Violent Digital Games: Are They Just a Game?

Summer 2012

Previous issues

E-mail

Facebook

RESEARCH
Getting Hotter All the Time
Israeli Cinema: Perverting the Image of Holocaust Survivors
Can We Split Our Attention?
Violent Digital Games: Are They Just a Game?
Video Screening for ADD
The Sun's Cycles

STUDENTS & GRADUATES
Blind Date with the Open University
"The Open University: A Superior Training Ground for Professional Success"
From Tractor Driver to Master's Degree
A Family Affair

TECHNOLOGY
Digital University: Mobile Digital Books Project
Is Technology Tromping the ABC's?

INITIATIVES - LANGUAGE
Arabic-Speaking Students Study in Arabic
Sao Paulo University Students Learn About Israeli Society in Spanish

EVENTS
Graduation Ceremonies
The 7th Chais Conference
Evening in Honor of Dov Lautman
Visit by NASA Astronaut, William S. McArthur, Jr.
Exhibition: "Fireworks Blossoming in the Winter"
"Psychic Numbing of Genocide"

INTERNATIONAL
Conference at Cambridge University
Cambridge in Ra'anana
American Friends: The Open University Foundation

HIGHLIGHTS
Dr. Milly Perry
Prof. Yoav Yair
Prof. Yoram Eshet
Aviel Atias
Laurence Berry
Edna Tal
SuperBrands Israel
Prof. Judith Gal-Ezer
Co-editors: Elissa Allerhand, Ilene Bloch-Levy Photographer: Gideon Markowitz Graphic Designer: Laura Grinberg Web Manager: Batsheva Engelberg-Behr Web Master: Sonia Pechersky

RESEARCH
Violent Digital Games: Are They Just a Game? Shutterstock/Mikael Damkier One topic that occupies researchers and parents alike – particularly following such tragedies as the mass shooting by a student assuming the pathological role of "The Joker" in a Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado – is violent digital games and their effect on youngsters. The overarching question is: Do they lead to more violent aggressive behavior among players? Researchers argue both sides of the 'fence.' However, results from a recent pilot study, conducted by Tami Dubi, a Master's student in Education and Learning Technologies, under the supervision of Prof. Yoram Eshet-Alkalai and Dr. Sigal Eden, highlight factors not yet thoroughly examined, and offer relief to worried parents and educators. Violent digital games are just that: games. The average child spends a whopping 25% of his waking hours killing aliens, driving down the court to sink a basket, engaging in 'hand to hand' combat, battling dragons, racing across a soccer field to get a goal, and playing hundreds, if not, thousands of other games. They play on their desktop computers, iPhones, Androids, laptops and Tablets. They play in school and at home. They play on their own or against competitors near and far. They are boys and girls, elementary-school aged children and adults, and they represent a wide variety of population groups. One aspect of digital game playing that concerns parents, educators and policy makers is that a significant portion of today's digital games contain elements of violence. The questions being asked are: Do these games cause children to become more violent? Verbally more abusive? Physically more aggressive? There are those who loudly claim that these games do lead to greater aggressiveness and an equal number who say they don't. In a new research study conducted by Tami Dubi, a Master's student in Education and Learning Technologies, under the supervision of Prof. Yoram Eshet, Head of the Open University's Research Center for Innovation in Learning Technologies and Sigal Eden, formerly of the University's Department of Education and Psychology, addressed these questions. The results of their research indicate that "the issue is not the level of violence of the games themselves, but rather the strategy of game playing that is the crucial factor." This was one factor that had not been examined previously among children (it had been examined among adults.) "In the entire ocean of research studies that I reviewed on the subject," Tami Dubi explains, "I only found one other research study (from Holland) that studied children's aggression level, during and after engaging in violent digital games." Close to Home Tami's inspiration for researching this subject came from her own home. The mother of 12-year-old twins, Tami sees how very different their lifestyle is from what her own was at that age. Hours upon hours are spent playing computer games. As a mother and as a student of education, she began to ask if these games were causing her children to become more aggressive. Page: 1 2

RESEARCH

Violent Digital Games: Are They Just a Game?

Shutterstock/Mikael Damkier

One topic that occupies researchers and parents alike – particularly following such tragedies as the mass shooting by a student assuming the pathological role of "The Joker" in a Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado – is violent digital games and their effect on youngsters. The overarching question is: Do they lead to more violent aggressive behavior among players? Researchers argue both sides of the 'fence.' However, results from a recent pilot study, conducted by Tami Dubi, a Master's student in Education and Learning Technologies, under the supervision of Prof. Yoram Eshet-Alkalai and Dr. Sigal Eden, highlight factors not yet thoroughly examined, and offer relief to worried parents and educators. Violent digital games are just that: games.

The average child spends a whopping 25% of his waking hours killing aliens, driving down the court to sink a basket, engaging in 'hand to hand' combat, battling dragons, racing across a soccer field to get a goal, and playing hundreds, if not, thousands of other games.

They play on their desktop computers, iPhones, Androids, laptops and Tablets. They play in school and at home. They play on their own or against competitors near and far. They are boys and girls, elementary-school aged children and adults, and they represent a wide variety of population groups.

One aspect of digital game playing that concerns parents, educators and policy makers is that a significant portion of today's digital games contain elements of violence.

The questions being asked are: Do these games cause children to become more violent? Verbally more abusive? Physically more aggressive?

There are those who loudly claim that these games do lead to greater aggressiveness and an equal number who say they don't.

In a new research study conducted by Tami Dubi, a Master's student in Education and Learning Technologies, under the supervision of Prof. Yoram Eshet, Head of the Open University's Research Center for Innovation in Learning Technologies and Sigal Eden, formerly of the University's Department of Education and Psychology, addressed these questions. The results of their research indicate that "the issue is not the level of violence of the games themselves, but rather the strategy of game playing that is the crucial factor." This was one factor that had not been examined previously among children (it had been examined among adults.) "In the entire ocean of research studies that I reviewed on the subject," Tami Dubi explains, "I only found one other research study (from Holland) that studied children's aggression level, during and after engaging in violent digital games."

Close to Home

Tami's inspiration for researching this subject came from her own home. The mother of 12-year-old twins, Tami sees how very different their lifestyle is from what her own was at that age. Hours upon hours are spent playing computer games.

As a mother and as a student of education, she began to ask if these games were causing her children to become more aggressive.

Page: 1 2