Forget hyperrealistic blood and meaningless chaos. If you want to turn a good man into a bloodthirsty killer, then let him play a video game with an inconvenient control system. This hypothesis was put forward by an international group of researchers studying the effect of video games on the behavior of gamers. Psychologists are especially interested in the “Rage quit” phenomenon.
Scientists from the Universities of Rochester (USA) and Oxford (United Kingdom), intrigued by the phenomenon of "Rage quit" - the exit from the game (for example, Counter-Strike) in an irresistible rage or resentment, which is most often observed during a loss, - decided to look deeper into the question effects of computer games on the human psyche. Dr. Andrew Przybylsky (University of Oxford) and Professor Richard Ryan (University of Rochester) note that some games have an imperfect control system or game mechanics, which significantly complicates the gameplay.
For example, in the work of researchers at the University of Rochester, a description of an experiment is presented in which volunteers put their hands in ice water for 25 seconds before playing Tetris. Then they were asked to figure out how long the water test should last for the next group of gamers. Those who were asked to play the puzzle at the highest level of difficulty were, on average, added to the time set for the next group 10 seconds more than those who played at low difficulty.
In another experiment, which is described on the website of the British television channel BBC, the researchers gave some gamers the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the controls and other features of the gameplay before playing the first-person shooter Half-Life 2. Those players who could not learn the management and mechanics in advance felt behave a little out of sorts and behaved more aggressively than those who were given time to familiarize themselves with the game. Moreover, this did not depend on the presence of scenes of cruelty and violence in a computer game - two versions of Half-Life 2 were tested: “cruel” and “harmless” (with a successful hit, the enemies evaporated).
Difficulties with the management and design of the game can increase the level of player aggression. The need to learn how to play is much more important than the content of the violence scenes in the game, says Przybylski.
Psychologists do not claim that their work will put an end to the debate about the impact of computer games on the child's psyche, but indicate the need for more complex research.
It can not be argued that computer games are harmful. Some of them can be very useful - they teach ethics or, for example, survival in the forest.
The article is based on materials .
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