长期以来，科学家们在暴力视频游戏是否对青少年存在有害影响上争论不休。事实上，不同群体的研究者的结论相去甚远，幅度就跟网球场上的抽球动作差不多。

　　最高法院不久前推翻了加州禁止暴力视频游戏的禁令。法院说，视频游戏，甚至是富有侵略性的视频游戏，也是受《宪法》第一修正案保护的，而现在并没有确切的证据，证明玩像《侠盗飞车》和《喋血街头》这类游戏确实对人有害。

　　玩暴力视频游戏或许并不会让您的孩子成为一个心理变态的杀手。但我想知道这些孩子会如何对待他们的父母，如何对待他们的兄弟姐妹，他们有多少同情心。――俄亥俄州立大学社会心理学家布拉德-布什曼那么，如何解释科学家关于这些游戏的影响之间的剧烈分歧？具有讽刺意味的是，认为这种游戏有害和认为其无害的科学家们在寻找同样的征兆，只是他们把这征兆看成了两种完成不同的事物。

　　大多数观察暴力视频游戏的影响的实验，参与者是大学生。研究人员把他们分成两组对照：一组玩暴力视频游戏，另一组玩非暴力视频游戏。然后研究人员考查每一组成员的辨别力和他们的行为方式。你不能给年轻人刀枪看看他们玩暴力视频游戏后是否会杀掉彼此，科学家得用别的方法来衡量他的的情绪反应。

　　社会心理学家布拉德-布什曼在俄亥俄州立大学的实验中，曾给学生看暴力图片：一张是一个男子拿枪顶着另一个男子的喉咙，另一张是一个男子拿着刀子对一个女人的喉咙。

　　“我们的发现是：玩过很多暴力视频游戏的人，他们的大脑没对暴力图像做出反应”，布什曼说。“他们麻木了，如果你愿意这么理解的话。”

　　布什曼也让学生们用强噪音轰击彼此。

　　“我们尽量弄出你认为人们最讨厌的各种噪音，”布什曼说。“像指甲在黑板上划过的声音、牙医钻牙的声音，警报等等。”

　　如果他们愿意的话，学生可以弄出像烟雾报警器那么高的声音。实验中的一些学生的行为确实能说明问题。

　　“每个玩过暴力视频游戏的人，都比玩过非暴力视频游戏的人更有侵略性。且他们越麻木，在噪音轰击方面越有侵略性，通过耳机向对手发送越大的噪音。”布什曼说。

　　玩暴力视频游戏导致对暴力去敏感化？

　　这听起来无懈可击。布什曼相信暴力游戏导致年轻人对暴力不敏感。与现实世界中的温和而有同情心的人相比，玩这种游戏的学生好像自私而有害。

　　但德克萨斯斯A＆M国际大学的心理学家克里斯-弗格森不同意这一结论。他进行了类似的实验，看到了不同组别学生类似的行为改变。但他的解释非常不同。

　　弗格森说，他在实验学生中看到了行为改变，但与现实世界中彼此刀枪相见的人比，这些是短暂而微不足道的。

　　“你知道，现在的许多争论确实是围绕这些轻微的攻击性行为的，”他说。“你看，我们谈的就是小孩子彼此伸舌头挑衅一类的鸡毛蒜皮。”

　　弗格森说，人们很容易认为，无谓的暴力视频游戏会引起现实世界中无谓的暴力行为。但他说，这种联想混淆了两个独立事物。

　　“许多这种游戏确实含有在道德层面令人反感的内容，而我认为，这恰是关于这个问题的许多辩论脱离正轨的原因，”他说，“我们对某些此类游戏的道德关注有点错位，这很好理解――我发现许多这种游戏在道德层面让人反感――然后就会联想到违反道德的东西是有害的。”

　　换句话说，如果你把“有害”界定在违法犯罪层面，那暴力视频游戏或许对孩子没什么危险；但如果你担忧的是较轻微的那种“有害”，那暴力视频游戏对孩子是有危险的。

　　“玩暴力视频游戏或许并不会让您的孩子成为一个心理变态的杀手。”布什曼说，“但我想知道这些孩子会如何对待他们的父母，如果对待他们的兄弟姐妹，他们有多少同情心。”

　　如此看来，这些互相辩斗的科学研究，并非真的在互相争执――他们只是对观察到的实验结果做出不同的主观推断。或许也正是因此，布什曼和弗格森在一件事上达成一致：

　　作为父亲，他们已禁止自己的孩子玩暴力视频游戏。

　　译文：

　　Scientists have long clashed over whether violent video games have an adverse effect on young people. Indeed, the conclusions of different groups of researchers are so contradictory they could give a tennis umpire whiplash.

　　The Supreme Court recently overturned a California ban on violent video games. The court said that video games, even offensive ones, were protected by the First Amendment, and that there wasn't clear evidence that playing games such as Grand Theft Auto and Postal really harmed people.

　　So what explains the vehement disagreements among scientists about the effects of these games? The irony is that scientists who think the games are harmful and those who think they're not are both looking at the same evidence. They just see two different things.

　　Most experiments into the effects of violent video games are done with college students. Researchers divide them into two groups. One group plays a violent game, the other a non-violent video game. Then researchers measure how students in each group feel and how they behave. You can't give young people guns and knives to see whether they'll kill each other after playing a violent video game, so scientists have come up with other ways to measure emotional responses.

　　Social psychologist Brad Bushman at The Ohio State University once showed students violent pictures: one of a man shoving a gun down another man's throat; another of a man holding a knife to a woman's throat.

　　"What we found is for people who were exposed to a lot of violent video games, their brains did not respond to the violent images," Bushman said. "They were numb, if you will."Bushman also had the students blast each other with loud noises.

　　"We try to make the noise as unpleasant as possible by thinking of every noise you hate," Bushman said. "So like fingernails scratching on a chalkboard, dentist drills, sirens."Students could make the sound as loud as a smoke alarm, if they wanted. Some students in the experiments got really mean.

　　"Everybody was more aggressive if they'd played a violent game than if they'd played a nonviolent game, and the more numb they were, the more aggressive they were in terms of blasting their opponent with loud noise through headphones," Bushman said.

　　Desensitization Toward Violence?

　　That sounds airtight. Bushman believes that violent video games desensitize young people. Compared to people in the real world who are gentle and compassionate, students playing these games seem to be mean and hurtful.

　　But Chris Ferguson, a psychologist at the Texas A&M International University, disagrees. He's conducted similar experiments and also sees similar behavior changes among students. But he interprets them very differently.

　　Compared to people in the real world who shoot and stab one another, Ferguson said the changes in behavior he's seen among students are transient and trivial.

　　So what explains the vehement disagreements among scientists about the effects of these games? The irony is that scientists who think the games are harmful and those who think they're not are both looking at the same evidence. They just see two different things.

　　Most experiments into the effects of violent video games are done with college students. Researchers divide them into two groups. One group plays a violent game, the other a non-violent video game. Then researchers measure how students in each group feel and how they behave. You can't give young people guns and knives to see whether they'll kill each other after playing a violent video game, so scientists have come up with other ways to measure emotional responses.

　　Social psychologist Brad Bushman at The Ohio State University once showed students violent pictures: one of a man shoving a gun down another man's throat; another of a man holding a knife to a woman's throat.

　　"What we found is for people who were exposed to a lot of violent video games, their brains did not respond to the violent images," Bushman said. "They were numb, if you will."Bushman also had the students blast each other with loud noises.

　　"We try to make the noise as unpleasant as possible by thinking of every noise you hate," Bushman said. "So like fingernails scratching on a chalkboard, dentist drills, sirens."Students could make the sound as loud as a smoke alarm, if they wanted. Some students in the experiments got really mean.

　　"Everybody was more aggressive if they'd played a violent game than if they'd played a nonviolent game, and the more numb they were, the more aggressive they were in terms of blasting their opponent with loud noise through headphones," Bushman said.

　　Desensitization Toward Violence?

　　That sounds airtight. Bushman believes that violent video games desensitize young people. Compared to people in the real world who are gentle and compassionate, students playing these games seem to be mean and hurtful.

　　But Chris Ferguson, a psychologist at the Texas A&M International University, disagrees. He's conducted similar experiments and also sees similar behavior changes among students. But he interprets them very differently.

　　Compared to people in the real world who shoot and stab one another, Ferguson said the changes in behavior he's seen among students are transient and trivial.