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Researchers Explore How Violent Video Games are Exemplary Aggression Teachers |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Like other fathers and sons, Douglas Gentile and his father have spent many hours arguing about video games. What makes them different is that Douglas, an Iowa State University assistant professor of psychology, is one of the country's top researchers on the effects of media on children. Through their discussions, they realized that video games use the same techniques that really great teachers use. Through a study of nearly 2,500 youths, they found that video games are indeed effective teaching tools. Students who played multiple violent video games actually learned through those games to produce greater hostile actions and aggressive behaviors over a span of six months. "We know a lot about how to be an effective teacher, and we know a lot about how to use technology to teach," said lead author Douglas Gentile. The paper presents conceptual and empirical analyses of several of the "best practices" of learning and instruction, and demonstrates how violent video games use those practices effectively to teach aggression. It documents how violent video games motivate learners to persevere in learning and mastering skills to navigate through complex problems and changing environments -- just like good teachers do. To test their hypothesis, the Gentiles studied three groups of youths -- 430 third through fifth-graders; 607 eighth and ninth graders; and 1,441 older adolescents with an average age of 19. In the longitudinal elementary school sample, students, their peers, and their teachers completed surveys at two points during the school year. The authors urge educators not to wait for more advancement before using such technology with students in the classroom.
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