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Have LEGO Products Become More Violent?
Christoph Bartneck1, Qi Min Ser1, Elena Moltchanova2
1HIT Lab NZ, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Plos One
|May 21, 2016
Summary
LEGO products have become more violent over time. Analysis of weapon bricks and catalog images from 1978-2014 shows a significant increase in depicted violence, challenging the perception of innocent children
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Toy Industry Analysis
- Media Violence Studies
Background:
- Physical toys remain popular despite digital media's prevalence.
- The LEGO Group is the world's largest toy manufacturer.
- Concerns exist regarding the potential for toy products to depict violence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether LEGO products have exhibited an increase in violence over time.
- To analyze trends in weapon brick usage within LEGO sets.
- To assess the perceived violence in LEGO product catalogs from 1978 to 2014.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative analysis of weapon brick frequency in LEGO sets.
- Empirical study of perceived violence in LEGO product catalogs.
- Longitudinal data collection covering the period 1978–2014.
Main Results:
- A significant increase in the frequency of weapon bricks in LEGO sets was observed.
- Perceived violence in LEGO product catalogs has significantly increased over the study period.
- The depiction of violence in LEGO products has demonstrably risen.
Conclusions:
- LEGO products are not as "innocent" as they were in previous decades.
- The study provides evidence of a trend towards increased violence in LEGO's product offerings.
- Further research is warranted to understand the implications of these findings for child development.
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