New Study: No Link Between Games and Anti-Social Behavior

The University of Queensland found that videogames probably won’t turn you into an anti-social, introverted loner.

Researchers at the University of Queensland (that’s in Australia) have found that there is no link between violent videogames and anti-social behaviors. The test had participants play either a violent or non-violent game, and then be subjected (unknowingly) to a pro-social test. Both violent and non-violent game players showed equal amounts of pro-social behavior.

The study comprised of three separate experiments, where 160 grad students were ask to play a selection of four games. The students, 55 percent of which were male, were aged between 17 and 43. The game’s selected were Grand Theft Auto IV, Call of Duty: Black Ops (Zombies mode), Portal 2 and World of Zoo. The games were chosen because they were deemed to be anti-social, violent, non-violent and social respectively.

Later, the experiment was reduced to just Portal 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV. Gamers played their randomly selected game for 20 minutes, then answered a series of questions about their level of interest, frustration and arousal with the game. This was just a cover for the real test, which tested the gamer’s willingness to pick up the researchers “accidentally dropped pens” at several points during the interview.

The third phase of the game had players play Lemmings, and its more violent clone Lamers and yielded similar results. The study concluded that, “Three experiments failed to find a detrimental effect of violent video games on pro-social behavior, despite using contemporary and classic games, delayed and immediate test-phases, and short and long exposures.”

So to tell you something you probably already know, playing violent videogames won’t suddenly turn you into a humanity-hating hermit.

Source: Gamespot