Post by kelvin on Dec 13, 2008 12:05:40 GMT -5
blog.wired.com/biotech/2007/03/study_racing_ga.html
By Kristen Philipkoski
March 18, 2007 | 5:00:00 PM
If you've been obsessed with PGR or Gran Tourismo lately, German psychologists think you should be extra cautious next time you get behind a real-life wheel.
They say that people who play car-racing games drive more aggressively and have a greater risk of car accidents than people who play racing games less often, or who play "neutral" games.
The researchers published three studies in April's issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology that examined 198 men and 92 women ages 16 to 45 while they played various games on a Sony Playstation.
To win the racing game, participants had to massively violate traffic rules (like drive on the sidewalk, crash into other cars, drive fast). Subsequently, the racing gamers reported more thoughts and feelings linked to risk-taking than did those who played a neutral game. Interestingly, but maybe not all that surprisingly, female participants has fewer such thoughts and feelings.
So the researchers didn't actually send the study subjects out in cars to watch their behavior post-gameplay. Still, they make the assumption that more risk-taking would be likely as follows:
Research on media violence has shown that cognitions, affect, and behavioral intentions are the most important mediators for determining effects of media content on real-life behaviors (e.g., Anderson, Carnagey, & Eubanks, 2003, Anderson et al., 2004). From traffic safety research, it is known that driving-related attitudes and intentions strongly determine driving behavior.
I'd like very much to hear what Mr. Clive Thompson has to say about this.
By Kristen Philipkoski
March 18, 2007 | 5:00:00 PM
If you've been obsessed with PGR or Gran Tourismo lately, German psychologists think you should be extra cautious next time you get behind a real-life wheel.
They say that people who play car-racing games drive more aggressively and have a greater risk of car accidents than people who play racing games less often, or who play "neutral" games.
The researchers published three studies in April's issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology that examined 198 men and 92 women ages 16 to 45 while they played various games on a Sony Playstation.
To win the racing game, participants had to massively violate traffic rules (like drive on the sidewalk, crash into other cars, drive fast). Subsequently, the racing gamers reported more thoughts and feelings linked to risk-taking than did those who played a neutral game. Interestingly, but maybe not all that surprisingly, female participants has fewer such thoughts and feelings.
So the researchers didn't actually send the study subjects out in cars to watch their behavior post-gameplay. Still, they make the assumption that more risk-taking would be likely as follows:
Research on media violence has shown that cognitions, affect, and behavioral intentions are the most important mediators for determining effects of media content on real-life behaviors (e.g., Anderson, Carnagey, & Eubanks, 2003, Anderson et al., 2004). From traffic safety research, it is known that driving-related attitudes and intentions strongly determine driving behavior.
I'd like very much to hear what Mr. Clive Thompson has to say about this.