Oxford study says frustrating gameplay, not violent content, causes aggression in gamers

If you hear a Call of Duty player cursing at his TV set, it’s more likely that their rage came from their lack of success than from exposure to violent content.

A new study by the Oxford Internet Institute and the University of Rochester suggests that incompetence is a major cause of aggressive behavior after playing a video game. Players who struggled with a game were more likely to show aggression. “The study is not saying that violent content doesn’t affect gamers, but … the aggression stems from feeling not in control or incompetent while playing,” said professor Richard Ryan of the University of Rochester, a co-author of the study, to BBC News.