Yet Another Study Says Video Games Not So Good For You

Here's another post for the "Make up your mind, people!" section of the blog.  Back in the fall of 2005, we told you  here and here how studies had linked video game playing to violent behavior, and how yet more studies (where do they find the time?!) had  dismissed the idea as preposterous .  A new study from the University of Missouri-Columbia has weighed in on the subject and found a causal link between video games and aggressive behavior.  In the study, the brain activity of game players was monitored, focusing on the P300 response, which reflects the emotional impact of the image.  Video game players were found to have a diminished response when shown images of real-life violence.  Personally, I don't know how you can tell it's video games and not violent movies, TV shows, comic books, websites and whathaveyou that are causing this "diminished response," but maybe that's why I'm not a scientist.

The full report will be published in the Journal of Experimental Social Science this year. 

Additional coverage at http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8449