Psychology Facts

▲ Video games ▲

》More than 150 million people in the United States play video games regularly, or for at least 3 hours per week.

》The average American gamer is a 35-year-old adult, with 72 percent of gamers aged 18 or older.

》When played in excessive amounts, video games are known to promote feelings of anxiety. However, when the right games are played in moderation, they can actually have the complete opposite effect. There are many video games available nowadays that are calming, interactive, and have beautiful and serene imagery.

》most parents – 71 percent – indicate that video games have a positive influence on their child's life.

》A growing body of evidence, however, shows that video gaming can affect the brain and, furthermore, cause changes in many regions of the brain.

》Because certain genres of games reward and encourage leadership traits—providing for "communities," securing their safety, etc.—researchers have noted that players can display a correlating motivation in their real-world career goals.

》While some games promote a whole-body level of interaction, even those requiring a simple handheld controller can lead to physical activity. Sports games that involve basketball, tennis, or even skateboarding can lead to children practicing those same skills outdoors.

》So-called "brain games" involving problem-solving, memory, and puzzle components have been shown to have a positive benefit on older players. In one study, just 10 hours of play led to increased cognitive functioning in participants 50 and older—improvement that lasted for several years.

》Fifty hours of action video gameplay (spread over 10 to 12 weeks) improved visual contrast sensitivity (the ability to distinguish subtle differences in shades of gray) (Li et al., 2009).

》Many studies indicate that video games improve job performance, especially for jobs that require good eye-hand coordination, attention, excellent working memory, and quick decision-making.

》In an experiment, novice surgeons who were provided with experience with video games improved their performance in laparoscopic surgery compared with a control group of surgeons who did not have that experience (Schlickum et al., 2009).

》Playing video games is shown to Reduce impulsiveness. Action games improved performance in a test of the ability to refrain from responding to non-target stimuli, in a situation in which most stimuli called for a response but an occasional stimulus called for no response (Dye, Green, & Bavelier, 2009).

》Gamers are sometimes stigmatized as being too insulated, but the opposite is actually true. Studies have shown games can also be the catalyst for friends to gather in person: roughly 70 percent of all players play with friends at least some of the time.

》Video games increase mental flexibility. A number of researchers have reported that experience with action video games improves people's abilities to switch rapidly and without error between tasks that have conflicting demands (Anderson et al, 2010; Green et al, 2012; Colzato et al, 2014).

》Playing games triggers the release of dopamine in our brain. This is the chemical that makes us want to continue a certain behavior. Because of this, video games are known for being an extremely addictive activity among all age groups.

》Decades of research examining video gaming and violence have failed to reach consensus among scientists. Scientists have been unable to find a causal link between playing video games and acts of violence in the real world.

》People who play video games, even if they are violent, that encourage cooperation are more likely to be helpful to others while gaming than those who play the same games competitively, a 2011 study found.