UB research part of study arc to determine why this is happening
Rapidly advancing technology has created ever more realistic video games. Images are sharp, settings have depth and detail, and the audio is crisp and authentic. At a glance, it appears real. So real, that research has consistently found that gamers feel guilty committing unjustified acts of violence within the game.
Now, a new University at Buffalo-led study suggests that the moral response produced by the initial exposure to a video game decreases as experience with the game develops.
The findings provide the first experimental evidence that repeatedly playing the same violent game reduces emotional responses — like guilt — not only to the original game, but to other violent video games as well.
Yet why this is happening remains a mystery, according to Matthew Grizzard, assistant professor of communication and principal investigator of the study published in current issue of the journal “Media Psychology,” with co-authors Ron Tamborini and John L. Sherry of Michigan State University and René Weber of the University of California Santa Barbara.
“What’s underlying this finding?” asks Grizzard. “Why do games lose their ability to elicit guilt, and why does this seemingly generalize to other, similar games?”
Grizzard, an expert in the psychological effects of media entertainment, has previously studied the ability of violent video games to elicit guilt. The current study builds upon that work.
Gamers often claim their actions in a video game are as meaningless to the real world as players capturing pawns on a chess board. Yet, previous research by Grizzard and others shows that immoral virtual actions can elicit higher levels of guilt than moral virtual actions. This finding would seem to contradict claims that virtual actions are completely divorced from the real world. Grizzard’s team wanted to replicate their earlier research and determine whether gamers’ claims that their virtual actions are meaningless actually reflects desensitization processes.
Although the findings of his study suggest that desensitization occurs, mechanisms underlying these findings are not entirely clear.
He says there are two arguments for the desensitization effect.
“One is that people are deadened because they’ve played these games over and over again,” he says. “This makes the gamers less sensitive to all guilt-inducing stimuli.”
The second argument is a matter of tunnel vision.
“This is the idea that gamers see video games differently than non-gamers, and this differential perception develops with repeated play.”
Non-gamers look at a particular game and process all that’s happening. For the non-gamer, the intensity of the scene trumps the strategies required to succeed. But gamers ignore much of the visual information in a scene as this information can be meaningless to their success in a game, according to Grizzard.
“This second argument says the desensitization we’re observing is not due to being numb to violence because of repeated play, but rather because the gamers’ perception has adapted and started to see the game’s violence differently.”
“Through repeated play, gamers may come to understand the artificiality of the environment and disregard the apparent reality provided by the game’s graphics.”
Grizzard say his future research is working toward answering these questions.
“This study is part of an overarching framework that I’ve been looking at in terms of the extent to which media can elicit moral emotions, like guilt, disgust and anger,” he says.
Learn more: Violent video games eventually lose their ability to produce guilt in gamers
The Latest on: Violent video games
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Violent video games” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Violent video games
- “Fallout” is an explosion of violence, gore and the power of the human spirit at the end of the worldon May 7, 2024 at 7:06 pm
Amazon Prime’s latest hit, an adaptation of the popular video game franchise of the same name, masterfully balances disaster, comedy, misery and heart all at once.
- Broncos fan captures moment she was sexually harassed on way home from NRL gameon May 7, 2024 at 4:28 pm
The head of the National Women's Safety Alliance is outraged by harassment and victim blaming after a footy fan captures threats of sexual violence against her on camera.
- Abandoning children to the internet has dire consequences, just ask Gen Z | GUEST COMMENTARYon May 7, 2024 at 10:00 am
We need to move quickly to move kids away from social media or the next generation will be unprepared for the challenges of adulthood.
- 20 Best Video Game Adaptations Everon May 3, 2024 at 11:00 am
The situation has changed in truly remarkable ways in recent years, though. We now regularly receive video game adaptations that aren’t just good according to the standards of that criteria but are ...
- Knicks, 76ers fans clash in vicious scenes during Game 6on May 3, 2024 at 7:24 am
The combination of a 9 p.m. tip, two rival fan bases and a dramatic Game 6 had Knicks and 76ers fans on their worst behavior Thursday night. Two separate videos showed fans acting hostilely toward one ...
- Boss of Professor Layton and Ni No Kuni Studio Wants to Make an Erotic and Violent Game One Dayon May 2, 2024 at 8:43 am
The boss of Level-5, the developer behind family friendly titles such as Professor Layton, Ni No Kuni, and Yokai Watch, wants to create a violent and erotic video game one day.
- Boy Kills World Stands Out As An Ultra-Violent Video Game Movie Not Based On Oneon May 2, 2024 at 2:10 am
There has never been a greater time to be a lover of video games and cinema because we’re finally living in a reality where video game-to-screen adaptations are not just okay, at best, they’re bloody ...
- Professor Layton development boss eyeing erotic and violent gameson May 1, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Continuing, Hino added while laughing that he "would go as far as to say that I want to make things like erotic games and 18+ games with violence ... a deep love for video games watching her ...
- Violent game involving chess and boxing is being called the 'craziest sport in all of history'on May 1, 2024 at 9:24 am
"Chess Boxing has to be the craziest sport in all of history," the account penned. The video sees two contestants first have a game of chess in a boxing ring before having an actual bout just moments ...
- Does Waffle House promote violence more than video games?on April 29, 2024 at 5:58 am
With memes connecting Tekken to the restaurant chain, the community and competition in gaming seems healthier than the breakout brawls at Waffle House. Last month, Katsuhiro Harada, creator of the ...
via Bing News