Gaming Blog

Psychology

Video Games: Possible Tension Reliever

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children playing video games
Another study gives much needed support to video games. According to Carmen Russoniello, a professor at East Carolina University, video games are potentially beneficial when it comes to relieving stress and tension. Here is more information from IT World Canada:

Carmen Russoniello, a professor at East Carolina University, recently finished a six-month study of people playing Bejeweled 2, Peggle and Bookworm adventures. The study concluded the games could have “potential therapeutic applications,” according to a press release issued by PopCap games, which by sheer coincidence happens to be the developer of these three games.

The school’s department of recreational and leisure studies observed the behaviour of video game players and measured their stress, psychological tension, anger, depression, vigour, fatigue and confusion. For example, people who played Peggle experienced a 66 per cent reduction in “psychological tension” while 43 per cent of those who played Bookworm Adventures experienced a reduction in depression. Rumour has it people who reached the fourth screen in Space Invaders also experienced confusion, though that game was not included in Russoniello’s study.

It is interesting to note, however, that only specific games were covered by the study. The GTA series, which could be the most popular game franchise ever, was not included in the study.

The East Carolina University study did not include Grand Theft Auto, a game where players can pretend to be criminals taking on rival gang members and robbing banks. The game’s developer, Rock Star North, also makes Bully and Manhunt.

Oh well, it is a start, isn’t it?

Tell Me What Your Video Games Are…

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boys video games
…and I’ll tell you who you are. Obviously, this is my own version of the cliché “tell me who your friends are and I’ll you who you are.” Though I believe that this cliché can be true to some extent, I am not quite sure that it applies to video games.

I am actually not the first person to think along these lines. In fact, I got the idea from Crispin Boyer who wrote an entry in his blog entitled “Do we play what we are?” He, in turn, got his inspiration from a series of essays “Are we what we play?”

It seems that more and more gamers are digging deeper into the psychology of gaming – and why not? Gaming holds more meaning than merely mashing buttons or clicking the mouse.

So, do video games reflect one’s personality? Perhaps. Our choices, when it comes to video gaming, have something to do with our interests in real life. The person who loves basketball spends time playing NBA Live. The person who loves football plays Madden. Does this mean, however, that the person who is crazy about GTA is a killer and a violent person?

I suppose it is not as clear cut as that. I have a friend who has never tried skateboarding. Yet he is addicted to Skate. Then there is another friend who has never laid a hand on any other person and is opposed to violence in principle – yet he can’t get enough of God of War.

So what’s the deal? What do you think?

Video Games and Schooling

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toddlers video game
I came across a short article by Christopher Dawson over at ZDNet posing the question “Do game consoles have a place in primary education?” His rationale is as follows:

However, the new game, Cosmic Family, is a slick game filled with puzzles and animation. While the puzzles are engaging, the Wii itself, with it’s motion-sensitive Wiimotes, takes a remarkable amount of coordination and sensitivity to operate.

As I watch the kindergarten teacher work to develop just this sort of skill, I have to wonder if there might not be a place for systems like the Wii (with a limited selection of appropriate software, of course) in early elementary education, just as there is for desktop or laptop computers.

It seems to me that the Wii could be a great tool for developmental work, as well as occupational or physical therapy for particular students with identified needs in these areas. The parent in me feels a knee-jerk sense of horror at the thought of Nintendos in classrooms or gymnasiums. However, the technologist in me sees some new tools that just might take us beyond technology for the sake of technology.

I understand how a parent can feel that sense of “horror” at the thought of video games in school. But then again, it really depends on your perspective. If you see video games as a tool to enhance your children’s educational experience, it would probably be a sense of elation and not horror that you would feel.

I think the bottom line here is control and discipline. Just like any other school subject, the idea of using video games for educational purposes should be monitored and guided strictly. I think that it is a perfectly good idea to expose young children to technology – learning and fun together, don’t you think so?

Teen Aggression-Video Game Link (From the Archives)

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Will this ever stop? Will researchers ever find something definite about the link between violent video games and the behavior of those who play them? While I was doing my regular news browsing, a headline caught my eye. It read “Violent video games tied to teen aggression.” In my mind, I was wailing “Not again!”

After all, we have heard such statements from various people across various sectors for so long now. Then we have those people from other sectors claiming that these statements are unfounded. So what is it, really?

So I just the article anyway – if only to find out what proof they have found now. This is what Reuters reported:

Adolescents who play violent video games may become increasingly aggressive over time, a new study of Japanese and U.S. teens suggests.

Researchers found that among three groups of 9- to 18-year-olds followed over several months, those who regularly played violent video games were more likely to get into more and more physical fights over time. The study is among the first to chart changes in gamers’ aggressive behavior over time, lending weight to evidence that violent video games can encourage violence in some kids. And it’s the first to show that the effects are seen across cultures, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.

I have to emphasize the use of the word MAY. Grammatically speaking, this word is used to indicate a possibility. It does not really provide a solid link between the two factors being considered. To be honest, I am not surprised at all, are you?

Nightmares And Video Games (From the Archives)

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I remember having really bad dreams after watching a scary movie when I was a kid. Come to think of it, it still happens every now and then as an adult. Maybe that is why I do not really have an affinity for scary movies.

Have you heard of people putting the blame on video games for nightmares, though? I have not, really. Yet apparently, someone has been fingering video games as being the cause of nightmares in children. Thank goodness for researchers, though, as they have conducted a study that negates this belief.

I read an article over at Canada.com about this topic:

Television and computer games aren’t to blame for dark dreams about things that go bump in the night, according to a new study that finds no link between children’s viewing or gaming habits and their nightmares.

The research debunks popular wisdom as well as previous studies in which parents and children reported that frightening dreams were triggered by TV programs.

“We found no correlation between the amount of TV watching and computer game playing and nightmare frequency,” says Michael Schredl, head of research for the Sleep Laboratory at Germany’s Central Institute of Mental Health.

The researchers were surprised to find there was no connection between nightmares and computer games or TV shows – including the police and crime shows that 14 per cent of the children said they watched regularly.

This is a very interesting finding. To be honest with you, I would have thought that TV and video games causing nightmares was logical. Don’t think that I am not happy with the finding though.

How Long Can You Go Without Gaming?

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I went on a vacation a couple of weeks ago and though I was very excited about the prospect of being at the beach for a week, I was having mixed feelings at the same time. This was due to the fact that I had just received my copy of GTA IV a couple of days before we were set to leave for the beach. I did have a chance to play – believe me, I took every chance I could get – but that was not enough to whet my appetite. I was mulling over the possibilities and came up with three:

-Postpone the trip.
-Take my PS3 with me.
-Forget about gaming for a while.

The second option was very very tempting. Until I realized that I had to take a ferry boat to the island and I didn’t really want to risk damaging the console. So option 3 it had to be.

It was not that bad, really. During the first day, I would think about gaming every now and then and wish fervently that I was at home in front of the TV. Those moments became rarer and rarer until they were totally gone by the 3rd day. However, when the 5th day came around, I was itching to play so badly I just couldn’t wait for the ferry boat to arrive.

So I guess that’s my figure – 5 days without gaming. I survived – and no scars to show for it. How about you, how long can you go without gaming?

Can You Learn How To Drive By Playing Video Games? (From the Archives)

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A headline at the Telegraph’s web site caught my eye a few minutes ago. It read “Boy learned to drive from video games before stealing family car–
A nine-year-old Japanese schoolboy who learnt how to drive from playing video games has used his motoring skills to steal the family car and set off on a 1.8 mile journey to visit his grandmother.”

Now I know that this kind of news will certainly cause a stir in the video gamer sector. I myself cannot help but get a little bit riled up each time the media points to video games as the cause behind various violent or errant behavior. So, I won’t even go into that. What I want to focus on right now is whether or not you can actually learn skills such as driving by simply playing video games.

There are many arcade games which function as simulators. You actually hold a steering wheel in your hands and place your feet on pedals. There are even games which have real life gear shifts. In effect, it would seem that you are actually driving. I do not know how accurate the experience is as compared to the driving simulators that researchers use but I suppose it is a pretty close thing.

Now I will go out on a limb and say that yes, you can learn these skills by playing video games. Well, at least the rudimentary skills. As for the implications of this, I will not venture into that. Any thoughts?

Generation Video Game

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We have this propensity for naming generations according to a distinctive attribute. Remember the Baby Boomers? Generation X? How about this generation? Have they been labeled yet?

If you were to ask me, I would say Generation Video Games, or Gamers, or whatever sounds better. The reason for this is a study that was conducted by Pew Internet & American Life Project. This study highlighted the fact that nearly every kid – at least in the United States – plays video games.

To be honest, we could all have made that statement – probably almost every person we know plays video games. Then again, having a “scientific” study back up your idea is something else. So what did the study find out aside from that general fact?

Ninety-seven percent of young respondents play video games. That’s 99 percent of boys and 94 percent of girls, with little difference in the percentages among various racial and ethnic groups and incomes. In fact, 7 percent of those surveyed said they didn’t have a computer at home, but did have a game console, such as Sony Corp.’s PlayStation, Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox or Nintendo Co.’s Wii.

They play often. When surveyed, half of the respondents said they had played a video game the previous day.

Their games of choice are as diverse as their tastes in music or TV. Eighty percent of respondents play five or more different game genres, with racing, puzzles, sports and action the most common. Favorites were “Guitar Hero,” “Halo 3,” “Madden NFL,” solitaire and “Dance Dance Revolution.”
The last two points do not surprise me at all. The same thing would apply to adults I know. The first point, however, was a bit surprising. I thought that despite the popularity of video games, personal computers would still be present in homes. I guess I was wrong.

One question – would you want your child’s generation to be labeled based on video games?

Which Is Worse: R-rated Movies Or Mature Video Games?

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esrb_mI know a lot of people who would double up in laughter just from reading that question. I totally understand. Who said that either thing is “bad” in the first place? Of course, it really depends on where you’re coming from and how you think.

Anyhow, I came across this question in the Christian Science Monitor web site. (Yeah I know, what was I doing there? I like reading different points of view.) The article presented the case of the Entertainment Software Association, which sued the Chicago Transit Authority for banning advertisements about video game releases with mature content.

The supporting argument of the ESA is that while laws have been continuously implemented that target video games – especially those that are labeled mature and violent – movies and books (and other media) that have the same kind of content have remained untouched. The organization feels that the government is being selective in implementing bans and similar action.

David Horowitz, the executive director of Media Coalition, an organization which is backing ESA’s case, says that “Ex-[Illinois] Governor Blagojevich spent hundreds of thousands of dollars unsuccessfully to defend a law that barred minors from buy or renting similar video games before it was struck down as unconstitutional. The Chicago Transit Authority should repeal this ill-conceived ordinance rather than using scarce resources to fight this in court and get the same result.”

I would have to agree with him.

So going back to my original question: which is the lesser of two evils, assuming that they are both evil? Would you rather have your children exposed to mature video games or to rated R movies?

Video Games Teach Empathy

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Boy lying in lounge playing video game

Contrary to common belief, video games teach players empathy and not aggression. At least that is what a new study is saying. Got Game’s feature states:

Dr. Kourosh Dini, a Chicago-based psychiatrist and self-declared gamer recently published Video Game Addiction: A Guide for Parents, which includes a study that reveals video games to be a beneficial teacher of understanding the way others think. Dini reached such a conclusion after much observation–and even participation–in gameplay. In his studies, he analyzed from three different perspectives: the psychiatrist, the first-person player, and the third-person play observer. According to the book’s website, such analysis led Dini to conclude that “age appropriate multi-player video games can allow children to learn how other people think – a key aspect of empathy.”

I really like his point of view – it makes total sense. However, we cannot discount the fact that other studies – and there are more of them, I think – have results that are quite different from that of Dr. Dini’s. So which is which?

I am no expert in the matter but I suppose that this study will be enough for other researchers to take a second look at their studies. Perhaps there are other factors that should be taken into consideration. Perhaps it is not a simple matter of stating that video games make children (or even adults) into so and so people. As for me – and other gamers like, I am sure – a study like this is a good start in forcing people NOT to immediately pinpoint video games as the “evil” they are supposed to be.