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Young teenagers who play a lot of violent video
games show blunted physiological and emotional
responses to playing violent games, according a
study from Stockholm University published in the
journal Psychosomatic Medicine. After a gaming
session, sleep, heart rate and emotional reactions
were less affected among boys who are highly exposed
to violent video games as compared to boys with low
exposure.
The study examined how prior gaming habits affect
psychophysiological reactions among young teenagers
(13-15 years old) when playing violent video games.
“Those with little experience of playing violent
games had stronger activation of the sympathetic
nervous system. This suggests that there is a
blunting, both physiologically and emotionally,
among those who play a lot of violent games,” says
Malena Ivarsson, PhD student at the Department of
Psychology and the Stress Research Institute,
Stockholm University.
Half of the thirty boys who participated in the
study were used to playing violent video games at
least three hours per day. The other half had low
exposure, playing no more than one hour per day.
During the study, all the boys played video games at
home for two hours on two occasions – a nonviolent
cartoon game on the first occasion and, on the
second, a violent game.
During the gaming and the subsequent night, the
boys’ heart rate and heart rate variability (variation
in the interval between heartbeats) were measured.
The boys also answered a questionnaire on sleep
quality and emotions after the game.
The violent game elicited significantly higher
levels of stress at bedtime among both groups, as
compared to the nonviolent game.
“The most significant difference appeared during
sleep. Boys in the low-exposure group had faster
heart rates the night after playing the violent
game, compared to the night after playing the
nonviolent game. This group also reported that they
had slept poorly and felt more depressed after
playing the violent game,” says Malena Ivarsson.
See also
Violent video games alter brain function in young
men (04/01/2012)
The constancy of the stimulus
For more information
Stockholm University
Indiana University School of Medicine
MDN
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