PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Video game play may provide learning, health, social benefits, review finds

Authors suggest balancing questions of harm with potential for positive impact

2013-11-25
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Lisa Bowen
lbowen@apa.org
202-336-5707
American Psychological Association
Video game play may provide learning, health, social benefits, review finds Authors suggest balancing questions of harm with potential for positive impact WASHINGTON – Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children's learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association.

The study comes out as debate continues among psychologists and other health professionals regarding the effects of violent media on youth. An APA task force is conducting a comprehensive review of research on violence in video games and interactive media and will release its findings in 2014.

"Important research has already been conducted for decades on the negative effects of gaming, including addiction, depression and aggression, and we are certainly not suggesting that this should be ignored," said lead author Isabela Granic, PhD, of Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands. "However, to understand the impact of video games on children's and adolescents' development, a more balanced perspective is needed."

The article will be published in APA's flagship journal, American Psychologist.

While one widely held view maintains playing video games is intellectually lazy, such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception, according to several studies reviewed in the article. This is particularly true for shooter video games that are often violent, the authors said. A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player's capacity to think about objects in three dimensions, just as well as academic courses to enhance these same skills, according to the study. "This has critical implications for education and career development, as previous research has established the power of spatial skills for achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," Granic said. This enhanced thinking was not found with playing other types of video games, such as puzzles or role-playing games.

Playing video games may also help children develop problem-solving skills, the authors said. The more adolescents reported playing strategic video games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem solving and school grades the following year, according to a long-term study published in 2013. Children's creativity was also enhanced by playing any kind of video game, including violent games, but not when the children used other forms of technology, such as a computer or cell phone, other research revealed.

Simple games that are easy to access and can be played quickly, such as "Angry Birds," can improve players' moods, promote relaxation and ward off anxiety, the study said. "If playing video games simply makes people happier, this seems to be a fundamental emotional benefit to consider," said Granic. The authors also highlighted the possibility that video games are effective tools to learn resilience in the face of failure. By learning to cope with ongoing failures in games, the authors suggest that children build emotional resilience they can rely upon in their everyday lives.

Another stereotype the research challenges is the socially isolated gamer. More than 70 percent of gamers play with a friend and millions of people worldwide participate in massive virtual worlds through video games such as "Farmville" and "World of Warcraft," the article noted. Multiplayer games become virtual social communities, where decisions need to be made quickly about whom to trust or reject and how to lead a group, the authors said. People who play video games, even if they are violent, that encourage cooperation are more likely to be helpful to others while gaming than those who play the same games competitively, a 2011 study found.

The article emphasized that educators are currently redesigning classroom experiences, integrating video games that can shift the way the next generation of teachers and students approach learning. Likewise, physicians have begun to use video games to motivate patients to improve their health, the authors said. In the video game "Re-Mission," child cancer patients can control a tiny robot that shoots cancer cells, overcomes bacterial infections and manages nausea and other barriers to adhering to treatments. A 2008 international study in 34 medical centers found significantly greater adherence to treatment and cancer-related knowledge among children who played "Re-Mission" compared to children who played a different computer game.

"It is this same kind of transformation, based on the foundational principle of play, that we suggest has the potential to transform the field of mental health," Granic said. "This is especially true because engaging children and youth is one of the most challenging tasks clinicians face."

The authors recommended that teams of psychologists, clinicians and game designers work together to develop approaches to mental health care that integrate video game playing with traditional therapy. ### Article: "The Benefits of Playing Video Games," Isabela Granic, PhD, Adam Lobel, PhD, and Rutger C.M.E. Engels, PhD, Radboud University Nijmegen; Nijmegen, The Netherlands; American Psychologist, 2013.

Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

2-way traffic enable proteins to get where needed, avoid disease

2013-11-25
2-way traffic enable proteins to get where needed, avoid disease Augusta, Ga. - It turns out that your messenger RNA may catch more than one ride to get where it's going. Scientists have found that mRNA may travel one way down a cell, ...

University Of Massachusetts Medical School scientists re-imagine how genomes are assembled

2013-11-25
University Of Massachusetts Medical School scientists re-imagine how genomes are assembled Using DNA interaction frequency data, UMMS faculty develop quicker, more accurate method for assembling complex genome sequences WORCESTER, MA ...

Drug interactions causing a significant impact on statin use

2013-11-25
Drug interactions causing a significant impact on statin use CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study has found that many people who stopped taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs were also taking an average of three other drugs that interfered with the normal metabolism of the statins. The ...

NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Alessia make landfall near Darwin

2013-11-25
NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Alessia make landfall near Darwin Tropical Cyclone made landfall near Darwin, Australia on November 24 as a weak tropical storm as NASA's TRMM satellite passed overhead and measured its rainfall. The final warning on the tropical storm ...

Turning autism upside down: When symptoms are strengths

2013-11-25
Turning autism upside down: When symptoms are strengths Alternative treatment focuses on controlling the 'fight or flight' response A novel approach to treating children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder could help them navigate their world by teaching ...

Rain as acidic as lemon juice may have contributed to ancient mass extinction

2013-11-25
Rain as acidic as lemon juice may have contributed to ancient mass extinction MIT researchers find that rain as acidic as lemon juice may have contributed to massive die-offs on land 252 million years ago Rain as acidic as undiluted lemon juice may have ...

Broken cellular 'clock' linked to brain damage

2013-11-25
Broken cellular 'clock' linked to brain damage A new discovery may help explain the surprisingly strong connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Sleep loss increases the risk of Alzheimer's ...

Research: Materialism makes bad events even worse

2013-11-25
Research: Materialism makes bad events even worse CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In addition to its already well-documented negative direct effects on a person's well-being, materialism also wields an indirect negative effect by making bad events even ...

UCI, Northwestern researchers create compounds that boost antibiotics' effectiveness

2013-11-25
UCI, Northwestern researchers create compounds that boost antibiotics' effectiveness Inhibitors could form basis of new treatments for such diseases as MRSA, anthrax Irvine, Calif., Nov. 25, 2013 — Inhibitor compounds developed by UC Irvine structural ...

NASA catches Tropical Cyclone Lehar over the Andaman Islands

2013-11-25
NASA catches Tropical Cyclone Lehar over the Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands received an unwelcome visitor on November 25 in the form of Tropical Cyclone Lehar. NASA's Terra satellite captured a picture of the visitor as it was making its exit from the islands ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

[Press-News.org] Video game play may provide learning, health, social benefits, review finds
Authors suggest balancing questions of harm with potential for positive impact