Link between video games and violence might be user frustration

A recent study out of the University of Rochester investigating the link between violence and video games suggests that it's gamer frustration and not game content that may lead to feelings of aggression. The study found that games with poorly-designed controls or excessive difficulty led to player frustration which, in turn, led to feelings of aggression, and this was independent of whether the game's content was violent or not. This study is an interesting and potentially important addition to the long-running debate on the possible connection between video games and aggressive behavior. A further analysis is available here .

[Ed. note: so, if your word processor frustrates you , does that lead to violence too? Because it seems like it might .]