Positive Effects of Video Games on Development

http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/kooijmans.html

Positive Effects of Video Games on Development

Noah J. Stupak
Rochester Institute of Technology 2004

The idea that video games have a detrimental effect on children who play them is widely contested. Though providing excellent coverage of these effects, Kooijmans' "Effects of Video Games on Aggressive Thoughts and Behaviors During Development" leaves out many of the positive aspects of video games. The paper does mention their use for therapy, hand-eye coordination training, and simulations, but it does not cover any actual developmental effects. Video games teach many skills to the developing child. Examples of these skills include problem-solving abilities, perseverence, pattern recognition, hypothesis testing, estimating skills, inductive reasoning, resource management, logistics, mapping, memory, quick thinking, and reasoned judgments (Sheff, 1994). Many of these skills are abstract and require higher-level thinking, which schools do not often teach children. By including a way to choose one's own level of difficulty in most, if not all, video games, one can tailor the degree of intricacy of the tasks in the game to meet one's own skills. After the tasks are completed at an easy level, a child will feel motivated to attempt a higher degree of difficulty. By slowly ramping up the difficulty, the child is able to accomplish goals and learn while increasing his or her self-efficacy.

Although the typical video game child is seen as a loner and anti-social, video games may very well teach the child social skills. If the parents are attentive of thier child, video games can be a good bonding activity. Most likely the child will be more proficient at the game than the parent, which allows the child to teach the parents for once. This reversal of roles allows the parent to better understand the child's skills and talents, and allows the child to learn to help others and share knowledge. In addition, many games that involve multiple players encourage children to work cooperatively to achieve their goals. The children learn to listen to the ideas of others, formulate plans together, and distribute tasks based on skills. Video games create hierarchies of skills and abilities, creating a setting that benefits the development of leadership. A child who is able to manage the tasks necessary to succeed would be more apt at leading work-groups at school. Recently, gaming online with other people has created entirely new types of vast, intricate social networks. Children consider people they have never met to be close friends. By knowing someone strictly through a game, the child learns of the person without any superficiality. By not seeing the their friends, children do not take into account race, gender, or nationality. It is a truly open friendship based on common interest.

Finally, violent video games may act as a release of pent-up aggression and frustration. There is no harm in a child's shooting another person in a video game, but there would be serious repercussions if that act was committed in real life. By allowing the child to channel his or her anger in a constructive way, video games are able to reduce the child's stress and act as a positive outlet. Children no longer throw tantrums or fight with siblings but passively act out their frustrations in a virtual world. Many parents advocate sports such as football as an aggression outlet, which is much more brutal than playing a game. In sports, children are encouraged to physically hurt someone. As Tapscott (1998) noted, "Engaging the child in an interactive experience, developing hand-eye motor skills, giving the child a sense of accomplishment, keeping the child off the streets, and just encouraging having fun are all judged by many parents to be valuable or, at worst, benign"