Violent Video Games Alter Brain Function in Young Men (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111130095251.htm)
QuoteScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2011) — Sustained changes in the region of the brain associated with cognitive function and emotional control were found in young adult men after one week of playing violent video games, according to study results presented by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America...
Interesting stuff, but on a very small sample.
However the research sponsor is hardly neutral Center for Successful Parenting. (http://www.sosparents.org/)
I think in future versions of games like modern warfare and brink you should have a balance objective in between the violence.
Like petting a virtual kitten and maintaining a purr for 30 seconds before you can go back to the match.
Quote from: xm1 on December 02, 2011, 03:00:33 PM
Like petting a virtual kitten and maintaining a purr for 30 seconds before you can go back to the match.
LOL!
I don't really buy these sorts of studies. Violence numbs, sure...but to confuse video game beings with real beings is another thing altogether. ::)
What this article doesn't mention is whether there was a 'control' in this study with regard to non-violent gaming. I would have liked to have seen a control group who played a non-violent game for the same period. I wonder if the 'violence' aspect is a red-herring here and it is the actual playing of ANY game for sustained periods that is the issue. The study (or at least the reportage of it) was therefore inconclusive on the particular subject of violence.
Quote from: Scissorlegs on December 02, 2011, 09:36:53 PM
What this article doesn't mention is whether there was a 'control' in this study with regard to non-violent gaming. I would have liked to have seen a control group who played a non-violent game for the same period. I wonder if the 'violence' aspect is a red-herring here and it is the actual playing of ANY game for sustained periods that is the issue. The study (or at least the reportage of it) was therefore inconclusive on the particular subject of violence.
Good point, I also wonder.
Anecdotally, some of the coolest and most well adjusted people I know play appallingly violent games and have since young adulthood. If you were already prone to violent behaviour, I don't think they'd help, but I'm also skeptical about the degree to which they could "cause" a prolonged personality change.
Quote from: DeterminedJuliet on December 03, 2011, 12:00:12 AM
Anecdotally, some of the coolest and most well adjusted people I know play appallingly violent games and have since young adulthood. If you were already prone to violent behaviour, I don't think they'd help, but I'm also skeptical about the degree to which they could "cause" a prolonged personality change.
I may be a limited sample, but I sort of am prone to violent behaviour since my fight or flight reflex is pretty much... Well, a fight reflex.
I am also prone to playing violent video games, watching violent movies and slaughtering farm animals. However, none of those things make me more aggressive nor do they make me more capable of violence. What does decide my response is the ease with which I can get away with doing what I feel like doing, which usually means that I ignore the provocations in order to keep the society happy and me out of jail.
It's called self-control. Now, is there a relation between THAT and video games, I wonder..?
Quote from: Asmodean on December 03, 2011, 01:12:20 AM
Quote from: DeterminedJuliet on December 03, 2011, 12:00:12 AM
Anecdotally, some of the coolest and most well adjusted people I know play appallingly violent games and have since young adulthood. If you were already prone to violent behaviour, I don't think they'd help, but I'm also skeptical about the degree to which they could "cause" a prolonged personality change.
I may be a limited sample, but I sort of am prone to violent behaviour since my fight or flight reflex is pretty much... Well, a fight reflex.
I am also prone to playing violent video games, watching violent movies and slaughtering farm animals. However, none of those things make me more aggressive nor do they make me more capable of violence. What does decide my response is the ease with which I can get away with doing what I feel like doing, which usually means that I ignore the provocations in order to keep the society happy and me out of jail.
It's called self-control. Now, is there a relation between THAT and video games, I wonder..?
I wonder, Asmo, if you can't see the wood for the trees.
How can you be so sure your propensity for fight over flight isn't exacerbated by your violent gaming and films. The fact that you display self-control is beside the point. A calmer, less aggressive demeanour would obviate self-control and the evident battle within.
[smiley devils-advocate smiley]
To counter balance some of the negative findings on video games (which there is plenty of evidence for) there have been many studies that have found beneficial to the consumers of the media.
Video games are good for girls - if parents play along (http://news.byu.edu/archive11-jan-girlvideogames.aspx)
Violent video games help children manage stress (http://www.science20.com/news_articles/violent_video_games_help_kids_manage_stress-2511)
Action Video Games Improve Vision (http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=3342)
How video games are good for the brain (http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2009/10/12/how_video_games_are_good_for_the_brain/)
I love video games but I am not particularly a fan of the reliance on virtual violence that many games feature, though it is necessary for some games. I think many games would benefit with the removal of the virtual violence with such games as portal 1&2 being brilliant examples of this, for many games I see the inclusion of violence as a uncreative go to mechanic for padding out a game whereas they may work better with an original gameplay mechanic. A game such as Fallout 3 would have benefited with a removal of the combat mechanics as they were awful and got in the way of what made the game fantastic, either make it add something to the experience of the game or leave it out. With the AAA games costing as much if not more than hollywood blockbusters and making profits far exceeding any other entertainment industry when successful I don't see any of this happening anytime soon.
Quote from: Scissorlegs on December 03, 2011, 08:56:29 AM
I wonder, Asmo, if you can't see the wood for the trees.
Always a possibility, so let's have a closer look, shall we?
QuoteHow can you be so sure your propensity for fight over flight isn't exacerbated by your violent gaming and films.
Because I started playing violent video games at about the age of sixteen. I was pretty much solely into strategy and RPGs before that and before that, I played console games which mostly involved racing. There was also Final Fantasy VII, but the level of violence in it is rather pathetic when judged by today's standards.
The number of violent video games I play per year has increased since, yet my proneness to violence has decreased by a noticeable degree. I see no corelation between the two.
QuoteThe fact that you display self-control is beside the point.
Is it? For those with a violent streak, a high degree of self-control is a good moderator, if you ask me.
QuoteA calmer, less aggressive demeanour would obviate self-control and the evident battle within.
Oh, my demeanor is generally calm and inaggressive - that is yet another "another story". I am discussing my proneness to and capability of violence here, not my outward display of bad temper.
To illustrate with a small "out there" example: I can appear, and actually BE, as calm as an indoor pond while slicing someone's ears off. It's not an anger management issue, this.
Quote from: Asmodean on December 03, 2011, 06:20:41 PM
To illustrate with a small "out there" example: I can appear, and actually BE, as calm as an indoor pond while slicing someone's ears off. It's not an anger management issue, this.
For some reason 'Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the middle with you' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ukstws19D4) started playing in my head when I read that.
Quote from: Crow on December 03, 2011, 06:29:00 PM
Quote from: Asmodean on December 03, 2011, 06:20:41 PM
To illustrate with a small "out there" example: I can appear, and actually BE, as calm as an indoor pond while slicing someone's ears off. It's not an anger management issue, this.
For some reason 'Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the middle with you' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ukstws19D4) started playing in my head when I read that.
Because it is epically well-suited to slicing off ears? ;D
Just had another thought: if this study shows that people undergo emotional numbing as a result of violent video games, then for some that might even be a good thing and desirable ;D Emotionally based decisions for some situations can be the worst kind IMO...I'm grateful that my hate for some people didn't cause me to act emotionally.
Hmm...video games are good ;D
Quote from: Crow on December 03, 2011, 02:41:50 PM
A game such as Fallout 3 would have benefited with a removal of the combat mechanics as they were awful and got in the way of what made the game fantastic, either make it add something to the experience of the game or leave it out.
This is why I like fallout and tes so much. You can mod it up and just rp in the world for hours without doing any of the combat or objectives. I don't mind the combat part, but I need a lot more going on then just violence to keep my attention.
Personally I hope they do a study on the effect of hentai and eros games next. Want to know what parts of my brain I may have wrecked.