Do Video Games Have a Negative Effect on Children's Behaviour?
Do video games have a negative effect on children's behaviour?
Do video games have a negative effect on children’s behaviour? This question has been asked many times with many different answers and opinions. Scientists have conducted tests and experiments, and surveys have been done, but still the question remains predominantly unanswered due to the difference of opinion between people. You often hear of young people violently lashing out or committing horrific crimes, supposedly, due to them copying, getting ideas from or being influenced by video games. Devin Moore is among the children affected, by playing Grand Theft Auto continuously for months he ended up shooting and killing 3 men. He had no prior criminal history and was cooperating with the police up until he snapped and reached for one of the officer’s fire arms. However this and other cases like it are just extreme examples of children playing violent video games usually those who spend an unhealthy amount of time playing them.
The games are almost capable of brainwashing children if they play them too much. This is because people don't just watch video games; they interact with them. The games are also repetitive and based on a rewards system. Repetition and rewards are primary components of classical conditioning, a proven psychological concept in which behavioral learning takes place as a result of rewarding (or punishing) particular behaviors. Also, since the brains of children and teens are still developing, they would, in theory, be even more susceptible to this type of "training." Craig Anderson, PhD, conducted a study on children playing violent video games and found that they were also less caring and helpful towards their peers. He also found it was associated with more aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Their research has even shown that these effects happen just as much for non-aggressive children as they do for children who already have aggressive tendencies. Another study
Do video games have a negative effect on children’s behaviour? This question has been asked many times with many different answers and opinions. Scientists have conducted tests and experiments, and surveys have been done, but still the question remains predominantly unanswered due to the difference of opinion between people. You often hear of young people violently lashing out or committing horrific crimes, supposedly, due to them copying, getting ideas from or being influenced by video games. Devin Moore is among the children affected, by playing Grand Theft Auto continuously for months he ended up shooting and killing 3 men. He had no prior criminal history and was cooperating with the police up until he snapped and reached for one of the officer’s fire arms. However this and other cases like it are just extreme examples of children playing violent video games usually those who spend an unhealthy amount of time playing them.
The games are almost capable of brainwashing children if they play them too much. This is because people don't just watch video games; they interact with them. The games are also repetitive and based on a rewards system. Repetition and rewards are primary components of classical conditioning, a proven psychological concept in which behavioral learning takes place as a result of rewarding (or punishing) particular behaviors. Also, since the brains of children and teens are still developing, they would, in theory, be even more susceptible to this type of "training." Craig Anderson, PhD, conducted a study on children playing violent video games and found that they were also less caring and helpful towards their peers. He also found it was associated with more aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Their research has even shown that these effects happen just as much for non-aggressive children as they do for children who already have aggressive tendencies. Another study