Killology

Violent video games are argued to use a similar stimulus-response-reward structure without the safeguards of formal force training. Killology studies the psychological and physiological effects of killing in combat. Post-World War II military research is used to support the claim that many soldiers did not fire at enemies. The article asserts that most healthy humans have deep internal resistance to killing members of their own species. Modern military and law enforcement training is described as conditioning automatic responses through human-shaped targets and reinforcement. Healthy people are described as needing training to kill effectively.