Posted: 23 Feb 2011 09:20 PM PST

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- A long-standing concern among parents and researchers has been that young people who are exposed to violent video games may become desensitized to violent acts and images, but a new study suggests that may not be the case.

Canadian researchers comparing gamers to non-gamers found that in the long run, gamers were just as likely to recall negative images in memory tests and to report the same levels of emotion in reaction to the pictures as the non-gamers.

"People who play video games didn't differ in memory, and physical arousal wasn't different between gamers and non-gamers. And there was no difference in how each group felt after seeing negative or violent pictures," said study author Holly Bowen, a doctoral candidate in the department of psychology at Ryerson University in Toronto.

The findings were published in the January issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology.

Video game violence differs from violence in television or the movies because people playing the games are actively involved in the aggression, and in some games, receive rewards and incentives for committing virtual violent acts, according to background information in the study.

Previous studies have suggested that violent video games may lead to more aggressive behavior and irritability, in addition to greater desensitization to violence, the current study reports.

Much of the research on video games and violence, however, has tested gamers soon after they played a game, and might not reflect long-term effects, said Bowen.

To assess whether violent video games affected the brain long-term, Bowen and her colleague, Julia Spaniol, recruited 122 undergraduate psychology students to participate in their study on emotional memory.

"Emotional memory is a really important part of your cognitive functioning. If you don't remember negative or harmful situations, you can't learn from them and avoid them in the future," said Bowen.

Ninety-six of the study volunteers were female, and the average age was 19 years old. Forty-five people in the group had played video games during the previous six months. The remaining 77 had no video game exposure.

Both male and female players reported playing Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy and NHL (National Hockey League) games. Males also listed the fighting games Call of Duty and Tekken in their top five. Females preferred playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band or the go-kart game Mario Kart to the violent videos, according to the study.

The researchers showed 150 images -- positive, neutral and negative -- to the study volunteers. Bowen said some of the images were violent and disturbing, such as a picture of a man holding gun to a woman's head.

An hour later, the researchers showed the study volunteers the images again, but randomly mixed in additional pictures as distracters.

If video gamers' brains had been desensitized from playing video games, the researchers theorized that they should be less able to recall the violent images.

But they found no differences in recall between the two groups. And, the gamers and non-gamers reported similar levels of physical arousal from the images, and described similar feelings when viewing the photos.

Bowen said while this study can't definitively say that violent video games aren't desensitizing people to violence, she said it does provide "another piece of the puzzle, and perhaps, video games aren't having long-term effects on cognition and memory."

She and her colleague noted, however, that a possible limitation to the study was that the volunteers described their arousal to violent images rather than being monitored for heart rate and other physiological responses, and that more study was needed.

"The premise here is that we think people who are exposed to violent video games might be desensitized to violence, and if they are, they should not remember disturbing, violent pictures as much," explained Tracy Dennis, an associate professor of psychology at Hunter College of the City University of New York.

"And, while this is an important study, what they're asking people to remember isn't necessarily linked to video game memories, so I think it's important to draw only moderate conclusions," said Dennis.

"A lot more research needs to be done on video game violence," she said, adding that in the meantime, parents should try to minimize their children's exposure to such violence, particularly games that reward or reinforce violence.

Dr. Eric Hollander, a psychiatrist from Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, said that some teens may be more vulnerable to video game violence. "Teens who don't get sufficient rewards or reinforcement from other activities may be vulnerable to the rewards gained from risky behaviors, such as video game or gambling addiction."

"With aggressive video games, teens are getting a high level of arousal and reward that they may not get with other games, and they may start to develop a more restrictive interest for one type of game," he explained, adding that a red flag for parents is if they see their child becoming less engaged in other activities that they used to enjoying doing, and they're only playing a certain type of video game.

SOURCES: Holly J. Bowen, doctoral candidate, Ryerson University, Toronto; Eric Hollander, M.D., psychiatrist, and director, the Spectrum Program for Compulsive, Impulsive and Autism Disorders, Montefiore Medical Center, New York City; Tracy A. Dennis, Ph.D., associate professor, psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York City; January 2011, Applied Cognitive Psychology

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Posted: 23 Feb 2011 09:21 PM PST

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Violent games marketed to kids

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 01:05 AM PST

Our everyday lives are enhanced in countless ways by today's technological revolution: from smart phones to smart homes to smart automobiles. E-health allows us to have access to health-care experts thousands of miles away. Distance learning and e-books provide opportunities for our children we could never have imagined.

However, there are also examples of technological development that confound us as parents and can have an extremely negative and even dangerous impact on our children. From cyberbullying to texting while driving, there are deleterious consequences that can also be deadly.

A long line of research has found that violent media can lead to aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and that violent video games may be more harmful than violent TV and movies. Because games are interactive, they enable the player to BE the aggressor. Which is why the new advertising campaign launched for Dead Space 2 — a new, ultra-violent video game involving heinous attacks, beheading, vomiting on victims — is especially irresponsible.

The ad campaign is extremely clever. Hundreds of moms were filmed while watching the video game. Their responses vary from horror, to disgust, to covering their eyes to avoid watching. The ad closes with the tagline: "Your mom hates this."

Talk about enticement for young adolescent males to want this game! As criticism for the ad campaign has grown, some have argued that the moms featured in the ads are older, so their children probably aren't children. That's where the marketers may be a bit too clever. Ask yourself: How many 23-year-old gamers care whether their mothers hate the games they play? And look where the ad campaign is placed: on channels that are popular teen destinations like MTV and online, where Dead Space 2 videos uploaded to YouTube (accessed by kids any time of day) have been viewed millions of times.

For years, the entertainment software industry has fought any type of government oversight by pointing to its stringent rating system and the high rate of compliance regarding the sale of violent video games to children. In fact, the industry's own self-regulatory body, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rated Dead Space 2 as "M" for mature, meaning that it is not appropriate for children under 17.

Board should sanction EA

The ESRB also has its Principles and Guidelines for Responsible Advertising Practices. Their website says "ESRB's Advertising Review Council (ARC) diligently monitors and enforces compliance with industry marketing guidelines across TV, print and online media vehicles." The video-game industry regularly argues that this self-regulation provides sufficient oversight, negating any need for legislation to protect kids. But if ESRB is providing oversight, why is this campaign clearly marketing an M-rated game ("Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language") to kids?

If the ESRB has any real enforcement power — or integrity — and wants parents as well as members of Congress to trust their self-regulation, they should act quickly and sanction Electronic Arts for the Dead Space 2 ad campaign. Lack of action on the part of ESRB will demonstrate that the industry is unwilling or unable to help families protect kids from the marketing of disturbingly violent images and storylines. And rather than being a proponent for industry self-regulation, I and many parents will be calling for legislation to end these exploitive and manipulative advertising practices.

Game developers are free to develop whatever ultra-violent games they may be inspired to create. Certainly, adults are free to purchase them. However, impressionable, bright, young minds are the future of our country, and they deserve the best technology can offer, not the worst.

ESRB ratings website: www.esrb.org

YouTube link to watch the ads: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jri8LFci4xQ

More ratings and help for parents: www.commonsense.org

Deborah Taylor Tate is a former Federal Communications commissioner and now serves on the national board of Common Sense Media, and was awarded the 2009 WTISD Laureate for her work regarding child online advocacy.

Kids Games

Thursday, February 24, 2011

“Violent Video Games May Not Desensitize Kids: Study” plus 2 more

“Violent Video Games May Not Desensitize Kids: Study” plus 2 more

Board should sanction EA

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