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The scientific study of media effects has led researchers down the road of video game effects. From both a social and psychological standpoint, video games have the ability to influence their players both on implicit and explicit levels.

The popularity of video games has grown exponentially in recent years, yet empirical research is still relatively limited when compared to the study of other media. In 1982, the U.S. Surgeon General lamented the lack of such evidence (Selnow, 1984). But the progress that has been made has been very beneficial to the field thus far and is only the seed of what has already become one of the most controversial media effects topics to date.

Current research

Lee and Peng (2006) state that research on both the psychological and social effects of video games currently focuses on three aspects:

1. The testing of negative consequences of violent games will cause behavior issues to young adults or kids.
2. The utility of educational and training games
3. The general effects of entertainment games

Another study entitled "The Joystick Generation" links the use of video games to the General Affective Aggression Model (GAAM) further explained below.

Kooijmans (Rochester Institute of Technology, 2004) looks at video game usage and the development of the children who use them.

A study from Iowa State University titled "The Effects of Prosocial Video Games on Prosocial Behaviors: International Evidence From Correlational, Longitudinal, and Experimental Studies" interestingly looks at the effects of prosocial games and their effects on children, rather than more frequently researched antisocial gaming behavioral effects.

Negative effects of video games

Research on aggressive behavior as an effect of playing violent video games began in the 1980s and 1990s. Although under current debate, some researchers claim that these violent games may cause more intense feelings of aggression than nonviolent games, and may trigger feelings of anger and hostility. Several studies have supported such findings. The theoretical explanations for these types of effects can be explained by several different theories; social cognitive theory, excitation transfer theory, priming effect and the General Aggression Model.

A 2009 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied a 2006 online survey of 552 people from Washington state. It found the average gamer from this sample was 35, male, overweight, aggressive, introverted and often depressed. Of online gamers aged 8 to 34, nearly 12% showed multiple signs of addiction.

Violent video games have been tentatively found to decrease prosocial behaviors. Prosocial behaviors include activities such as giving to charity, volunteering and overall "helping" behaviors. However this has not been supported by research in large populations, as a majority of people who play violent games do not lack prosocial behaviors; additionally, correlation is not causation. Other researchers have claimed that exposure to violent video games has predicted alcohol consumption, destruction of school property, and other delinquent behaviors. Video games have been claimed to influence self perception, and to have a link with body image assessment of the opposite gender. Female video game characters are claimed to be hyper-sexualized and unrealistic, and it has been asserted that this is a factor in frequent gamers' perceptions of ideal beauty.

Similar to unproven claims of decrease in prosocial behaviors, studies and articles have also claimed that frequent use of video games leads to an increase in antisocial behavior.

Many psychiatrists assert that playing computer games can be addictive. This theoretical addiction is said to have a causative relationship to physical health problems, spending problems, and/or time displacement leading to missed work or school days. In one example, a 28-year-old South Korean gamer died after 50 hours of StarCraft online gameplay. However, no solid evidence has supported the "game-addiction" hypothesis.

Rowell Huesmann claims that video games can be very dangerous, asserting that they may encourage people to commit violence, that violence in video games is shown without punishment, that it is rather encouraged and rewarded and that it rarely shows the pain of the victim. Moreover, the identification with the killer through video games has been suggested to have a negative effect on children.

Reinforcement of racist or sexist stereotypes has also been claimed as an effect of violent video games.

Fears have been expressed about exposure to violent video games, often demonstrating the correlation is not causation fallacy. For example, politicians and other people and organizations have considered video games effects on society, where the causative factor was not clear, "there has been some fears specially from UK news service that hijackers may have used flight simulator software to practice flying jet planes, also, Beam Breakers removed all references to the World Trade Center already used in the game 1". In this scenario, politicians seemed to propose that an organized terrorist conspiracy that planned the hijacking of passenger jets to use as projectiles in attacks on buildings was somehow influenced by flight simulator software. This ignores both the fact that flight simulators are nonviolent (rewarding successful completion of the flight, not destruction of the plane) and that the flight simulator software was being used to learn flight controls by individuals already well into the process of executing a terrorist attack.

General Aggression Model

The General Aggression Model (GAM) models video games as having an influence on people, proposing that a participant's thoughts, feelings and physical arousal can be affected by simulated violence. The GAM asserts this creates an effect on an individual's interpretation of an aggressive or violent act.

The GAM claims that video games have both short- and long-term effects. In the short-term the aggressive cognitions, affects and arousal are posited to increase while long-term effects are asserted to be possible, but not yet accurately determined. Anderson and Bushman claim violent video games promote violent behavior, attitudes and beliefs by desensitizing an individual to aggression.

Positive effects of video games

Entertainment video games are usually analyzed for their possible negative effects, and educational games are touted as the provider of more positive effects. Research suggests that both types of games can provide a wide array of positive effects to players. Many companies and organizations are turning to video games as easy and interactive ways to train individuals. The U.S. Army even utilizes the game, America's Army, as a recruitment tool. They also help improve spatial skill development, cognitive ability development and academic performance and learning. Although studies on violent video games have found negative correlations with academic performance, a positive association with other types of games has also been found (Schie & Wiegman, 1997). Educational computer games are becoming more prevalent in primary and secondary schools as teaching tools for youths. The interactive nature allows for high levels of entertainment, but has not yet been shown to subtract from the educational lessons being taught. Additionally, developers are beginning to change the view of traditional video games by creating popular games that require the player to be active—Wii Fit, Dance Dance Revolution—or focus on using brain power—Brain Age 2.

Many authors disagree with the notion that suggests that the media can cause violence, they propose media cannot cause violence because humans have the ability to recognize what is wrong, and what is right. They suggest people are not going to mistake fiction for reality. Some people who criticize the proposed negative effects based their research are Terry Flew, Sal Humphreys, Martin Barker and Jonathan Freedman.

Some authors also suggest that video games many have healthy and positive aspects effects; for example, it can be a safe outlet for aggression and frustration.

It can develop many skills, for example, positive effects on divided attention performance, developmental issues and spatial and coordination skills.

In research undertaken by a Act Psychologica, in a number of tasks, video game experts outperformed non-gamers. Experts were able to track objects moving at greater speeds, perform more accurately in a visual short-term memory test, switch between tasks more quickly, and make decisions about rotated objects more quickly and accurately.

In 2010, Top Gear conducted an experiment with Greger Huttu, a undisputed racer in the computer game iRacing to see whether Greger's virtual driving skills can be translated into real racing. Greger had never driven a race car before and was placed inside a Star Mazda racer provided by the Anderson Racing Team. "Using telemetry, Greger's braking points were very accurate, he was firm and precise with the throttle, and in the fastest corners, went 100 mph compared to an experienced driver who goes at 110 mph." Greger's fastest lap was at 1:24.8 minutes, three seconds off the average time of a professional racer on the Road Atlanta track. On lap 15, Greger could not continue because his body was not used to the physical effects of handling a real race car.

To date, video game training appears to be one of the more interesting and promising means to improve perceptual, attentional, and cognitive abilities. One of its promises is that, compared to traditional training, it can be engaging and entertaining. This has led some companies to begin to market video games for the specific purpose of improving cognition. For example, Nintendo advertises "Big Brain Academy" as a game that "trains your brain with a course load of mind-bending activities across five categories: think, memorize, analyze, compute, and identify".

There are many positive effects of video games on some people as suggested by some researches; people play because they want to get away from their everyday life, break routine, to relieve stress, allow them to cool off when they are stressful, take out their anger through the game rather in real life because they are fun and an interesting way to spend time.

It enables players to explore with various aspects of their identity in a virtual world.

Journalist and author, David Sheff, believes that many skills can be learned from the gaming experience, it builds practical and intellectual skills, "by playing video games children gain problem solving abilities, perseverance, pattern recognition, hypothesis testing, estimating skills, inductive skills, resources management, logistics mapping, memory, quick thinking and reasonal judgements".

Research at University of Rochester suggest that playing video games that contain high levels of action can improve eyesight.

See also

• Video game controversy
• Media violence research

References

• Anderson, C.A., & Bushman, B.J. (2001). "Effects of violent games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytical review of the scientific literature". Psychological Science, 12, 353–359.
• Anderson, C.A., & Dill, K.E. (2000). "Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 772–790.
• Chambers, J.H., & Ascione, F.R. (1987). "The effects of prosocial and aggressive video games on children's donating and helping". Journal of Genetic Psychology, 148, 499–505.
• Dietz, T.L. (1998). "An examination of violence and gender role portrayals in video games: Implications for gender socialization and aggressive behavior". Sex Roles, 38(5–6), 425–443.
• Funk, J.B., Buchman, D.D., & Germann, J. (2000). "Preference for violent electronic games, self-concept, and gender differences in young children". American Journal of Orhopsychiatry, 70, 233–241.
• Jansz, J., & Martis, R. (2003). "The representation of gender and ethnicity in digital interactive games". In M. Copier & J. Raessens (Eds.), Level up: Digital games research conference (pp. 260–269). Utrecht: Utrecht University.
• Rask, A. (2007). "Video game vixens: Shaping men's perceptions of beauty?" Paper presented at the International Communication Association Annual Conference, San Francisco.
• Schie, E.G. v., & Wiegman, O. (1997). "Children and videogames: Leisure activities, aggression, social integration, and school performance". Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 1175–1194.
• Selnow, G.W. (1984). "Playing videogames: The electronic friend". Journal of Communication, 34, 148–156.
• Walter R. Boot, Arthur F. Kramer, Daniel J. Simons, Monica Fabiani, Gabriele Gratton – Acta Psychologica, 2008, Beckman Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
• Wiegman, O., & Schie, E.G.M. v. (1998). "Video game playing and its relations with aggressive and prosocial behaviour". British Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 367–378.

Footnotes

1. Voderer, Peter (2000). "Interactive Entertainment and Beyond". In Zillmann, Dolf (ed.). Media Entertainment: The Psychology of Its Appeal. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum. pp. 21–36. ISBN 978-0805833256. Retrieved 2009-07-03. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
2. Lee, K.M., & Peng, W. (2006). "What do we know about social and psychological effects of computer games? A comprehensive review of the current literature". In P. Vorderer & J. Bryant (Eds.), Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 978-0805853223
3. Anderson & Bushman (2001)
4. "Forget Teens: Gamers Are 35, Overweight – And Sad, CDC says". Wired News. 2009-08-24.
5. Chambers & Ascione, 1987; Wiegman & Schie, 1998
6. Anderson & Dill, 2000
7. Funk, Buchman, & Germann, 2000
8. Dietz, 1998
9. Jansz & Martis, 2003
10. Rask, 2007
11. "South Korean dies after games session". BBC News. 2005-08-10.
12. Wartella, Ellen, Oliveraz, Andrana and Jemings, "Children and Television Violence in the United States" in McQuail's Reader in Mass Communication Theory, ed. Denis MMcQuail (London: Sage, (2002) ). p. 398–405
13. Barker,M. "The Newson Report: a Case Study in Common Sense", in III Effects in the Media/Violence Debate (second edition), ed. Martin Baker and Julian Petley, (London: Routledge, 2001), pp. 27–46.
14. ^ Anne D. Walling, MD, "Do Video Games Lead to Violent Behavior in Children" American Family Physician, Vol.65/No. 7, 1 April 2002, p. 1, Available: http://www.aafp.org/afp/20020401/tips/1.html
15. Kurt, Squire. "Moral Panic Culture Blacklash and Reconstructing Video Games" Reconstructions, (2001), online Available:http://web.mit.edu/cms/reconstructions/repercussions/videogames.html , p. 1.
16. Thomas A. Kooijmans. Effects of Video Games on Aggressive Thoughts and Behaviors During Development Rochester Institute of Technology. December 2004
17. Eck, Richard Van. Digital Game-Based Learning: It's Not Just the Digital Natives Who Are Restless. EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 41, no. 2 (March/April 2006): 16–30. Available online: http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume41/DigitalGameBasedLearningItsNot/158041.
18. ^ Flew, Terry and Humphreys, Sal. "Games: Technology, Industry, Culture" in New Media: an introduction (second edition), ed. Terry Flew (South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2005). pp. 101–114
19. Barker2001.
20. Freedman, Jonathan. "No Real Evidence for TV Violence Causing Real Violence" First Amendment Centre. 2007, online Available: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/commentary.aspx?id=18490 .
21. Quirk, Jennifer. "Culture, the Negative Effects of Video Games". Neovox: the Int4ernationalcollege Student Magazine", 2007, online, Available: http:// http://neovox.cortland.edu/archives/2007/06/the_negative_ef.html .
22. Read , D. (2010, November). Geek, rebooted. Top Gear Magizine, Retrieved from http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/geek-rebooted-2010-11-26?imageNo=0
23. Walter R. Boot *, Arthur F. Kramer, Daniel J. Simons, Monica Fabiani, Gabriele Gratton, Acta Psychologica; Beckman Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
24. Quirk 2007.
25. Sheff, David. Video Games: A Guide for Savvy Parents. Random House, New York, 1994, p. 33.
26. University of Rochester, Jonathan Sherwood. "Action Video Games Improve Vision". News article at the universities main website: http:// http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=3342

• Video game culture
• Aggression
• Violence in video games