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. Relationships
In 2015, Brigham Young University employees in the United States interviewed a number of people about how often they played with their sisters and brothers, how often they had a conflict with brothers and sisters, and how they evaluate their relationship. The researchers then asked the study participants to name the first three games that they liked to play with their brothers and sisters.
It revealedthat siblings who played violent video games together less often had related conflicts. But you need to consider that most of the time they defended each other from opponents.
Researchers also found that video games increased affection between siblings due to shared experiences.
4. The effect of an outside observer
The more people come together, the less likely that one of them will help a person in need. Most people think that someone nearby will solve the problem.
A study conducted at the Austrian University of Innsbruck showed that the effect of an outside observer also arises in video games and may be “delayed" after the end of the game. Two groups of subjects played Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. One could play as a member of the police team against a terrorist group, or in the single-player game “policeman against a terrorist”.
Upon completion of the game, the study participants were offered to help a student who is trying to complete his project. Solo players were willing to devote more time to help than those who played on the team. The imaginary team still existed in the minds of the players, even though the game was over.
3. Suicidal tendency
Scientists from American University Auburn University investigated the correlation between violent video games and the possibility of suicide. The possibility of suicide is defined as "the ability to overcome the fear of death and sufficient tolerance for pain to commit suicide."
Study participants were asked how often they played violent video games and what was the average age rating for these games. They then filled out questionnaires about fear of death and pain tolerance.
Result: people who play more violent video games have less fear of death, but their tolerance for pain does not increase.
This study does not show that people who play violent video games commit suicide. It just means that they feel more comfortable thinking about death than other people.
2. Aggression
A study led by the U.S. National Science Foundation found that those who played video games with violence in a pro-social context (such as helping a character) were less aggressive than video game players with a morally ambiguous context.
Participants played one of three video games: about zombies, where players needed to protect characters, about zombies that needed to be hunted and a puzzle game like Tetris.
The subjects were told that they were playing against another participant, but in fact their rival was a computer. The "Loser" in each round listened to an unpleasant white noise in the headphones. The intensity and volume of white noise was determined by the “winner”.
Result: participants playing a prosocial zombie game reacted more softly to determining the intensity of white noise than players just killing zombies. The most benevolent were the "puzzlers."
1. Self-esteem
Employees at the University of Michigan and the University of California at Santa Barbara asked the study participants to evaluate how much they agree with statements such as “I think my character is my friend” and “I can see what I get through my relationship with my character.”
They then asked participants to evaluate whether they like games with good characters, how often they played video games, and how high their level of self-esteem is.
Participants with a higher affection for the characters had lower self-esteem, even if they enjoyed the game more and played more often.
