Aggression
Some scholars believe that behaviors like aggression may be partially learned by watching and imitating people's behavior, while other researchers have concluded that the media may have some small effects on aggression. There is also research questioning this view. For instance, a long-term outcome study of youth found no long-term relationship between playing violent video games and youth violence or bullying. One study suggested there is a smaller effect of violent video games on aggression than has been found with television violence on aggression. This effect is positively associated with type of game violence and negatively associated to time spent playing the games. The author concluded that insufficient evidence exists to link video game violence with aggression. However, another study suggested links to aggressive behavior.
Hostile attribution bias
Substantial literature has documented a robust association between hostile attribution bias and aggression in youth. Hostile attribution bias is traditionally associated with overt physical aggression (e.g., hitting, fighting), such that higher levels of hostile attribution bias predict more aggressive behavior. In particular, much evidence suggests that hostile attribution bias is especially linked to "reactive aggression" (i.e., impulsive and "hot-blooded" aggression that reflects an angry retaliation to perceived provocation) rather than "proactive aggression" (i.e., unprovoked, planned/instrumental, or "cold-blooded" aggression). Beyond physical aggression, elevated hostile attribution bias is also associated with increased use of relational aggression (e.g., gossip, spreading rumors, social exclusion). This is particularly the case when youth attribute hostile intent to ambiguous relational situations (e.g., not receiving an invitation to a party or not receiving a response to a text).