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How playing video games affects your body and brain

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How playing video games affects your body and brain

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(Several positive points to include from this article)

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Video games are by many measures one of the most popular and commonly enjoyed forms of entertainment of our time, yet there's a lot of controversy around them.

In the wake of tragic events like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, political figures like President Donald Trump have declared they want to investigate links between video games and violence.

"I'm hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts," Trump said after the Parkland shooting.

President Obama had similar questions after the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newton, Connecticut.

"Congress will fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds," he said at the time, also calling for policies that would ban the purchase of military-style weapons and improve background checks for firearm purchases (changes that could have an impact on gun violence).

Even the World Health Organization has considered adding "gaming disorder" to a list of mental health conditions, stating that problematic gaming behavior might cause problems in other areas of people's lives.

But many other people have pointed out that some types of games offer benefits, including the potential to improve people's ability to pay attention and process visual information.

For all of these reasons, people have lots of questions surrounding what science says about the effects of video games. Do games cause violence or aggression? Are they addictive? Are they healthy ways to relax and de-stress? Could they improve brain processing speed?

Similar questions have arisen after every new form of media appeared - including television, movies, pop music, comics, and even books.

Fortunately, there's a fair amount of research that about how video games affect our brains and bodies. Here are the most important takeaways.

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How playing video games affects your body and brain

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Video games are by many measures one of the most popular and commonly enjoyed forms of entertainment of our time, yet there's a lot of controversy around them. In the wake of tragic events like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, political figures like President Donald Trump have declared they want to investigate links between video games and violence.

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There is a positive correlation between gaming and volume of the striatum, the part of the brain that balances movement and motivation, this includes the playing of violent video games.

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There is a positive correlation between gaming and volume of the striatum, the part of the brain that balances movement and motivation, this includes the playing of violent video games.

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- the constructive effect of destructive games
- less than an hour of gaming a day was associated with pro-social behaviour and higher life satisfaction compared to kids who didn't play

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Call of Duty: Ghosts

Eyes gazing straight ahead, backs caved, thumbs ceaselessly mashing buttons: It's a sight to make any parent cringe. Especially when the game involves rapid gunfire, throat-slitting, body-splitting and other gruesome acts.

The drawbacks of gaming are well known. Studies have linked video games to depression, addiction and decreased empathy. Then there are the links to aggression and high-risk behaviour, and the accompanying unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyle. And that's not to mention the repugnant aspect of maiming and killing for kicks.

But what's often lost in the discourse is the fact that playing video games has an upside.

That's right, video games may not be all bad for kids. In fact, studies show games can be powerful brain-training tools that can improve such cognitive skills as visual attention, concentration, navigation, multitasking and task switching, all while simultaneously increasing speed and accuracy. Some researchers believe the right kind of game can have enormous educational value, and that playing offers a mental workout that can prepare kids for life off-screen.

What's most surprising about some of the research, though, is the type of game that's best for the brain. If you're thinking along the lines of Lumosity, guess again. The answer: violent video games.

"They are all the games where you have to chase the zombies, kill the bad guys, war games or things like that – first-person or third-person shooter games," says Daphne Bavelier, a brain scientist who leads the cognitive neuroscience lab at the University of Geneva.

To find out what's behind the constructive effect of destructive games, she's developing a nonviolent action video game to test which features are responsible for the positive effects.

While most studies have looked for correlations between video games and behaviour, a specially designed child-friendly game might make it possible to directly observe the effect of gaming on the brain. She expects a few surprises along the way. Bavelier has already discovered that playing can improve basic vision; she's open to seeing how gaming develops skills that can be applied elsewhere.

The positive effects of gaming aren't limited to cognitive ability. A University of Oxford study by experimental psychologist Andrew K. Przybylski, published in the August, 2014, issue of the journal Pediatrics, found that less than an hour of gaming a day was associated with pro-social behaviour and higher life satisfaction compared to kids who didn't play. The opposite was true, however, for those who played for more than three hours a day.

Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist who runs a cognitive neuroscience lab at the University of California, San Francisco, sees some benefits to video gaming. He found that playing a non-commercial racing game improved cognitive control and multitasking of 65- to 80-year-olds, and that the training extended beyond the game to positively influence sustained attention and working memory.

Another study, this one from Germany, concluded that playing Super Mario 64 for at least 30 minutes a day for two months led to an increase in grey matter in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum, which are involved with working memory, spatial navigation, strategic planning and motor skills.

"In general, I think that all games that provide a complex environment that needs to be explored may have similar effects," says Simone Kuhn, lead author of the Super Mario study and a senior researcher at Berlin's Max Planck Institute for Human Development.

Kuhn has also found that playing logic games, platform games (such as Super Mario 64) and third-person shooter games (where the avatar is visible on screen, as in Resident Evil) were all correlated with an increase in grey matter in the entorhinal cortex, which is a memory and navigation centre. But she also said playing action-based role-play games and ball games actually had a negative correlation with grey matter.

Still, many experts think the negatives outweigh the positives. Veronique Bohbot, a researcher at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal, says gaming leads to short-term gains but long-term loss, pointing to research that found a positive correlation between gaming and volume of the striatum, the part of the brain that balances movement and motivation.

"The striatum is an amazing, powerful system: It helps me learn to get things done instead of thinking about all the details," she says. But, she adds, using the striatum too much, too early, isn't good: "When people use their striatum, they have a tendency to do more drugs, drink more alcohol and smoke more cigarettes."

Bohbot also says there is a negative correlation between the striatum and the hippocampus, responsible for cognitive strategies, and she adds that because video games can boost the striatum, they consequently may be dampening down the hippocampus.

Last month, a major U.S. study – this one looking at more than 5,000 fifth-graders – found that two or more hours a day of playing violent video games was associated with depression. Other recent studies have linked gaming with aggression and high-risk behaviour, as well as a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits.

Douglas Gentile, a psychology professor at Iowa State University who studies how video games affect behaviour and physiology, says that the positive and negative effects of video games aren't mutually exclusive. "I don't think those are at all competing; those can happen at once," he says.

Bavelier points out video games aren't all of equal quality, and differences between individual gamers may influence reactions.

Like Bavelier, Gazzaley moonlights as a video-game developer – his lab is building five therapeutic mobile video games from scratch. "We think that these games will be able to improve how our brains process information, and make us smarter," he says. "Using all of the special mechanics and design and art and music and story that go into high-level game development, and also using our understanding of neuroscience, we can do better than a consumer game would do by accident."

Most parents don't have the time to wait for these games to be released. Chances are their kids are clamouring for Advanced Warfare, the next title to be launched in the Call of Duty series.

Where should parents draw the line? Playing video games may not be worth the risk for very young children, because their brains are still undergoing major development, or for kids who already show signs of behaviours that may be exacerbated by gaming – aggression, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and anti-social behaviour.

Similarly, it's too soon to start treating commercial video games as educational materials – they were designed to entertain, and their effects are not entirely understood. But the potential is there.

"I think that we will see a whole new field of therapeutic and educational tools in the form of video games," Gazzaley says. "The learning impact is going to be incredibly dependent on the game – and on the person playing it as well."

How do games help your brain?

Time

The effects of video-gaming depend on the duration and frequency of game-playing. Research suggests less is better – one study found that less than an hour of daily play may be good for pro-social behaviour – and that distributing play over time is preferable.

Content

Commercial games are made to entertain. Researchers are still working to design games that have intentional rather than incidental positive effects on learning. Game companies do rate their products for suitability with letters such as T for teen, but Gentile says only 6 per cent of parents think these ratings are accurate. The best way to really know how much violence is in a game is to try it yourself first.

Structure

Action video games are said to improve visual attention because the players are always on the lookout for something jumping out to attack them. But this concept could be remodelled to exclude violence. For example, players could be on the constant lookout for magic tokens that appear suddenly and then dissolve. Virtual navigation while playing could be used to exercise spatial cognition.

Context

Playing a game with friends or as part of an online group, such as in World of Warcraft guild, may be better than playing in isolation. The positive teamwork aspect of multiplayer games might counterbalance some of the negative effects of participating in virtual violence. A game that entails finding solutions for complex problems might also impart problem-solving skills.

Mechanics

The kind of controller – whether it's a Wii remote or a mouse and keyboard – influences learning. The more the mechanics mirror reality, the more skills learned from the game could transfer to real life. In this way, video games could help people warm up for technical motor tasks. Some research has found laparoscopic surgeons were faster and more accurate at operation-like surgery tests after they played video games for several hours a week.

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Violent video games for kids have a surprising upside

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Aggression, high-risk behaviour, anxiety, depression – parents are well versed in the negative effects of gaming. But some researchers point to cognitive skill development as a reason to let your kids heed the call of duty

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10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Violent Video Games

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10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Violent Video Games

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Many people believe that there is a link between the young people's exposure to violence and their idea about this act of aggression as an acceptable behavior and even an effective strategy in resolving conflicts. They say that the more children are exposed to violence, the more that they would think that it is violence is okay, and even helpful. This is where the issue of whether violent video games are constructive or destructive to the younger generation, especially to those getting the most exposure. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of these games:

List of Advantages of Violent Video Games

1. They serve as an avenue for expression.
These video games allow gamers to vent out their anger or frustrations in a relatively controlled and safe environment.

2. They are said to have no direct relation to actual violence.
Though there has been an increased popularity of violent video games, violence involving youth has been in its lowest levels in more than three decades now, as revealed by federal crime statistics. As sales of video games have risen about more than four times from 1995-2008, juvenile violent crimes have fallen at a significant rate.

3. They help players develop various real-life skills.
Those who play these games are observed to have improved activity of their right side of the brain, which helps them enhance their strategic thinking, creativity, memory and problem-solving skills.

4. They defy age.
Since the scenarios in these games help pump adrenaline and promote quick decision-making, those who play them are said to be able to delay their aging process.

5. They teach children about action and consequence.
These games teach children about following certain rules and help them learn the consequences of each action they take, where particularly, violence would beget violence.

List of Disadvantages of Violent Video Games

1. They associate violence with fun.
Violent video games make hurting and killing people entertaining. This notion that violence is fun can cause gamers to imitate the game just for fun.

2. They can have a decentralizing effect.
Studies show that violent games have had a desensitizing and decentralizing effect on players, making them unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy.

3. They can lead to game addiction.
These tend to be very addictive, eating up much of the attention and time of gamers, causing them to develop unhealthy lifestyles.

4. They tend to encourage violence as acceptable.
While proponents say that these games is an effective strategy to teach young people to resolve conflicts and attain a certain goal, research also found out that these gamers mostly believe in violent strategies than those that are not.

5. They require players to immerse into violent characters.
Advance game peripherals and controllers require players to engage more physically with the game, which is a form of immersion into the game's violent characters.

Now that we already know the major advantages and disadvantages of violent video games, it may be difficult for us to confirm of a strong link between these games and juvenile delinquency. However, we can do some things to prevent young people to get addicted to them, specifically those that are publicly categorized as having offensive or mature. It is more of the ability of parents to discipline their children from developing bad habits from these games.

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10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Violent Video Games

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Many people believe that there is a link between the young people's exposure to violence and their idea about this act of aggression as an acceptable behavior and even an effective strategy in resolving conflicts. They say that the more children are exposed to violence, the more that they would think that it is violence is okay, and even helpful.

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A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player’s capacity to think about objects in three

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Not only do violent games help users skirt violent behavior, but the games can actually have beneficial effects.

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Not only do violent games help users skirt violent behavior, but the games can actually have beneficial effects.

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A study conducted in 2014, at Stetson University in Florida, shows that the playing of death-bloated video-games actually caused real-life violence to decrease. It has been speculated that the pixelated mayhem gives “gamers an outlet for their aggression, or [keeps] potentially violent people safely at home.”

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Shutterstock

Each year, many young people's Christmas lists are packed with violent video games that commandeer minds and eyeballs for hours on end. Although it's easy to skip those items and opt for presents that seem more productive - they'll just love Jenga and Scrabble - the do-gooder approach to gift-giving might warrant a rethink.

According to research cited by Vice, not only do violent games help users skirt violent behavior, but the games can actually have beneficial effects. A study conducted in 2014, at Stetson University in Florida, shows that the playing of death-bloated video-games actually caused real-life violence to decrease. Vice speculates that the pixelated mayhem gives "gamers an outlet for their aggression, or [keeps] potentially violent people safely at home."

Games loaded with action-oriented sequences can even enhance motor skills. Steady playing of "Unreal Tournament," a first-person shooter game, has, according to researchers at New York University in Shanghai, led to speedier reactions during road tests on driving simulation software.

And, if you fear that buying games for your juvenile relative will turn him into a solitary delinquent, John Velez, a researcher at Texas Tech University, allays those worries. In 2015, according to Vice, he found that war games enhance social skills. Velez has concluded that team-play games of this ilk - such as Halo and TimeSplitters - led participants to treat each other, whether teammates or opponents, with surprisingly high degrees of decency.

While plenty of people in the worlds of psychiatry and psychology have targeted computer games as a cause of societal ills, there are at least 230 academics in the field who disagree. Three years ago, in 2013, they put forth a letter opposing commonly held beliefs among members of American Psychological Association's Task Force on Violent Media. They asked for reconsideration of the view that games cause violence. In fact, according to a study recently published in the International Journal of Communication, teenage gamers excel at math while those who are into social media show below average scores.

But before forsaking traditionally good influences for the lure of joysticks, high-resolution monitors and a crate of Visine, consider the common-sense advice proffered by psychosocial researcher Andrew K. Przybylski, Ph.D.: "The small positive effects observed for low levels of regular electronic play do not support the position that games provide a universal solution to the challenges of development and modern life."

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Why violent video games are good for kids

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Each year, many young people's Christmas lists are packed with violent video games that commandeer minds and eyeballs for hours on end. Although it's easy to skip those items and opt for presents t...

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Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association.

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Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association.

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WASHINGTON - Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children's learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association.

The study comes out as debate continues among psychologists and other health professionals regarding the effects of violent media on youth. An APA task force is conducting a comprehensive review of research on violence in video games and interactive media and will release its findings in 2014.

"Important research has already been conducted for decades on the negative effects of gaming, including addiction, depression and aggression, and we are certainly not suggesting that this should be ignored," said lead author Isabela Granic, PhD, of Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands. "However, to understand the impact of video games on children's and adolescents' development, a more balanced perspective is needed."

The article will be published in APA's flagship journal, American Psychologist.

While one widely held view maintains playing video games is intellectually lazy, such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception, according to several studies reviewed in the article. This is particularly true for shooter video games that are often violent, the authors said. A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player's capacity to think about objects in three dimensions, just as well as academic courses to enhance these same skills, according to the study. "This has critical implications for education and career development, as previous research has established the power of spatial skills for achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," Granic said. This enhanced thinking was not found with playing other types of video games, such as puzzles or role-playing games.

Playing video games may also help children develop problem-solving skills, the authors said. The more adolescents reported playing strategic video games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem solving and school grades the following year, according to a long-term study published in 2013. Children's creativity was also enhanced by playing any kind of video game, including violent games, but not when the children used other forms of technology, such as a computer or cell phone, other research revealed.

Simple games that are easy to access and can be played quickly, such as "Angry Birds," can improve players' moods, promote relaxation and ward off anxiety, the study said. "If playing video games simply makes people happier, this seems to be a fundamental emotional benefit to consider," said Granic. The authors also highlighted the possibility that video games are effective tools to learn resilience in the face of failure. By learning to cope with ongoing failures in games, the authors suggest that children build emotional resilience they can rely upon in their everyday lives.

Another stereotype the research challenges is the socially isolated gamer. More than 70 percent of gamers play with a friend and millions of people worldwide participate in massive virtual worlds through video games such as "Farmville" and "World of Warcraft," the article noted. Multiplayer games become virtual social communities, where decisions need to be made quickly about whom to trust or reject and how to lead a group, the authors said. People who play video games, even if they are violent, that encourage cooperation are more likely to be helpful to others while gaming than those who play the same games competitively, a 2011 study found.

The article emphasized that educators are currently redesigning classroom experiences, integrating video games that can shift the way the next generation of teachers and students approach learning. Likewise, physicians have begun to use video games to motivate patients to improve their health, the authors said. In the video game "Re-Mission," child cancer patients can control a tiny robot that shoots cancer cells, overcomes bacterial infections and manages nausea and other barriers to adhering to treatments. A 2008 international study in 34 medical centers found significantly greater adherence to treatment and cancer-related knowledge among children who played "Re-Mission" compared to children who played a different computer game.

"It is this same kind of transformation, based on the foundational principle of play, that we suggest has the potential to transform the field of mental health," Granic said. "This is especially true because engaging children and youth is one of the most challenging tasks clinicians face."

The authors recommended that teams of psychologists, clinicians and game designers work together to develop approaches to mental health care that integrate video game playing with traditional therapy.

Article: "The Benefits of Playing Video Games," Isabela Granic, PhD, Adam Lobel, PhD, and Rutger C.M.E. Engels, PhD, Radboud University Nijmegen; Nijmegen, The Netherlands; American Psychologist, Vol. 69, No. 1.

Isabela Granic can be contacted by email, cell: 011.31.6.19.50.00.99 or work: 011.31.24.361.2142

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 134,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.

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Video Games Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits

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WASHINGTON - Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children's learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association. The study comes out as debate continues among psychologists and other health professionals regarding the effects of violent media on youth.

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Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning, health and social skills

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Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning, health and social skills

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according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association
- such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception
- A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player’s capacity to think about objects in three dimensions just as well as academic courses to enhance these same skills, according to the study. This enhanced thinking was not found with playing other types of video games, such as puzzles or role-playing games.

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Angry Birds, shooter games have pluses

Study Hall presents the results of scientific studies as described by the researchers and their institutions. This report is from the American Psychological Association :

Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children's learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association.

While one widely held view maintains playing video games is intellectually lazy, such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception, according to several studies reviewed in the article. This is particularly true for shooter video games that are often violent, the authors said. A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player's capacity to think about objects in three dimensions just as well as academic courses to enhance these same skills, according to the study. This enhanced thinking was not found with playing other types of video games, such as puzzles or role-playing games.

Playing video games may also help children develop problem-solving skills, the authors said. The more adolescents reported playing strategic video games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem solving and school grades the following year, according to a long-term study published in 2013.

Children's creativity was also enhanced by playing any kind of video game, but not when the children used other forms of technology, such as a computer or cellphone, other research revealed. Simple games that can be played quickly, such as Angry Birds, can improve players' moods, promote relaxation and ward off anxiety, the study said.

Brains of babies with Alzheimer's gene develop differently

This report is from Brown University:

The brains of infants who carry a gene associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease develop differently than those of babies who don't have the gene.

While this discovery is neither diagnostic nor predictive of Alzheimer's, it could be a step toward understanding how the gene variant APOE E4 confers risk much later in life.

Researchers imaged the brains of 162 healthy babies between the ages of 2 months and 25 months. All of the infants had DNA tests to see which variant of the APOE gene they carried. Sixty of them had the E4 variant that has been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's.

Using a special MRI technique designed to study sleeping infants, they compared the brains of E4 carriers with non-carriers. They found that children who carry the APOE E4 gene tended to have increased brain growth in areas in the frontal lobe and decreased growth in areas in several areas in the middle and rear of the brain. The decreased growth was found in areas that tend to be affected in elderly patients who have Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers emphasized the findings, published in JAMA Neurology, do not mean that any of the children in the study are destined to develop Alzheimer's or that the brain changes detected are the first clinical signs of the disease.

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A new study shows benefits of violent video games for kids' learning

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Angry Birds, shooter games have pluses Study Hall presents the results of scientific studies as described by the researchers and their institutions. This report is from the American Psychological Association : Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children's learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association.

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They help players develop strategic thinking, creativity, memory, problem solving skills and reaction time. Simple, non-violent games do not challenge individuals to develop such qualities

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There is no proof that it would cause violent behaviour

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There is no proof that it would cause violent behaviour

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The University of Illinois says the findings of the first long-term study into exposure to video games and subsequent stroppy behaviour may be "surprising", given that they show "robust exposure to a highly violent online game" did not cause any substantial increase in said aggression.

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The link between video games and violence is not really there

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The link between video games and violence is not really there

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It does not corrupt people, or change their thoughts. It is merely a game, after all.
However, there are some video games that are violent or inappropriate for children. If children play those games, then it will not be good for them.

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Posted on 16 January 2018

Researchers at the University of York have found no evidence to support the theory that video games make players more violent.

In a series of experiments, with more than 3,000 participants, the team demonstrated that video game concepts do not 'prime' players to behave in certain ways and that increasing the realism of violent video games does not necessarily increase aggression in game players.

The dominant model of learning in games is built on the idea that exposing players to concepts, such as violence in a game, makes those concepts easier to use in 'real life'. This is known as 'priming', and is thought to lead to changes in behaviour. Previous experiments on this effect, however, have so far provided mixed conclusions.

Researchers at the University of York expanded the number of participants in experiments, compared to studies that had gone before it, and compared different types of gaming realism to explore whether more conclusive evidence could be found.
Reaction time
In one study, participants played a game where they had to either be a car avoiding collisions with trucks or a mouse avoiding being caught by a cat. Following the game, the players were shown various images, such as a bus or a dog, and asked to label them as either a vehicle or an animal.

Dr David Zendle, from the University's Department of Computer Science, said: "If players are 'primed' through immersing themselves in the concepts of the game, they should be able to categorise the objects associated with this game more quickly in the real world once the game had concluded.

"Across the two games we didn't find this to be the case. Participants who played a car-themed game were no quicker at categorising vehicle images, and indeed in some cases their reaction time was significantly slower."
Realism
In a separate, but connected study, the team investigated whether realism influenced the aggression of game players. Research in the past has suggested that the greater the realism of the game the more primed players are by violent concepts, leading to antisocial effects in the real world.

Dr Zendle said: "There are several experiments looking at graphic realism in video games, but they have returned mixed results. There are, however, other ways that violent games can be realistic, besides looking like the 'real world', such as the way characters behave for example.

"Our experiment looked at the use of 'ragdoll physics' in game design, which creates characters that move and react in the same way that they would in real life. Human characters are modelled on the movement of the human skeleton and how that skeleton would fall if it was injured."
Combat games
The experiment compared player reactions to two combat games, one that used 'ragdoll physics' to create realistic character behaviour and one that did not, in an animated world that nevertheless looked real.

Following the game the players were asked to complete word puzzles called 'word fragment completion tasks', where researchers expected more violent word associations would be chosen for those who played the game that employed more realistic behaviours.

They compared the results of this experiment with another test of game realism, where a single bespoke war game was modified to form two different games. In one of these games, enemy characters used realistic soldier behaviours, whilst in the other game they did not employ realistic soldier behaviour.
Further work
Dr Zendle said: "We found that the priming of violent concepts, as measured by how many violent concepts appeared in the word fragment completion task, was not detectable. There was no difference in priming between the game that employed 'ragdoll physics' and the game that didn't, as well as no significant difference between the games that used 'real' and 'unreal' solider tactics.

"The findings suggest that there is no link between these kinds of realism in games and the kind of effects that video games are commonly thought to have on their players.

"Further study is now needed into other aspects of realism to see if this has the same result. What happens when we consider the realism of by-standing characters in the game, for example, and the inclusion of extreme content, such as torture?

"We also only tested these theories on adults, so more work is needed to understand whether a different effect is evident in children players."

The research paper, 'No Priming in Video Games', is published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour, and the research paper, 'Behavioural Realism and the Activation of Aggressive Concepts in Violent Video Games', is published in the journal

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No evidence to support link between violent video games and behaviour

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Posted on 16 January 2018 Researchers at the University of York have found no evidence to support the theory that video games make players more violent. In a series of experiments, with more than 3,000 participants, the team demonstrated that video game concepts do not 'prime' players to behave in certain ways and that increasing the realism of violent video games does not necessarily increase aggression in game players.

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Video games have no effect on crime issues

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Video games have no effect on crime issues

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If you look at the graphs, as the video game sales rate increases, the amount of violent crime and offenses decreases. The reports of bullying decreases as well

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22 Charts & Graphs on Video Games & Youth Violence - Violent Video Games - ProCon.org

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Charts: Gamer Demographics, Video Game Sales, Youth Violence Trends

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Last week, 17 people were killed at a Florida high school when a former student attacked them with a legally-purchased assault rifle. In the wake of this tragic event, like far too many before it, people have demanded changes in policies that could stop it from happening again. Instead, however, President Trump has blamed a popular scapegoat: video games.

"I'm hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts," Trump said during a White House meeting on school safety on February 22, 2018. And you go the further step, and that's the movies. You see these movies, and they're so violent. And yet a kid is able to see the movie if sex isn't involved, but killing is involved, and maybe they have to put a rating system for that."

The president's logic doesn't echo what is found in the scientific literature. Studies conducted over the past few decades have not shown a decisive connection between violent video games and this kind of extreme behavior.

In 2005, California attempted to ban the sale of video games to minors; the law was struck down by the Supreme Court six years later. "California's claim that 'interactive' video games present special problems, in that the player participates in the violent action on screen and determines its outcome, is unpersuasive," the ruling read. The Supreme Court asserted that, like books, plays, and other forms of media, video games qualify for protection under the First Amendment.

The decision also noted that psychological studies did not prove that exposure to violent games caused aggressive actions.

A 2015 in-depth review study by the American Psychological Association (APA) concluded that violent video games do have an impact on aggression - but the APA noted that there was insufficient evidence to link this kind of exposure to criminal violence, delinquency, or physiological and neurological changes.

"All violence is aggression, but not all aggression is violence," according to the APA report. "This distinction is important for understanding this research literature, for considering the implications of the research, and for interpreting popular press accounts of the research and its applicability to societal events."

The consensus is that aggressive or violent behavior tends to result from the accumulation of various risk factors. Violent media can contribute to those risk factors, but to claim that they are the root cause of behaviors like mass shootings is a major oversimplification. And there is still no evidence that violent video games cause children to purchase AR-15 assault rifles and shoot up their former high schools like it's "Call of Duty" brought to life.

The irony, of course, of reviving the "violent video games precipitate violent behavior" debate, is that Congress actually doesn't allow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from studying gun violence as a public health issue. Under what's known as the "Dickey Amendment," passed 22 years ago, the CDC can't fund gun-related research or use money to "advocate or promote gun control."

What that means: lawmakers - President Trump included - have little to no idea about what causes gun violence or how to stop it.

And politicians including Trump are hesitant to push for an intervention that actually works: curbing assault rifle sales. Trump and other politicians are unwilling to do this for fear of losing funding or support from the National Rifle Association (NRA), especially when his popularity numbers hover near an all-time low.

If our representatives can't pass legislation to curb these shootings, at least they could get out of the way of well-meaning researchers trying to better understand it. Bringing up the subject of video games time and time again does little more than distract and misinform the public.

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No, violent video games don't cause mass shootings

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Last week, 17 people were killed at a Florida high school when a former student attacked them with a legally-purchased assault rifle. In the wake of this tragic event, like far too many before it, people have demanded changes in policies that could stop it from happening again.

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German researchers recruited three groups of typically non-gaming, healthy volunteers, 77 in total, for their study. Each group was given a battery of questionnaires and personality assessments right at the start. Then, for the next two months, one group was told to play a daily 30 minutes of Grand Theft Auto V—the latest installment of the series that features more than 30 different weapons to wreak havoc with—while another was instructed to instead play the non-violent Sims 3. The last group, serving as the control, was simply told to come back two months later for a second round of identical tests, which the other two groups did as well. Each group was finally given a third round of tests two months after that.

Within the groups, the researchers found no significant difference in the volunteers’ level of aggression before and after they started gaming. The same was true of their empathy, impulse control, level of anxiety and depression, among other things. And there were no noticeable differences between the groups themselves.

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Science Finds Once Again That Violent Video Games Don't Turn People Into Rage Monsters

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A new study published this week in Nature journal Molecular Psychology provides a well-timed rebuttal to the weary trope- occasionally alluded to by President Trump and others in the wake of mass shootings-that violent video games are causing real-life mayhem. German researchers recruited three groups of typically non-gaming, healthy volunteers, 77 in total, for their study.

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It does not directly affect the students minds, however it is an outlet for their aggressi

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Video games are by many measures one of the most popular and commonly enjoyed forms of entertainment of our time, yet there's a lot of controversy around them.

In the wake of tragic events like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, political figures like President Donald Trump have declared they want to investigate links between video games and violence.

"I'm hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts," Trump said after the Parkland shooting.

President Obama had similar questions after the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newton, Connecticut.

"Congress will fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds," he said at the time, also calling for policies that would ban the purchase of military-style weapons and improve background checks for firearm purchases (changes that could have an impact on gun violence).

Even the World Health Organization has considered adding "gaming disorder" to a list of mental health conditions, stating that problematic gaming behavior might cause problems in other areas of people's lives.

But many other people have pointed out that some types of games offer benefits, including the potential to improve people's ability to pay attention and process visual information.

For all of these reasons, people have lots of questions surrounding what science says about the effects of video games. Do games cause violence or aggression? Are they addictive? Are they healthy ways to relax and de-stress? Could they improve brain processing speed?

Similar questions have arisen after every new form of media appeared - including television, movies, pop music, comics, and even books.

Fortunately, there's a fair amount of research that about how video games affect our brains and bodies. Here are the most important takeaways.

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How playing video games affects your body and brain

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Video games are by many measures one of the most popular and commonly enjoyed forms of entertainment of our time, yet there's a lot of controversy around them. In the wake of tragic events like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, political figures like President Donald Trump have declared they want to investigate links between video games and violence.

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There is no proof that violence in video games directly affect students behavior. Also, only if the shooter is a student, will their video game violence background be investigated

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There is no proof that violence in video games directly affect students behavior. Also, only if the shooter is a student, will their video game violence background be investigated

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The investigation into the latest deadly school shooting is far from over, but that hasn't stopped some people from drawing conclusions about the alleged shooter's influences.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick argued that violent video games have created young people who are "desensitized to violence."

"Many [students] have lost empathy to their victims by watching hours and hours of video, violent games," Patrick said on ABC News' "This Week" Sunday, two days after 10 people died at a Santa Fe high school.

There's no evidence indicating how often the alleged shooter, a student at the school, played video games, if at all.

ABC News

But there's nothing new about the line of thinking that violent video games are a causal factor in deadly shootings, prompting years of research that has resulted in a range of conclusions.

Both sides of the argument

Some say there is no connection between the shooting that takes place in virtual reality and real life, while others say it can be one of any number of contributing factors.

Two experts with differing opinions include Chris Ferguson, a psychology professor at Stetson University in Central Florida, and Douglas Gentile, a psychology professor at Iowa State University, who have both worked on numerous studies on the topic.

An overview of many studies will show that "we really don't see evidence that early playing of violent video games are related to later criminal violence behaviors or related to serious problems like bullying or dating violence," Ferguson said.

But Gentile notes that many active studies don't include criminal violence or shootings because it would be unethical to allow subjects to participate in such activity.

For Ferguson, the debate is "a generational thing," as many of the people who point a finger at violent video games tend to be older and inclined to use them as a scapegoat because of a lack of understanding and familiarity with the games.

"We're seeing more and more skepticism" of any perceived connection between violent video games and violent offenders, he said, "and I think that's because people that were gamers 20 years ago are now in their 40s and now they are journalists and politicians and scholars. So it's kind of like rock music in the '80s, when people thought [heavy metal band leader] Ozzy Osborne was the end of society and now nobody thinks Ozzy Osbourne was the end of society."

Iowa State's Gentile doesn't dismiss the connection outright, however, noting that rather than being the singular cause, exposure to media violence, which includes violence on television and in movies as well as on video games, is one of a number of contributing factors that could make someone more inclined to act aggressively.

"A higher consumption of media violence makes people more willing to behave aggressively when provoked," Gentile told ABC News.

He pointed out that there are any number of other risk factors and protective factors -- including an individual's sex (boys are naturally more disposed to be violent than girls, he said), how they're doing in school, whether they're being bullied or whether they come from a stable home -- that play significant roles as well.

"Every time we have a tragedy like a school shooting, we ask the wrong question: We ask what was the cause ... we assume there was a single cause," he said.

"We don't do things for a single reason only, ever."

Whatever the causes, the American Psychological Association (APA) passed a resolution in 2015 declaring that "scientific research has demonstrated an association between violent video game use and both increases in aggressive behavior, aggressive affect, aggressive cognitions and decreases in prosocial behavior, empathy, and moral engagement," among other findings.

As a result, the group called for further research and study in different areas of the issue and called on the rating system for video games to be refined, as well as further education for students and families.

More than 90 percent of U.S. children play some kind of video games, according to the APA.

Past examples

The investigation into the Santa Fe shooting is ongoing and no findings either confirming or denying any connection to video games have been reported, but the investigations into prior shootings have raised the possible connection.

One of the earliest was the 1999 shooting in Columbine, Colorado, where the two shooters were found to be fans of first-person shooter video games.

"Those kids had uninvolved parents," Iowa State's Gentile said of shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. "Those kids had psychiatric illnesses. Those kids had been bullied. Those kids also consumed media violence. Those are just some of the risk factors. Which one was the cause?"

Steve Starr/Getty Images

Stetson University's Ferguson pointed to other instances where shooters did play some violent video games while also having a lengthy history of playing other nonviolent video games. Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho was reportedly a fan of "Sonic the Hedgehog," and Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza had a history of playing shooting games but also spent hours playing "Dance Dance Revolution."

"When a shooter is an older male or more rarely a female, the issue of video games is never brought up," Ferguson said, citing the Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock as one such example.

"It allows people to preserve this narrative," he said.

Likeliness of changes in the laws

When it came time for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the violent video game debate in 2011, and in their case, the justices ruled on the side of video games, interpreted them as being protected under the First Amendment rights.

The case stemmed from a California law that banned minors from buying violent video games while unsupervised. The state court had nullified the law, which was backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, and the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision, voting 7-2 against the California law.

"Psychological studies purporting to show a connection between exposure to violent video games and harmful effects on children do not prove that such exposure causes minors to act aggressively," the syllabus of the decision reads.

Gentile said that given the First Amendment protections, "limiting access [to video games] is probably never going to work in this country, but what could work better is having a universal rating system."

The current rating system used on video games in the United States includes grades of E for Everyone, E 10+ for content generally suitable for ages 10 and up, T for Teen or those 13 and older, M for Mature which denotes 17 and up, and Adults Only for those 18 and over.

Erik Tham/Getty Images

President Donald Trump touched on the confusion over rating systems during a listening session with gun violence victims at the White House in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting this year. In his comments, Trump seemed to suggest that there should be a violence-specific rating on movies and video games, or perhaps it should be incorporated more into the existing systems.

For Gentile's part, making a universal rating system across all kinds of media "could improve the information that's given to parents," he said.

The issue, as he sees it, is a matter of limiting any risk factors as necessary, because certain factors that researchers believe have an impact on physical violence -- like being male or living in poverty -- are impossible or hard to change, while others -- like media violence consumption -- are within grasp.

"If your kid doesn't have any other risk factor for aggression, [violent video games are] probably not going to prompt your kid into hitting other people, and certainly not going to turn them into a school shooter," Gentile said.

"But that's different from saying it had no effect because if something really had no effect on you, you'd call it boring. So we like the way media violence makes us feel scared and excited and has that adrenaline rush."

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Breaking down the debate over violent video games and school shootings

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The investigation into the latest deadly school shooting is far from over, but that hasn't stopped some people from drawing conclusions about the alleged shooter's influences. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick argued that violent video games have created young people who are "desensitized to violence."...

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Pointers:                   PROVIDE LINKS IF YOU HAVE STATISTICS WE NEED PROOF, SOLID CONCRETE PROOF

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Pointers:                   PROVIDE LINKS IF YOU HAVE STATISTICS WE NEED PROOF, SOLID CONCRETE PROOF

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DONT JUST PUT A RANDOM LINK ATTACH IT

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Video games allow players to release their stress and anger

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Video games allow players to release their stress and anger

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Ferguson cautioned that these results were correlational, however, and more research is needed. However, he suggested that video games could increasingly be used in therapy with young adults and teens. Violent games may help people work through their frustrations with real life and calm down without increasing aggressive behaviors in real life.

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It is the comentators in wrestling matches which replay tough takles or punches which therefore influence people as some of them want to do the same movement just because it is cool

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Study Finds Violent Video Games Do Not Contribute to Aggression

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Study Finds Violent Video Games Do Not Contribute to Aggression

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Many claim that violent video games would make a person more aggressive but when players were playing a game with a lot of gore, surveys were conducted showing that there was no difference in the words they used. They expected that there would be more of the use of violent words yet there were none.

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Video games do not prime people to behave aggressively, according to two new studies. Researchers from the University of York authored both studies. Most participants were between the ages of 18 and 35.

Analysts have debated the effects of video games for as long as the games have existed. In 2015, the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Violent Media issued a controversial report linking video games and aggression. The report reviewed 170 articles published between 2005 and 2013.

The APA report received considerable backlash. One group of 230 scholars wrote an open letter calling the report "misleading." They criticized the relevant studies for failing to take certain variables like gender into account.

Do Video Games Prime People for Aggression?

Some people believe violent games prime people for aggression. In other words, exposure to violence in video games alters how people feel about aggression. These changes make people more likely to commit violence in the real world, they say.

The first study, published in 2018, appeared in Computers in Human Behavior. The study tested the priming effect through a series of experiments. There was a total of 532 participants.

All groups played a maze game, but the appearance of the game differed between groups. Some people played as a mouse running from a cat. Others played as a car avoiding collisions with trucks. After the game, participants looked at pictures and labeled them as animals or vehicles.

Priming theory suggests people would have an easier time categorizing the objects they just saw. The mouse players would be quicker to label animals, and the car players would be quicker to label vehicles. Yet participants showed no signs of priming. In some cases, they were actually slower to label objects from the game. In other words, the games had a negative effect on priming.

Are Realistic Games More Likely to Cause Aggression?

Opponents of violent video games sometimes claim realistic video games are more likely to cause aggression. A second 2018 study, published in Entertainment Computing, tested this theory. This study included 2,778 game players. Most participants played games at least once a week.

One group played a game where characters died in preset animations. Another group played a game with more realistic death animations. Both groups took a word association test after the game.

The researchers predicted if realistic games make people more aggressive, they would also cause people to choose more violent words. Yet researchers found no significant differences in word choice. The results suggest realistic violence in games does not shift people's thoughts toward violent ideas.

The Debate About Violent Video Games Continues

Neither study tested behavior directly or analyzed long-term effects. Thus, debates about violent video games will likely continue. As virtual reality enters the market, further research will likely focus on the links between realistic graphics, video game violence, and real-world aggression.
References:

1. APA review confirms link between playing violent video games and aggression. (2013, August 13). American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/08/violent-video-games.aspx

2. New study finds no link between violent video games and behavior. (2018, January 22). The Daily Dot. Retrieved from https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/violent-video-games-study

3. Scholar's open letter to the APA Task Force on Violent Media opposing APA policy statements on violent media. (2013, September 23). Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/doc/223284732/Scholar-s-Open-Letter-to-the-APA-Task-Force-On-Violent-Media-Opposing-APA-Policy-Statements-on-Violent-Media

4. Zendle, D., Cairns, P., & Kudenko, D. (2018). Behavioural realism and the activation of aggressive concepts in violent video games. Entertainment Computing, 24, 21-29. doi:10.1016/j.entcom.2017.10.003

5. Zendle, D., Cairns, P., & Kudenko, D. (2018). No priming in video games. Computers in Human Behavior, 78, 113-125. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.09.021

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Study Finds Violent Video Games Do Not 'Prime' Aggression

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Video games do not prime people to behave aggressively, according to two new studies. Researchers from the University of York authored both studies. Most participants were between the ages of 18 and 35. Analysts have debated the effects of video games for as long as the games have existed.

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Last week in my music of video games course at Queen's University, we examined first-person shooter (FPS) games. As might be expected, the discussion turned to the subject of violence in video games, but also about what it really means to be "immersed."

My students pointed out that immersion involves both emotional and imaginative components, but they also said an important part of immersion for them was that it generated a sense of "escapism and freedom from reality."

Opponents to violence in video games believe players are more violent than non-players. They believe that because players replicate violent actions in a game they will do so in real life. For example, the U.S. governor of Kentucky, Matt Bevin, said this last week:

"I'm a big believer in the First Amendment and right to free speech, but there are certain things that are so graphic as it relates to violence ...There is zero upside to any of this being in the public domain, let alone in the minds and hands and homes of our young people... (These games) celebrate the slaughtering of people. There are games that literally replicate and give people the ability to score points for doing the very same thing that these students are doing inside of schools, where you get extra points for finishing someone off who's lying there begging for their life."

While many of these games could be seen as being in poor taste, studies on whether violent games cause real-life violence have had mixed results at best.

What is the immersive fallacy?

How can video games be confused for reality when its players view them as escapism and freedom from reality? In their book Rules of Play, scholars Katie Salen Tekinbaş and Eric Zimmerman argue that there are significant flaws in our understanding of video games and what exactly constitutes immersion.

The idea video game players can reach a state where they forget they are playing a game is a common misconception. Salen and Zimmerman call this the "immersive fallacy." That is, the idea that players believe their gaming "reality is so complete...that the player truly believes that he or she is part of an imaginary world" is false.

Instead Salen and Zimmerman say players are "well-aware of the artificiality of the play situation." In fact, this artificiality is one of the things that makes games so entertaining.

Let's take an example.

In this scene from Battlefield 1 (2016), a first-person shooter is set during the First World War and player action and interaction shifts between several roles. Players start by driving a tank and firing at enemies, but when the tank gets stuck in mud an enemy attack at close quarters quickly follows.

Ominous, indistinct music begins as the player is trapped in the tank, but the sounds of gunshots overwhelm the action. Soon, however, the character is deafened by a gunshot. Ambient noise of weapon fire is silenced to reveal underlying music featuring trumpet and trombone flares, giving it a militaristic feel.

The player releases a messenger pigeon, and a shift of character occurs. Keenly aware of this shift because the style of gameplay completely changes, the player's role is now to fly the pigeon to its destination, seeing the world literally from a bird's-eye view.

The style of the music also shifts significantly, morphing from a claustrophobic, dark atmosphere (in the tank) with percussive gun hammering and low-register brass and strings to a calm, serene piano melody for the bird flight.

The bird is oblivious to anything but its destination. The clear, simple harmonies of the music during flight suggest it is revelling in its freedom. Once again, the atmosphere is in stark contrast to the men trapped below. When the bird lands, the music returns to its previous ominous brass swells and more chaotic rhythm.

Battlefield 1 is often called an immersive game by its players, but an understanding of immersion that relies on players believing that the game is reality would imply that players identify as First World War-era soldiers. In such a situation, the shift to a bird's eye view would be jarring and would break the gamer's sense of immersion.

My students observed the dramatic shift of music immediately upon becoming the bird, an observation also made by players online. This musical contrast - the softer, more tonal music and the shift to a brighter sky - heightens the sense of peace during flight. The contrast with the dark tank environment further reinforces the sense of otherness that being the bird entails.

Salen and Zimmerman explain that "players always know that they are playing," and are therefore free to move among the different roles. Players embrace this flexibility and can come in and out " of moments of immersion, breaking the player and character frames. "

In other words, players are completely aware that they're playing within a fictional world, and that this fiction can provide experiences and viewpoints not possible in real life. The shift of viewpoint and complete unexpectedness of playing as a bird in the middle of a wargame is a flexibility that makes the pigeon scene extremely effective, creating the dramatic contrasts that boost our emotional response to this part of the game.

(Screenshot/Bethseda)

Players know their games are not reality

It's not surprising the general public is confused about immersion. Even gamers don't really have a consistent understanding of what "immersion" means, partly because they use the word in two different ways.

Anecdotally, gamers often use the term to refer to the depth and level of detail of the game world, but colloquially it's also used to refer to how addicting a game is. This ambiguity is also brought up in a 2008 study in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies that examines how exactly to measure immersion.

Players might describe how they were "totally immersed" in a rousing game of Tetris, but this hardly means they believe they exist in a universe where four-unit blocks might crush them at any point while accompanied by a Russian folk song, for example.

Gamers talk about Skyrim as having an immersive game world, with its own politics, religions and even literature (reading the books you find in Skyrim is surprisingly entertaining). But part of the appeal of Skyrim are the unique features of that game world: The ability to cast spells, treasure hunt and play as non-human races.

The players' questing is made easier by the text menus that they regularly access to complete most actions in the game. The constant visual presence of the menus on the screen is a clear and regular reminder that this definitely isn't reality.

As my students and I have been exploring the interaction of game plot, visuals and music over the last few weeks, I've become increasingly convinced that it's actually the escape from reality that creates effective gameplay. And as Salen and Zimmerman argue: "The many-layered state of mind that occurs during play is something to be celebrated, not repressed...."

Much like a good book or movie provides the framework for a world to give the audience a unique viewpoint, games provide a frame for the imagination, while still remaining firmly fictional.

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Why violence in video games isn't really a problem

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Last week in my music of video games course at Queen's University, we examined first-person shooter (FPS) games. As might be expected, the discussion turned to the subject of violence in video games, but also about what it really means to be "immersed."

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Video games do not affect school shooters, as very few of them are actually interested in video games.

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Video games do not affect school shooters, as very few of them are actually interested in video games.

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"I'm hearing more and more people saying the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts," Trump said. But some experts' findings disagree.

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Numerous studies have found no connection between violent video games and aggression. A survey had shown that only 12% (5 out of 41) of attackers were interested in violent video games.

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In 2017, the APA's Media Psychology division advised officials and reporters to stop suggesting there was a connection between violent video games and real-life acts of brutality: "Journalists and policy makers do their constituencies a disservice in cases where they link acts of real-world violence with the perpetrators' exposure to violent video games or other violent media. There's little scientific evidence to support the connection, and it may distract us from addressing those issues that we know contribute to real-world violence."

The US legal system agrees. In 2011, the US Supreme Court struck down a California law that banned the sale of violent video games to children. It was a 7-2 decision and the majority opinion was written by Justice Antonin Scalia, a legendarily conservative voice on the bench.

"Psychological studies purporting to show a connection between exposure to violent video games and harmful effects on children do not prove that such exposure causes minors to act aggressively," he wrote. "Any demonstrated effects are both small and indistinguishable from effects produced by other media."

This view is held by most Americans, too. A 2015 study by the Pew Research Center found 53 percent of respondents disagreed with the statement, "People who play violent video games are more likely to be violent themselves."

However, 40 percent of people agreed there was a relationship between video game violence and violent behavior. That's high, considering the ridiculous amount of evidence to the contrary. This theory persists, in part, because it's an enduring component of some politicians' predictable post-school-shooting talking tours.

After the Parkland shooting, Florida congressman Brian Mast told NPR stronger gun laws were not the answer, despite calls for such legislation from student survivors. Instead, Mast said, "What do we do with the biggest pusher of violence? The biggest pusher of violence is, hands down, Hollywood movies, hands down, the video game market." Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin shared similar sentiments, while Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem refused to vote on a bill banning bump stocks, arguing violent video games were the real concern.

The National Rifle Association is another loud voice in this conversation, and its leaders have long blamed mass shootings on video games. In 2012, after a shooter killed 20 children and six faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, NRA president Wayne La Pierre said, "There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence against its own people." He was talking about video games, not the gun industry.

The NRA has donated to Mast's campaign and Bevin is " proudly endorsed" by the organization. Trump has an A-plus rating from the NRA.

"There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence against its own people."

Which brings us back to this week's White House meeting with the ESA. One week after the Parkland shooting, Trump floated the (unscientific, largely disproven) theory that video games can incite real-world violence, and questioned whether stricter regulation was necessary. These are sentiments designed to grab the attention of the ESA and video game fans alike, and they steer the conversation away from topics like gun legislation -- which is generally how the NRA prefers things.

The ESA has plenty of experience defending the reputation of the video game industry and its ability to regulate itself, and its arguments are backed up by decades of research into on-screen and real-world violence. It's highly likely that this week's meeting with Trump won't result in new federal regulations for the video game industry -- and besides, any attempts to censor would be challenged on First Amendment grounds, just as they have been (quite successfully) in the past.

It's also likely the Trump administration is aware of this stalemate. The desired outcome, in this case, is the conversation that draws energy away from a much more complicated, politically charged and emotional debate about gun control in the US -- a conversation that includes the 1,100 words above.

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For the people in the back: Video games don't cause violence

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In 2017, the APA's Media Psychology division advised officials and reporters to stop suggesting there was a connection between violent video games and real-life acts of brutality: "Journalists and policy makers do their constituencies a disservice in cases where they link acts of real-world violence with the perpetrators' exposure to violent video games or other violent media.

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Video games make teens more engaged in studies

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Video games make teens more engaged in studies

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Teens (about the age of 13) who played solitary games had better relationships and academic results. Teens who played multiplayer and competitive games were feeling less lonely and less anxious.

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THE QUESTION Some studies say upward of 90 percent of teens regularly play electronic games on computers, tablets, phones or game consoles. What is less certain is how this activity might affect their lives.

THIS STUDY involved 217 adolescents (average age of 13) and assessed the amount of time they spent playing video games and the type of games they played. Using standardized scales, their teachers evaluated the teens' behavior, academic effort and achievement. Teens who regularly played for three hours or more a day were more likely to be hyperactive, have behavior issues and show less interest in academics than those who played less than an hour a day or not at all.

Teens who played mostly solitary games (in which they were the only player) tended to be more engaged academically and have better peer relationships than others in the study. Teens who gravitated toward multiplayer and competitive games tended to have fewer internalized problems (which generally is used to describe such issues as anxiety, loneliness and withdrawal). No link was found between playing violent games and being involved in real-world violence or conflict or between violent games and the teens' academic performance.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Teens. Whether time spent on electronic devices affects young people's social development and behavior has been the target of much speculation and research. Some studies have linked excessive game playing to academic problems and aggressive, antisocial behavior, while others have found the experience beneficial to relationship-building, critical thinking and academic success.

CAVEATS Data on game playing came from the adolescents' responses. Behavior assessments did not include input from parents. The researchers noted that the findings suggest "that electronic gaming, like most hobbies pursued during childhood, may be one of many activities that help young people develop and can be part of a healthy childhood if pursued in moderation." The study did not prove that particular games caused specific behaviors; it is possible, instead, that teens with certain behavior traits might be attracted to certain types of games.

FIND THIS STUDY Online issue of Psychology of Popular Media Culture ( www.apa.org/pubs/ journals/ppm. Click "Online First" link, then "View article list") or direct link to the study at psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2015-08821-001.

LEARN MORE ABOUT advice for parents on teens' screen time at www.kidshealth.org (enter parents' site, search for "video games") and www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health (click on "We Can!" and then "Reduce Screen Time").

The research described in Quick Study comes from credible, peer-reviewed journals. Nonetheless, conclusive evidence about a treatment's effectiveness is rarely found in a single study. Anyone considering changing or beginning treatment of any kind should consult with a physician.

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The effect of video games on kids' behavior and achievement

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THE QUESTION Some studies say upward of 90 percent of teens regularly play electronic games on computers, tablets, phones or game consoles. What is less certain is how this activity might affect their lives. THIS STUDY involved 217 adolescents (average age of 13) and assessed the amount of time they spent playing video games and the type of games they played.

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A study done in 2016 February showed that after a few major violent video games had decreased, the level of crime in the country had decreased

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Video games do not cause violence but can be used as an outlet for teens who have aggression issues

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Video games do not cause violence but can be used as an outlet for teens who have aggression issues

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No, Dan Patrick, violent video games don't cause violence [Commentary]

It's becoming a familiar refrain from conservative politicians following mass shootings. Sure enough, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick claimed that the school shooting at Santa Fe High School was caused not by real guns, but by imaginary ones.

"What are these games showing you how to do? Kill people," Patrick said. "The vast majority [of psychologists and psychiatrists] will tell you it leads them to become numb to violence, to have less empathy to their victims and be more aggressive. Does that impact everyone who views them? No, but it obviously is part of the problem."
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Coverage of the Santa Fe School Shooting
Pretty much everything Patrick said here is wrong. He also went on to blame abortions and broken homes and suggest arming teachers, but I'll stick to his claims about video games.

Here are the facts. The evidence is abundantly clear at this point: Violent video games do not cause violence.

Longitudinal studies of youth have not found evidence that early game playing is associated with later violence, decreased empathy or conduct problems. In fact, the release of popular violent video games like "Grand Theft Auto" are associated with immediate declines in societal violence, and long-term relationships show that increased violent game consumption is associated with reduced youth violence - and we have to remember that youth violence is down by more than 80 percent from 25 years ago.

Also, playing games like "Grand Theft Auto" does not appear to decrease empathy toward women. Internationally, the countries that consume the most video games per capita are among the least violent.

And analyses of school shooters have found that they appear to consume unusually low levels of violent media for males their age.

Villanova University professor Patrick Markey and I discuss much of this in our book "Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong." We note that, contrary to the lieutenant governor's claims, most psychologists who study the issue do not link violent media to violence in society.

Indeed, across studies, only about 10 percent to 30 percent of scholars agree with him, making it a decidedly minority view. Just this year, the Media Psychology and Technology Division of the American Psychological Association (APA) released a policy statement asking politicians to stop making exactly the kinds of claims Patrick made about video games and violence.

Granted, confusion was sown by the APA itself with an older, ill-conceived resolution statement from 2015 that linked games to mild aggression, but not violence. But even that statement appears to have been poorly put together with the APA acting more akin to a guild selling a product, stacking the task force with members known not to like games. More than 230 scholars wrote to the APA asking them not to release these kinds of misleading and confusing policy statements.

The result, predictably, is that the APA created talking points for the National Rifle Association and its supporters. Its 2015 resolution statement should be repealed as it is doing more harm than good.

But, if the evidence is so clear that violent video games do not contribute to societal violence, why do some people like Patrick persist in such claims? One reason is a generational divide. We know older adults are much more suspicious of games than younger adults. Since they make up the voting and news-buying audience to a greater degree than younger adults, societal narratives tend to cater to them.
OPINION: Can Americans ditch guns the way we ditched cigarettes?
The second issue is that beating the drum of video games has increasingly become a right-wing issue. Video games and movies are held up in an attempt to distract people from talking about gun control. It's a cynical political move, one that takes advantage of moral panics about new media.

Here's the truth: Video games don't play any role, even a small one, in creating mass shootings like the one that happened at Santa Fe High School. New brain imaging studies make clear that people's brains just don't respond to fictional violence like they do real-life violence.

Debates about gun control are necessary, and I remain open to the idea that conservatives have valid points that should be listened to. But they lose credibility by recycling long-dead fears that have no scientific basis.
Dr. Chris Ferguson (@CJFerguson1111) is a professor of psychology at Stetson University and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He is coauthor of the book "Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong" and author of the mystery novel "Suicide Kings." Get the Gray Matters newsletter. The evidence is abundantly clear at this point.

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No, Dan Patrick, violent video games don't cause violence [Commentary]

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It's becoming a familiar refrain from conservative politicians following mass shootings. Sure enough, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick claimed that the school shooting at Santa Fe High School was caused not by real guns, but by imaginary ones. "What are these games showing you how to do? Kill people," Patrick said.