A motivational model of video game engagement.

More Americans now play video games than go to the movies (NPD Group, 2009). The meteoric rise in popularity of video games highlights the need for research approaches that can deepen our scientific understanding of video game engagement. This article advances a theory-based motivational model for examining and evaluating the ways by which video game engagement shapes psychological processes and influences well-being. Rooted in self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2000a), our approach suggests that both the appeal and well-being effects of video games are based in their potential to satisfy basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. We review recent empirical evidence applying this perspective to a number of topics including need satisfaction in games and short-term well-being, the motivational appeal of violent game content, motivational sources of postplay aggression, the antecedents and consequences of disordered patterns of game engagement, and the determinants and effects of immersion. Implications of this model for the future study of game motivation and the use of video games in interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Video games in health care: Closing the gap.

Although a great deal of media attention has been given to the negative effects of playing video games, relatively less attention has been paid to the positive effects of engaging in this activity. Video games in health care provide ample examples of innovative ways to use existing commercial games for health improvement or surgical training. Tailor-made games help patients be more adherent to treatment regimens and train doctors how to manage patients in different clinical situations. In this review, examples in the scientific literature of commercially available and tailor-made games used for education and training with patients and medical students and doctors are summarized. There is a history of using video games with patients from the early days of gaming in the 1980s, and this has evolved into a focus on making tailor-made games for different disease groups, which have been evaluated in scientific trials more recently. Commercial video games have been of interest regarding their impact on surgical skill. More recently, some basic computer games have been developed and evaluated that train doctors in clinical skills. The studies presented in this article represent a body of work outlining positive effects of playing video games in the area of health care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blazing angels or resident evil? Can violent video games be a force for good?

Violent video games have been a source of controversy in the United States and elsewhere for several decades. Considerable concern has been raised in the public and scientific communities about the alleged deleterious effects of violent games. These concerns may coincide with periodic moral panics about media's influence, particularly on youth. This paper argues that the negative effects of violent games have been exaggerated by some elements of the scientific community, fitting with past cycles of media-focused moral panics. By contrast, potential positive effects of violent video game play have been ignored in the debate on violent games. The current paper considers research in several areas, including aggression, but also the nascent research fields of visuospatial cognition, social networking, and use as educational tools. It is argued that the debate on video game violence should be broadened to include both potential negative and positive effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computers in diabetes ''96

Since the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial demonstrated the substantial benefits of tight glycaemic control there has been renewed interest in the application of information technology (IT) based techniques for improving the day-to-day care of patients with diabetes mellitus. Computer-based educational approaches have a great deal of potential for patients use, and may offer a means of training more health-care professionals to deliver such improved care. In this article the potential role of IT in diabetes education is reviewed, focusing in particular on the application of compartmental models in both computer-based interactive simulators and educational video games. Close attention is devoted to practical applications-available today-for use by patients, their relatives, students and health-care professionals. The novel features and potential benefits of such methodologies are highlighted and some of the limitations of currently available software are discussed. The need for improved graphical user interfaces, and for further efforts to evaluate such programs and demonstrate an educational benefit from their use are identified as hurdles to their more widespread application. The review concludes with a look to the future and the type of modelling features which should be provided in the next generation of interactive diabetes simulators and educational video games.     

Video games in psychotherapy.

Video games have found their way into the clinical care of youth in most medical fields, and academic interest in their use is increasing steadily. The popularity of video games among youth may qualify them as a useful tool in psychotherapy for children and adolescents. Limited literature on use of video games in mental health care suggests that they can help young patients become more cooperative and enthusiastic about psychotherapy. Recent experience suggests that video games may facilitate therapeutic relationships, complement the psychological assessment of youth by evaluating cognitive skills, and elaborate and clarify conflicts during the therapy process. Concerns about video game content, perceived effects on youth, and lack of familiarity with this medium may form a barrier in their use in therapy offices. Further research on the benefits of video game use in psychotherapy, including patient characteristics that may moderate outcomes, is needed. Finally, future collaborations between clinicians and video game developers may produce specific games to be used in psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's motivations for video game play in the context of normal development.

Electronic games are now an everyday part of childhood and adolescence. The debate has moved from whether children should play video games to how to maximize potential benefits and to identify and minimize potential harms. To do this, we must understand what motivates children to play electronic games and what needs the games meet. Drawing on a survey of 1,254 middle school children, focus groups with boys and their parents, and findings from other quantitative and qualitative research, the author describes a variety of motivations for video game play (including games with violent content) and how these may vary based on factors such as mood, environment, personality, and developmental stage. The findings are put into the context of normal development, and suggestions are given for parents, educators, and researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Playing prosocial video games increases empathy and decreases schadenfreude.

Past research provided abundant evidence that exposure to violent video games increases aggressive tendencies and decreases prosocial tendencies. In contrast, research on the effects of exposure to prosocial video games has been relatively sparse. The present research found support for the hypothesis that exposure to prosocial video games is positively related to prosocial affect and negatively related to antisocial affect. More specifically, two studies revealed that playing a prosocial (relative to a neutral) video game increased interpersonal empathy and decreased reported pleasure at another's misfortune (i.e., schadenfreude). These results lend further credence to the predictive validity of the General Learning Model (Buckley & Anderson, 2006) for the effects of media exposure on social tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using board games in therapy with children.

Reviews the available literature (1932–1993) regarding the use of board games in psychotherapy with children. The authors examine potential advantages and disadvantages of this therapeutic tool. Currently, empirical validation of these games is scarce. The paper presents a discussion of the importance of empirically examining the use of board games in therapy and directions for future research. In addition, the authors provide readers with some preliminary guidelines for selecting and evaluating board games for use with their child clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nailing the coffin shut on doubts that violent video games stimulate aggression: Comment on Anderson et al. (2010).

Over the past half century the mass media, including video games, have become important socializers of children. Observational learning theory has evolved into social–cognitive information processing models that explain that what a child observes in any venue has both short-term and long-term influences on the child’s behaviors and cognitions. C. A. Anderson et al.’s (2010) extensive meta-analysis of the effects of violent video games confirms what these theories predict and what prior research about other violent mass media has found: that violent video games stimulate aggression in the players in the short run and increase the risk for aggressive behaviors by the players later in life. The effects occur for males and females and for children growing up in Eastern or Western cultures. The effects are strongest for the best studies. Contrary to some critics’ assertions, the meta-analysis of C. A. Anderson et al. is methodologically sound and comprehensive. Yet the results of meta-analyses are unlikely to change the critics’ views or the public’s perception that the issue is undecided because some studies have yielded null effects, because many people are concerned that the implications of the research threaten freedom of expression, and because many people have their identities or self-interests closely tied to violent video games. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive/attentional distraction in the control of conditioned nausea in pediatric cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Two studies were conducted to investigate the use of cognitive/attentional distraction (via commercially available video games) to control conditioned nausea in pediatric cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The first study compared the nausea severity in children who played video games during chemotherapy-related procedures with that of control-group children who did not play video games. The second study used a combined ABAB withdrawal and repeated measures analysis of variance design that incorporated baseline and intervention assessments within a single session. In both studies, video game-playing resulted in significantly less nausea. The introduction and withdrawal of the opportunity to play video games produced significant changes (reduction and exacerbation, respectively) in nausea. Although video games also reduced self-reported anxiety, the effects were weaker than those for nausea. Pulse rate and systolic/diastolic blood pressure were not consistently affected. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Video games and spatial cognition.

Video game enthusiasts spend many hours at play, and this intense activity has the potential to alter both brain and behavior. We review studies that investigate the ability of video games to modify processes in spatial cognition. We outline the initial stages of research into the underlying mechanisms of learning, and we also consider possible applications of this new knowledge. Several experiments have shown that playing action games induces changes in a number of sensory, perceptual, and attentional abilities that are important for many tasks in spatial cognition. These basic capacities include contrast sensitivity, spatial resolution, the attentional visual field, enumeration, multiple object tracking, and visuomotor coordination and speed. In addition to altering performance on basic tasks, playing action video games has a beneficial effect on more complex spatial tasks such as mental rotation, thus demonstrating that learning generalizes far beyond the training activities in the game. Far transfer of this sort is generally elusive in learning, and we discuss some early attempts to elucidate the brain functions that are responsible. Finally, we suggest that studying video games may contribute not only to an improved understanding of the mechanisms of learning but may also offer new approaches to teaching spatial skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of risk-glorifying media exposure on risk-positive cognitions, emotions, and behaviors: A meta-analytic review.

In recent years, there has been a surge in the quantity of media content that glorifies risk-taking behavior, such as risky driving, extreme sports, or binge drinking. The authors conducted a meta-analysis involving more than 80,000 participants and 105 independent effect sizes to examine whether exposure to such media depictions increased their recipients' risk-taking inclinations. A positive connection was found for overall, combined risk taking (g = .41); as well as its underlying dimensions: risk-taking behaviors (g = .41), risk-positive cognitions and attitudes (g = .35), and risk-positive emotions (g = .56). This effect was observed across varying research methods (experimental, correlational, longitudinal); types of media (video games, movies, advertising, TV, music); and differing risk-related outcome measures (e.g., smoking, drinking, risky driving, sexual behavior). Multiple moderator analyses revealed 2 theoretically new boundary conditions for sociocognitive models. First, the effect was stronger for active (i.e., video games) than for passive (e.g., film, music) exposure to risk-glorifying media content. Second, the effect was stronger when there was a high degree of contextual fit between the media content and type of risk-taking measure. The theoretical, practical, and societal implications of the present research synthesis are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spectral and polarization sensitivity of photocurrents of amphibian rods in the visible and ultraviolet

American media are the most violent in the world, and American society is now paying a high price in terms of real life violence. Research has confirmed that mass media violence contributes to aggressive behavior, fear, and desensitization of violence. Television, movies, music videos, computer/video games are pervasive media and represent important influences on children and adolescents. Portraying rewards and punishments and showing the consequences of violence are probably the two most essential contextual factors for viewers as they interpret the meaning of what they are viewing on television. Public health efforts have emphasized public education, media literacy campaign for children and parents, and an increased use of technology to prevent access to certain harmful medial materials.     

Effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behavior.

Previous research has documented that playing violent video games has various negative effects on social behavior in that it causes an increase in aggressive behavior and a decrease in prosocial behavior. In contrast, there has been much less evidence on the effects of prosocial video games. In the present research, 4 experiments examined the hypothesis that playing a prosocial (relative to a neutral) video game increases helping behavior. In fact, participants who had played a prosocial video game were more likely to help after a mishap, were more willing (and devoted more time) to assist in further experiments, and intervened more often in a harassment situation. Results further showed that exposure to prosocial video games activated the accessibility of prosocial thoughts, which in turn promoted prosocial behavior. Thus, depending on the content of the video game, playing video games not only has negative effects on social behavior but has positive effects as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

基于流媒体技术的山东矿业视频监控系统

介绍流媒体技术的相关概念,并结合中钢集团山东矿业有限公司安全生产的实际需要,提出了流媒体技术在冶金矿山视频监控领域应用的设计方案,并介绍了该方案在山东矿业调度中心的成功应用.该监控系统采用了当今最流行的网络和流媒体及DLP大屏幕显示等新技术,实现了视频图像分散采集、集中监控、远程浏览的功能,达到了整个矿区地表监控"无死角、无盲区"及重点布防之目的.     

The effect of video game competition and violence on aggressive behavior: Which characteristic has the greatest influence?

Objective: This study is the first to our knowledge to isolate the effect of video game violence and competitiveness on aggressive behavior. Method: In Pilot Study 1, a violent and nonviolent video game were matched on competitiveness, difficulty, and pace of action, and the effect of each game on aggressive behavior was then compared using an unambiguous measure of aggressive behavior (i.e., the Hot Sauce Paradigm) in Experiment 1. In Pilot Study 2, competitiveness was isolated by matching games on difficulty and pace of action, and systematically controlling for violence. The effect of video game competition on aggressive behavior was then examined in Experiment 2. Results: We found that video game violence was not sufficient to elevate aggressive behavior compared with a nonviolent video game, and that more competitive games produced greater levels of aggressive behavior, irrespective of the amount of violence in the games. Conclusion: It appears that competition, not violence, may be the video game characteristic that has the greatest influence on aggressive behavior. Future research is needed to explore the mechanisms through which video game competitiveness influences aggressive behavior, as well as whether this relation holds in the long-term. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life.

Two studies examined violent video game effects on aggression-related variables. Study 1 found that real-life violent video game play was positively related to aggressive behavior and delinquency. The relation was stronger for individuals who are characteristically aggressive and for men. Academic achievement was negatively related to overall amount of time spent playing video games. In Study 2, laboratory exposure to a graphically violent video game increased aggressive thoughts and behavior. In both studies, men had a more hostile view of the world than did women. The results from both studies are consistent with the General Affective Aggression Model, which predicts that exposure to violent video games will increase aggressive behavior in both the short term (e.g., laboratory aggression) and the long term (e.g., delinquency). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

I wish I were a warrior: The role of wishful identification in the effects of violent video games on aggression in adolescent boys.

This study tested the hypothesis that violent video games are especially likely to increase aggression when players identify with violent game characters. Dutch adolescent boys with low education ability (N=112) were randomly assigned to play a realistic or fantasy violent or nonviolent video game. Next, they competed with an ostensible partner on a reaction time task in which the winner could blast the loser with loud noise through headphones (the aggression measure). Participants were told that high noise levels could cause permanent hearing damage. Habitual video game exposure, trait aggressiveness, and sensation seeking were controlled for. As expected, the most aggressive participants were those who played a violent game and wished they were like a violent character in the game. These participants used noise levels loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage to their partners, even though their partners had not provoked them. These results show that identifying with violent video game characters makes players more aggressive. Players were especially likely to identify with violent characters in realistic games and with games they felt immersed in. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of video games on the adverse corollaries of chemotherapy in pediatric oncology patients: A single-case analysis.

Assessed the effects of video games on adverse corollaries of chemotherapy in 3 male pediatric oncology patients (aged 11, 16, and 17 yrs) who reported and exhibited distress prior to and following chemotherapy. It was found that, compared with the baseline condition, access to video games resulted in a reduction in the number of anticipatory symptoms experienced and observed, as well as a diminution in the aversiveness of chemotherapy side effects. Conceptual and clinical implications for ameliorating the distress associated with chemotherapy in pediatric oncology patients with this technique are discussed. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wading Through the Stereotypes: Positive and Negative Associations Between Media Use and Black Adolescents' Conceptions of Self.

Although concern is often expressed that frequent media exposure may adversely affect the self-esteem and racial self-esteem of African American youths, evidence to support this assumption has been limited. To examine this issue, the author collected data among 156 African American high school students, testing connections among racial self-esteem, three dimensions of self-esteem, and multiple forms of media use. Whereas initial comparisons revealed media use to be a negative correlate of self-esteem, further analysis demonstrated that this association varied depending on the media genre and the domain of self in question, the content of students' media diets, and the individual characteristics of the viewer. In addition, both stronger identification with popular Black characters and greater religiosity emerged as possible protective factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)