Research on Benefits of Children Playing Videogames

Some interesting new studies and projects have come out recently showing beneficial links to videogame playing for children. Linda A. Jackson, professor of psychology over at Michigan State University, led a study finding that videogame play was a strong predictor of creativity in children. Here is the abstract:

This research examined relationships between children’s information technology (IT) use and their creativity. Four types of information technology were considered: computer use, Internet use, videogame playing and cell phone use. A multidimensional measure of creativity was developed based on Torrance’s (1987, 1995) test of creative thinking. Participants were 491 12-year olds; 53% were female, 34% were African American and 66% were Caucasian American. Results indicated that videogame playing predicted of all measures of creativity. Regardless of gender or race, greater videogame playing was associated with greater creativity. Type of videogame (e.g., violent, interpersonal) was unrelated to videogame effects on creativity. Gender but not race differences were obtained in the amount and type of videogame playing, but not in creativity. Implications of the findings for future research to test the causal relationship between videogame playing and creativity and to identify mediator and moderator variables are discussed.

The paper can be downloaded here. The MSU press release is here. The paper is in press, and will be published in an upcoming issue of Computers in Human Behavior.

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Meanwhile, A. Scott Cunningham, an assistant professor of economics over at Baylor, along with Benjamin Engelstätter at the Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (Center for European Economic Research) and Michael R. Ward at University of Texas Arlington, released a working paper on the Social Science Research Network entitled “Understanding the Effects of Violent Video Games on Violent Crime.”

Researchers have long been able to measure physiological arousal in participants engaging in violent media. This physiological measurement is seen regardless of the media. Violent TV shows, movies, music, and videogames will elicit the measured arousal as study after study has shown. But, more tenuous are assertions this arousal leads to violence elsewhere once participants are away from the media. This study seeks to empirically link violent videogame sales with decreases in reports of violence. Here is the abstract:

Psychological studies invariably find a positive relationship between violent video game play and aggression. However, these studies cannot account for either aggressive effects of alternative activities video game playing substitutes for or the possible selection of relatively violent people into playing violent video games. That is, they lack external validity. We investigate the relationship between the prevalence of violent video games and violent crimes. Our results are consistent with two opposing effects. First, they support the behavioral effects as in the psychological studies. Second, they suggest a larger voluntary incapacitation effect in which playing either violent or non-violent games decrease crimes. Overall, violent video games lead to decreases in violent crime.

The paper can be accessed here. Some good articles discussing it in the media are here and here.

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Finally, work on videogames to assist children in coping with medical problems continues in earnest. A recent example involves the University of Utah’s Engineering Arts and Entertainment (EAE) program, which brings in students from the school’s Dept. of Film and Media Arts and School of Computing to design interactive entertainment. Together with physical therapists and councilors, EAE students created a series of videogames designed to help children stricken with cancer. The unnamed minigames written for the PlayStation3 are currently being beta tested by patients in the pediatric ward at the Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, with possible retail release in the near future. Articles on the games can be found here and here.

Using Video Games to Solve Complex Problems

The blogosphere and the Twitterverse were buzzing today with news about the latest crowdsourcing coup, where a video game was used to unravel the molecular structure of viral enzymes that cause AIDS in monkeys.

Such tedious work often requires human cognitive abilities, and combined efforts seem to flourish within a gaming environment. The online game used is called Foldit, and Firas Khatib and Frank DiMaio over at University of Washington’s Dept. of Biochemistry along with several others published a paper in Nature detailing the effort, entitled Crystal structure of a monomeric retroviral protease solved by protein folding game players. Here is their abstract:

Following the failure of a wide range of attempts to solve the crystal structure of M-PMV retroviral protease by molecular replacement, we challenged players of the protein folding game Foldit to produce accurate models of the protein. Remarkably, Foldit players were able to generate models of sufficient quality for successful molecular replacement and subsequent structure determination. The refined structure provides new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs.

The game looks quite interesting, and by playing you might help make a significant contribution to science.

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Check Out Virulent, a Hot New Medical Game in Development

One of the hottest areas in educational gaming at the moment is in the medical field, where players can be immersed in virtual biological environments. I’ve been corresponding by e-mail with Nathan Patterson at the Morgridge Institute for Research, a nonprofit biomedical research institute. Nathan sent a note describing what his team has been working on lately:

We recently released our first independently developed game called ‘Virulent’.  ‘Virulent’ is an action strategy game that was designed for the iPad but is also playable through the Unity Webplayer.  It places the player in control of a group of virus particles that are trying to spread their infection by evading the immune system and infecting cells.  The current version includes the first 7 of 15 designed levels.

The current version of Virulent is freely available for the iPad or the Unity WebPlayer. The team is seeking feedback as they continue building out the remaining eight levels. If you are interested in game design, would like to be part of a work in progress, and if you are willing to offer some insight and advice to the team, please take a moment to download the game and play through the levels.

For the iPad:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/virulent/id438485177?mt=8

For the Unity WebPlayer:
http://discovery.wisc.edu/media/MIR_images/erca/virulent_web/Virulent_2011_06.html

Here’s a screenshot of the game on the iPad:

Wii-hab Rising

Physical therapy benefits for patients using the Wii has hit the tipping point. A nice article by Teresa Martin over at CapeEyes.com chronicles the use of the Wii, “at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape & Islands (RHCI) in Sandwich, MA.”

Susan Owen is a grandmother and recovering stroke patient — and the Wii is part of fast-growing trend in rehabilitative therapy: Wii-Hab.

“You get so caught up in the moment of the game that you forget you’re ‘not supposed’ to be able to move that way,” she told me as she and her physical therapist competed with each other to knock down the most virtual pins.

Another therapist helped support her as she “threw” the ball, while at the same time relearning how to shift weight, regain strength, and redevelop her balance.

Beyond physical therapy, patients at RHCI use Brain Academy for cognitive therapy, according to Martin.

The folks at RHCI and its sister Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston have been actively integrating Wii activities into both physical and cognitive rehabilitation – and they are part of a rapidly growing international trend:

• William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is using the Wii and Guitar Hero to help severe burn victims start moving their arms and upper torsos again.
• Dr. Bruce Battles a physician specializing in brain injury rehabilitation at Western Kentucky University, received a US Dept. of Education grant to look at the outcomes of Wii-Hab. Battles began exploring rehab uses of the Wii after his own 16-year old son suffered serious head injuries in a car accident.
• The Medical College of Georgia is working with Parkinson’s patients and the Wii. Initial research from their work shows the Wii made significant impact on rigidity, movement, fine motor skills, and energy levels – and depression.

Finally, and of most interest to us, Martin points us to wii-hab.com, and their most interesting Research page. Thanks for the tip.

Online Medical Training in Virtual Hospitals

Pulse at TAMU-CC

Pulse!!, the Virtual Clinical Learning Lab, was created and is hosted at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. It was designed for experiential training of healthcare personnel in a virtual environment, exposing learners to stressful medical situations with no risk to actual patients.

The simulator uses 3D gaming technology for its virtual environment, in which civilian or military medical personnel can receive training. About $15 million has been spent on developing the project, most of it through federal sources such as the Office of Naval Research. Dr. Claudia L. McDonald, Associate VP for Special Projects at TAMU-CC, is the principal investigator.

Other medical training programs using video game technology are either in place or under development, including an effort led by Western Governor’s University funded by the Dept. of Labor; TruSim’s triage game; and Full Spectrum Warrior, developed at USC for treating post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Introducing Astropolis: The Video Game Suite Designed to Help Study Autism

Matthew Belmonte over at Cornell is leading a team that has designed a suite of video games specifically to study autism. The game suite, called Astropolis, has all the adventure and science fiction elements so popular with young boys. It was developed and research is ongoing thanks to funding in part by the National Science Foundation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Autism Speaks.

Aimed at children ages 10-15 diagnosed autistic, the games contain activities allowing researchers to test differing hypotheses within the framework of autism research. A past problem with autism research is that it often takes place strictly in lab environments, outside of natural settings for the subjects. Belmonte hopes these video games will provide immersive environments that will yield richer information than traditional lab settings.

Another benefit promoting natural environments: the games capture information while the subjects play that can be retrieved later. Thus, subjects can install the game suite on laptops taken home and played in familiar surroundings, and info can be retrieved when the laptops return to the lab.

Belmonte also uses EEG measurements in lab settings with the subjects, a technique popularized by Mark Klinger at U. Alabama. (MRI scans are also popular measurement techniques to use on video game players.)

So far, Dr. Belmonte has released two research abstracts at conferences of the International Society of Autism Research, here and here. No doubt journal published, peer reviewed research is forthcoming.

Read the press release from Cornell here for much more information. Check out the Autism Collaborative Wiki here for notes on development and other background information.

Finally, since the software was developed with public grants, it is freely available as a download at AutismCollaborative.org.

References:
Professor uses video games to explore facets of autism. (October 13, 2009). [Online.] Available: http://www.physorg.com/news174650438.html

Nintendo: Walking is a Game Now

We’ve discussed Zyked, and efforts to link workout stats in an online social or gaming environment. Now, Mike Musgrove over at the Washington Post has a nice article on the Nintendo DS title, Personal Trainer: Walking. Seeking to capitalize on the success of such effort inducing products like the Wii Fit, Nintendo essentially tied a pedometer to software that runs on the DS. Players download their pedometer data to the DS and it tracks statistics, compares your daily distances walked with your friends’ records, etc.

Musgrove discovered he walks around 8,000 steps a day. Out of curiosity, he attached the pedometer to his dog one day. The animal recorded 4,000 steps. Alas, the pedometer he gave his son was quickly lost at summer camp.

“Walking is a game now?” one of the lad’s incredulous campmates asked as they waited for the morning bus to arrive one recent weekday. “Nintendo is genius.”

Yes, walking is a game now. And, physical activity continues to be mated with video games in interesting ways.

References:
Musgrove, M. (2009, August 23). Nintendo makes some strides. The Washington Post. [Online]. Available: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082104305.html?nav=emailpage

Study: Action Video Games Help Improve Eyesight

News outlets are buzzing about a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience indicating that playing action video games was found to help improve eyesight.

The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is routinely assessed in clinical evaluation of vision and is the primary limiting factor in how well one sees. CSF improvements are typically brought about by correction of the optics of the eye with eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. We found that the very act of action video game playing also enhanced contrast sensitivity, providing a complementary route to eyesight improvement.

Therefore, action videogames help to improve eyesight, complimenting glasses, contacts, or surgery. The paper offers further elaboration here:

Expert action video game players (VGPs) were compared to gender- and age-matched non–action game players (NVGPs) in a CSF procedure… Because we were interested in the effect of gaming on everyday eyesight, participants were tested binocularly with their current eye prescription. We were interested in whether vision, which should not be far from optimal under such conditions in young adults, may be further heightened by action video game practice. The VGP group showed enhanced contrast sensitivity as compared with the NVGP group, and this population difference interacted with spatial frequency, indicating a greater group difference at intermediate and higher spatial frequencies than at the lowest spatial frequency… We propose that the changes that we observed after action game playing also reflect cortical plasticity, but for the better in this case.

So, using appropriate video screen activities can apparently “exercise the eyes” as well as reflexes. This has caught the media’s imagination as Google News indicates over 230 articles have reported the study since its online release.

Not surprisingly, Daphne Bavelier over at U. Rochester had a hand in this research. Previous work by Dr. Bavelier in this field is blogged about here.

References:
Li, R., Polat, U., Makous, W., and Bavelier, D. (2009, March 29). Enhancing the contrast sensitivity function through action video game training. Nature Neuroscience. [Online.] Retrieved April 1, 2009 from http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.2296.html

Can the Wii Cause Injury? Or …

… are kids going to get hurt playing anyway? Such are the potential research questions stemming from a new report via British medical doctors who maintain that up to 10 folks a week in the UK are hospitalized from rough game play on the Wii.

The physicians have taken to calling tennis elbow from playing Wii Tennis “Wii-itis,” and injuries resulting from bending too much on the Wii Fit are called “Wii-knee.” More on the story here.

Full Spectrum Warrior Used to Treat PTSS

We’ve talked a lot about how the military uses video games for training and PR purposes. Here’s an interesting video over at The New Yorker about how a popular military video game is being used to treat post traumatic stress syndrome for soldiers returning from battle. The game is basically a modification of Full Spectrum Warrior, called Virtual Iraq. The basic idea with immersion therapy and other such treatments is to provide repeated exposure to the patient so that the negative reflexes become muted. I was particularly interested to note that smells can be introduced to the regimen, including diesel fumes. The olfactory glands are the biggest in the brain, and can trigger strong reactions and memories. The work is spearheaded by Albert “Skip” Rizzo over at USC.