Do Policy Statements on Media Effects Faithfully Represent the Science?

Elson, Malte; Ferguson, Christopher J.; Gregerson, Mary; Hogg, Jerri Lynn; Ivory, James; Klisanin, Dana; Markey, Patrick M.; Nichols, Deborah L.; Siddiqui, Shahbaz; Wilson, June

doi:10.1177/2515245918811301

Cited by 46 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…There are also continuing concerns about publication bias, particularly in experimental studies (Hilgard, Engelhardt, & Rouder, 2017). Furthermore, the American Psychological Association has concluded that video games influence aggression but not violence (Calvert et al, 2017), although this report has itself come under critical scrutiny by outside scholars (Elson et al, 2019). Prescott et al (2018) and Anderson et al (2010) did find correlations between self-reports of aggressive behavior and VVGs over time, although the magnitude of such correlations are very small.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When and How Video Games Can Be Good: A Review of the Positive Effects of Video Games on Well-Being

Halbrook

O'Donnell

Msetfi

2019

Perspect Psychol Sci

171

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Video games are a source of entertainment for a wide population and have varied effects on well-being. The purpose of this article is to comprehensively examine game-play research to identify the factors that contribute to these disparate well-being outcomes and to highlight the potential positive effects. On the basis of existing literature, we argue that the effects of gaming on well-being are moderated by other variables, such as motivations for gaming and video-game characteristics. Specifically, the inclusion of social activity can benefit prosocial behaviors and affect the relationship between violent video games and aggression that some studies have demonstrated. Moreover, the research on the relationship between violent video games and aggression depends greatly on individual and sociocontextual variables outside of game play. The inclusion of physical activity in games can provide an improvement in physical health with high levels of enjoyment, potentially increasing adherence rates. Overall, following our review, we determined that the effects of gaming on well-being are moderated by and depend on the motivation for gaming, outside variables, the presence of violence, social interaction, and physical activity. Thus, we argue that there is potential for an “optimal gaming profile” that can be used in the future for both academic- and industry-related research.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When and How Video Games Can Be Good: A Review of the Positive Effects of Video Games on Well-Being

Halbrook

O'Donnell

Msetfi

2019

Perspect Psychol Sci

171

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“…To increase public trust in their findings, scientists have an obligation to work as transparently as possible, particularly when they collaborate with industry (Aczel et al, 2019). Greater transparency will provide a valuable tool for informing policy (Elson et al, 2019) and the heated academic debates that surround the global health impacts of games.…”

Section: Video Game Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Video game play is positively correlated with well-being

Johannes¹,

Vuorre²,

Przybylski³

2020

Preprint

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People have never played more video games and many stakeholders are worried that this activity might be bad for players. So far, research has not had adequate data to test whether these worries are justified and if policymakers should act to regulate video game play time. We attempt to provide much-needed evidence with adequate data. Whereas previous research had to rely on self-reported play behaviour, we collaborated with two games companies, Electronic Arts and Nintendo of America, to obtain players’ actual play behaviour. We surveyed players of Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons for their well-being, motivations, and need satisfaction during play and merged their responses with telemetry data (i.e., logged game play). Contrary to many fears that excessive game time will lead to addiction and poor mental health, we found a small positive relation between game play and well-being. Need satisfaction and motivations during play did not interact with game time but were instead independently related to well-being. Our results advance the field in two important ways. First, we show that collaborations with industry partners can be done to high academic standards in an ethical and transparent fashion. Second, we deliver much-needed evidence to policymakers on the link between play and mental health.

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“…To increase public trust in their findings, scientists have an obligation to work as transparently as possible, particularly when they collaborate with industry [ 36 ]. Greater transparency will provide a valuable tool for informing policy [ 37 ] and the heated academic debates that surround the global health impacts of games.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Video game play is positively correlated with well-being

2021

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People have never played more video games, and many stakeholders are worried that this activity might be bad for players. So far, research has not had adequate data to test whether these worries are justified and if policymakers should act to regulate video game play time. We attempt to provide much-needed evidence with adequate data. Whereas previous research had to rely on self-reported play behaviour, we collaborated with two games companies, Electronic Arts and Nintendo of America, to obtain players' actual play behaviour. We surveyed players of Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons for their well-being, motivations and need satisfaction during play, and merged their responses with telemetry data (i.e. logged game play). Contrary to many fears that excessive play time will lead to addiction and poor mental health, we found a small positive relation between game play and affective well-being. Need satisfaction and motivations during play did not interact with play time but were instead independently related to well-being. Our results advance the field in two important ways. First, we show that collaborations with industry partners can be done to high academic standards in an ethical and transparent fashion. Second, we deliver much-needed evidence to policymakers on the link between play and mental health.

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Do Policy Statements on Media Effects Faithfully Represent the Science?

Cited by 46 publications

References 58 publications

When and How Video Games Can Be Good: A Review of the Positive Effects of Video Games on Well-Being

When and How Video Games Can Be Good: A Review of the Positive Effects of Video Games on Well-Being

Video game play is positively correlated with well-being

Video game play is positively correlated with well-being

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