For better or worse, video games are an integral part of our lives. Introducing top 5 facts about how video games can affect our brains.
5. Relationship
In 2015, staff at Brigham Young University in the United States surveyed a number of people about how often they played with their siblings, how often they had conflict with siblings, and how they rate their relationship. The researchers then asked the study participants to name the first three games they enjoyed playing with their siblings.
It revealedthat siblings who played violent video games together were less likely to have family conflicts. But you need to consider that most of the time they defended each other from opponents.
The researchers also found that video games increased affection between siblings due to shared experiences.
4. Bystander effect
The more people come together, the less likely one of them will help a person in trouble. Most people believe that someone nearby will solve the problem.
Research from the Austrian University of Innsbruck has shown that the bystander effect also occurs in video games and can linger after the game ends. Two groups of subjects played Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. You could play as a member of the police team against a terrorist group, or in a single game "police against terrorist".
After completing the game, the study participants were asked to provide assistance to a student who is trying to complete his project. Solo players were willing to spend more time helping out than team players. The imaginary team still existed in the minds of the players, even though the game was over.
3. Suicidal tendencies
Scientists from the American University of Auburn University investigated the correlation between violent video games and the possibility of suicide. Suicidal potential is defined as "the ability to overcome the fear of death and have sufficient tolerance for pain to commit suicide."
Study participants were asked how often they played violent video games and what their average age rating was. They then completed questionnaires on fear of death and pain tolerance.
Result: people who play more violent video games have less fear of death, but have no increased tolerance for pain.
This study does not suggest that people who play violent video games will commit suicide. It simply means that they feel more comfortable with the thought of death than other people.
2. Aggression
A study led by the US National Science Foundation found that those who played violent video games in a prosocial context (for example, helping a character) were less aggressive than video game players with morally ambiguous contexts.
The participants played one of three video games: about zombies, where players had to protect characters, about zombies to hunt, and a puzzle game like Tetris.
The subjects were told that they were playing against another participant, but in fact their opponent was a computer.The "loser" listened to an unpleasant white noise in his headphones in every round. The intensity and volume of the white noise was set by the winner.
Result: Participants playing the pro-social zombie game responded more gently to detecting the intensity of white noise than players simply killing zombies. The most benevolent were the "puzzle".
1. Self-assessment
Researchers at Michigan State University and the University of California at Santa Barbara asked study participants to rate how they agreed with statements such as "I believe my character is my friend" and "I can see what I get from my character's relationship."
They then asked participants to rate how much they enjoyed playing games with good characters, how often they played video games, and how high their level of self-esteem was.
Participants with higher character attachments had lower self-esteem even though they enjoyed the game more and played more often.