Today I noticed this article on the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20080417
The article mentions that a US hospital conducted a study into lowering aggressive behaviour in children with anger issues. The study uses a game called "Rage Control" that monitors the heart rate of the player while they play, once the game detects at increase in the heart rate the game disables certain controls i.e. the ability to shoot until the player is able to lower their heart rate again.
According to the study children who had played 5 sessions of "Rage Control" along side anger management therapy where better at keeping their heart rate down and showed less aggressive behaviour when in a frustrating situation.
For discussion,
What are your opinions on the study?
And could studies like this have an effect on the perception of violence in video games having negative impact on the behaviour of children?
I personally think it is an interesting idea. Teaching children with behavioural problems the value of keeping calm in everyday life is certainly a positive thing and it seems the game works well in tandem with traditional therapy methods. As for the affect on gaming's image as a whole, I'm not sure if it will have any major impact, but it is always nice to have examples of gaming being used for positive effects.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20080417
The article mentions that a US hospital conducted a study into lowering aggressive behaviour in children with anger issues. The study uses a game called "Rage Control" that monitors the heart rate of the player while they play, once the game detects at increase in the heart rate the game disables certain controls i.e. the ability to shoot until the player is able to lower their heart rate again.
According to the study children who had played 5 sessions of "Rage Control" along side anger management therapy where better at keeping their heart rate down and showed less aggressive behaviour when in a frustrating situation.
For discussion,
What are your opinions on the study?
And could studies like this have an effect on the perception of violence in video games having negative impact on the behaviour of children?
I personally think it is an interesting idea. Teaching children with behavioural problems the value of keeping calm in everyday life is certainly a positive thing and it seems the game works well in tandem with traditional therapy methods. As for the affect on gaming's image as a whole, I'm not sure if it will have any major impact, but it is always nice to have examples of gaming being used for positive effects.
