Introduction
In the previous three decades, video games have contributed significantly on how people spend their free time. The expansion of the video game industry in the past has contributed to a lot of questions concerning the stuffing of the games being issued. Various research activities have been done to establish the effects of violent video games. This is due to the fact that many biological and physical changes occur during puberty are subject to exposure to violent video games.
This paper tries to elaborate the effects of violent video games on the brain, as well as the subjects of aggression and hostility with the goal of controlling the effects of video game violence.
Discussion
The first effect being viewed is the effect of violent video games on brain’s response to violence. Studies by US researchers for instance (Lin & Leper, 1987) found association between use of video games and teacher’s rating of aggressiveness. It has accomplished that people engaged in many video games have higher capabilities to commit serious offences and less likely to offer help to others. On the other hand, critics these associations only substantiate that violent people concentrate on violent games, not those games alter behavior.
At present, it has been established that people who engage in violent video games demonstrate reduced brain response to situations of real-life violence, for instance using guns, but not external emotional disturbing characteristics like those of dead natural world or ailing children. And the decrease in response is associated with aggressive character.
The study shows that the brain activity is a characteristic signal seen in an electroencephalogram recording of brain waves as we see an image. The brain activity measurement reflects an evaluation of emotional content of an image becoming larger if people are astonished or disturbed by an image or if an object is strange.
In the study, a questionnaire was conducted on 39 experienced players on the number of games they played. The respondents were then shown actual images, specifically of unbiased scenes but mixed with violent or negative scenes while recording brain activity.
In respondents with highest level of experience of violent games, the brain activity response to the violent images was less significant and tardy. The respondents with high experience in violent video games did not recognize them as much distinctive from neutral. They developed insensitivity. On the other hand, their responses are still accurate for the non-violent negative scenes.
There are situations when video games have been used to desensitize soldiers to scenes of war. Unfortunately, when the players were afterward given the chance to capitalize on an opponent's weakness, respondents having the least brain activity meted out the most serious punishments. Even when the team controlled for the people’s natural hostility, evaluated by usual questionnaires, the violent games experience and brain activity response were still strongly correlated with aggressiveness. Due to this observation, exposure to violent games has consequences on the brain that determines aggressive behavior.
On therapy point of view, there are more intellectual benefits from video games. These involve puzzle games like the popular Tetris. This genre of games stimulates the mind by presenting challenges and puzzles in place of enemies and worlds. The purpose of these games is to keep the mind energetic and alert. This criterion of game-play has brought about the notion that video games can be applied as a form of therapy. Some of them are comforting and soothing and they can be particularly altered to meet an individual patient’s need. A video game can be created to assist a particular type of person, whether it is to assist connect positive memory cells in the brain, or simply kindle brain activity in general. Because video games are created in a programmatic nature, their probabilities of creation are without limit. Gardner (1991) tried out the first research on this issue. He fruitfully applied video games as a way of psychotherapy in young children. This improvement has been used as a benchmark on this issue, with greater concern on dealing with mentally-ill patients.
On the context of Eye-Hand coordination it has been found that those who participate in video games have greater eye-hand coordination. This is due to the fact that some sort of skill is required to be able to play the games. For instance, if a character is running and shooting at the same time, a realistic player is required to monitor the location of the character, where he/she is moving, his speed, the target of the gun and if the gun is hitting the target. These factors are considered and then the coordinates brain explanation and reaction with the hand movement and fingertips, a process which requires a great deal of hand-eye coordination and visual-spatial capacity to be successful. This can be proved from the relationship that has been shown on the effects of increased video game playing on eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity and reaction time in (drew & Waters, 1986).
Reference list
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- Chambers. J. H & Ascione F.R. (1987). The effects of prosocial and aggressive videogames in children's donating and helping. Journal of Genetic Psychology , 148, 499-505.
- Connor, D.F Steingard, R.J Cunningham, J.A ,Anderson J.J, & Melloni. (2004). Proactive and reactive aggression in referred children and adolescents. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry , 74, 129-136.
