Don't study the video game, study the player

Don't study the video game, study the player

By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY

Updated 09/15/2011 9:24 AM

Video games — especially violent ones — are constantly under scrutiny from parents concerned about negative effects. Now, research suggests that those worries should focus more on the player's personality rather than the content of the games.

Placing all blame on games like "Call of Duty Black Ops" may be unfair.

"If you're worried about a video game turning your son or daughter into a killer, don't worry about that," says psychologist Patrick Markey of Villanova (Pa.) University. "But is your kid moody, impulsive, or are they unfriendly? It's probably not the best idea to have that child play violent video games."

Markey's research, presented at a meeting of the American Psychological Association, is among several studies in recent months that aim to unravel the confusion that envelops video games.

"Video games are not simply good or bad for everybody," he says. "But for some individuals who have certain dispositions, if they play video games they're much more likely to be negatively affected."

Tips for parents of gamers:

Marina Krcmar, an associate professor of communication at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, N.C., who studies the impact of video games on children and teens, offers these tips for parents:

Research the games: Game ratings are not consistent, and many games marketed to kids are often inappropriate. Watch YouTube videos for game content and check out websites that review games.

Focus on strategy versus shooting games: “First-person shooter” games where the shooter plays against “humans” versus monsters have a greater sense of realism; strategy games help develop problem-solving skills.

Monitoring helps: Set up game systems in family living spaces. Talk about games: Parents’ thoughts may cause kids to think differently about games, especially if it’s violent and kids didn’t think about the violence.

Markey found slight increases in hostility for those with certain personality traits: extremely high on neuroticism and extremely low on agreeableness and conscientiousness.

The study he co-wrote in the journal Review of General Psychology was based on responses from 118 participants collected in 2009; half played violent video games and half played non-violent games.

A new study online in the journal Psychology of Violence also supports the notion that violence isn't the issue.

"It appears that competition in games is what may influence aggression, not the violent content," says lead author Paul Adachi, whose study was conducted at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.

"We found — irrespective of violent content — the two highly competitive games produced more aggressive behavior than the two less competitive games."

Gaming has grown in popularity. But because some research suggests a link to aggression and other research disputes a connection, studies about video games continue to evoke mixed opinions.

Among other research:

•Frequent exposure to violent video games among those ages 7-15 may affect their ability to develop empathy and increase their acceptability of violence overall, according to a study from Simmons College in the spring/summer edition of the Journal of Children and Media.

•Relaxing video games can make people happier and kinder, suggests research from Ohio State University online in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

•Girls may benefit from playing video games if a parent plays with them, according to a study from Brigham Young University of youth ages 11-16. The research in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that girls who played age-appropriate games with a parent behaved better, felt more connected to their families and had stronger mental health.

Eric Beaudoin, 25, a Los Angeles graduate student in psychology, says playing is a "stress-reliever."

"I can forget about my dissertation, my practicum and my clients and shoot some monsters," he says.

High school freshman Tia Strickland, 14, of Washington, D.C., is new to gaming and just started playing Angry Birds. "I'm really addicted to it," she says. "If I lose, I say I have to keep on playing. Once I win, I feel so satisfied."

David Gorelick of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Baltimore, who has reviewed research on behavioral addiction, says there's not enough data yet to know what "might lead a video game player to become a video game addict."

Gorelick, who appeared on the panel about video game research, suggests that some people with excessive video game habits will meet the criteria for having a behavioral addiction.

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