Since most video games are targeted towards the male audience, via rich audio-visual content, and as a way for the boys to test their visual and display skills (Keisler et al., 1983). Perhaps what this study has shown is that H1 may not be an isolated case in the context of middle-income nations consisting Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Credence to H1 can further be extended by the observation that this may already be occurring in high-income families in developed countries as well. For example, in the case of Breivik and Holmes—both played violent video games—came from high-income and well-educated backgrounds (Henley, 2012; Quigley, 2012). But what could possibly be a future apprehension is that although in Southeast Asia, the girls are currently considered relatively docile, as compared to the West, as early on in their socialisation process they are taught about the Asian value and feminine role in these societies. This disparity is nonetheless increasingly blurring with the obvious increased Western values and the associated feelings of power and individuality (Edelman, 2008). And the confounding proliferation of video games is not going to help this quandary. In the final analysis, be it violent video games may corrupt behaviour, or is it a harmless leisure activity, it is crucial for the government of the day to study its long-term effects on its young generation. Otherwise the new cultural identity of the ‘finger-talking’ generation in any country—for their ability to abstain from less face-to-face talk time, and instead choose to communicate via touch or type electronically, resulting in an entirely different culture of the 1960s generation—is in danger of becoming social misfits. Because it can be safely argued adolescents these days are generally attuned to the exciting and emotional appeal of ‘challenge and rewards’ (Carnagey and Anderson, 2005) identity that they seek in violent video games. Limitations and Directions for Future Research

There are several limitations of this study. First, it is constrained by a self-report survey. Thus, some interviewees may not have reported truthfully (that is, overrate their academic performance, underrate their video playing). In addition the inability to separate real characters from cartoon characters in the survey may have weakened our research to find significant results. Second, this study was only conducted in one urban area in Malaysia. Third, although income may be a confounding factor on gender, a longitudinal study may need to be undertaken to have consistency. Future research could extend to other parts of Malaysia, and even cross-country studies between Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Another new dimension that could be added is whether playing violent video games is addictive among adolescent girls in Southeast Asia, or even do Muslim adolescents in Southeast Science, Technology & Society 19:3 (2014): 383–398

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Asian countries have high sensation-seeking behaviours (for example, the correlation between risk and reward), despite their religious background, and thus prefer to play more violent video games. Practical Suggestions

In terms of policy implications, this study encourages Southeast Asian governments to have a serious re-look at implementing policies towards controlling video games with violent content. First, laws on video rating systems can be introduced, thus making it illegal for minors to purchase videos rated as violent. It could be based on the American Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) or the European Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system. Second, ensuring manufacturers of video games follow a moral conduct guideline when developing video content for adolescents. References Allahverdipour, H., Bazargan, M., Farhadinasab, A. and Moeini, B. (2010). Correlates of video games playing among adolescents in an Islamic country. BMC Public Health, 10(286), 2–7. Amazon.com. (n.d.). World of warcraft. Retrieved 2 September 2012, from http://www.amazon.com/ World-Warcraft-Mac/dp/B000067FDW Anderson, C.A. (2004). An update on the effects of playing violent video games. Journal of Adolescence, 27(1), 113–122. Anderson, C.A., Anderson, K.B. and Deuser, W.E. (1996). Examining an affective aggression framework: Weapon and temperature effects on aggressive thoughts, affect, and attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(4), 366–376. Anderson, K.B., Anderson, C.A., Dill, K.E. and Deuser, W.E. (1998). The interactive relations between trait hostility, pain, and aggressive thoughts. Aggressive Behavior, 24(3), 161–171. Anderson, C.A. and Dill, K.E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 772–790. Anderson, C.A. and Bushman, B.J. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A metaanalytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12(5), 353–359. Anderson, C.A., Ihori, N., Bushman, B.J., Rothstein, H.R., Shibuya, A., Swing, E.L., and Saleem, M. (2010). Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern and Western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 151–173. asiaone.com. (2009). Video games: Fighting violence. Retrieved 23 September 2012, from http:// www.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20090316-128725.html Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Baron, R.M. and Kenny, D.A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173. Bartholow, B. D. and Anderson, C. A. (2002). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behaviour: Potential sex differences. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(3), 283–290. Baxter, D.J., Motiuk, L.L. and Fortin, S. (1995). Intelligence and personality in criminal offenders. In International Handbook of Personality and Intelligence (p. 675). New York: Plenum Press. Beh, Y.H. (2009). Juvenile crime is on the rise: Lam. The Star Online. Retrieved 15 August 2012, from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/4/nation/20090404162403&sec=nation

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