The tried and true tale of video game violence turning players into well-trained killing machines received an interesting wrinkle today. A Texas A&M study claims that violent games may actually reduce hostility, rather than increase it.
The study, conducted by Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, gave 103 young adults a frustrating task to perform. Afterwards, they would be randomly selected to play no game, a non-violent game, a violent game as a hero, or a violent game as a villain. "The results suggest that violent games reduce depression and hostile feelings in players through mood management," said Dr. Ferguson.
"It probably won't come as a surprise to gamers that playing games may reduce stress, although others have been skeptical of this idea," he said. "This is the first study that explores this idea, however." Ferguson does note that the results are correlational, which means they aren't necessarily causal, and more research is needed for a certain conclusion. Dr. Ferguson also points out that this research could lead to video games being used in therapy, to help patients deal with their frustrations.
Keep in mind that the study was conducted among young adults, so it doesn't necessarily contradict earlier studies we've seen related to children playing violent games. While we shouldn't be too eager to take one study as a win, this is a good step in the right direction of dispelling some fears about video game violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment