14 DAY TRIAL // A new study from the University of Buffalo, the Michigan State University and the University of Texas says that violent video games might not be as detrimental to gamers as initially thought because time spent with them increases the moral sensitivity of players.
Matthew Grizzard, an assistant professor who worked on the research, says that this leads those involved to think more about their real-world actions and to make sure that they do not cross any ethical lines in the near future.
A detailed breakdown of the findings of the new study from the three universities mentioned above can be found on the official site.
Grizzard states, “Rather than leading players to become less moral, this research suggests that violent video-game play may actually lead to increased moral sensitivity. This may, as it does in real life, provoke players to engage in voluntary behavior that benefits others.”
After the subjects played a violent video game, they tended to feel a little guilty about their actions and that meant that they were more sensitive about two particular ethical domains that they were asked to violate: care/harm and fairness/reciprocity.
The study involved 185 participants who were randomly assigned to take on the role of either a terrorist or a United Nations soldier in the same scenario.
The assistant professor adds, “Our findings suggest that emotional experiences evoked by media exposure can increase the intuitive foundations upon which human beings make moral judgments. This is particularly relevant for video-game play, where habitual engagement with that media is the norm for a small, but considerably important group of users.”
The survey conducted by the University of Buffalo, the Michigan State University and the University of Texas is still small, but it might show how violent content could be used to actually educate players or at least make them more sensitive when it comes to the effects of violent actions in the real world.
As video games become more popular among the population of the world, a number of research institutions are trying to find out how they can be used to encourage positive changes in behavior or the way we think about the world.
Traditionally, titles like the shooters that currently dominate the market have been blamed for various incidents and for expanding the tendency to act in violent ways in the real world.
So far, no research has managed to establish a clear link between a virtual experience and an actual individual's behavior.