Video games have faced backlash for a long time and this is primarily because of theories surrounding the copying of violent behavior. Previous studies claimed that violent games like Grand Theft Auto would lead to aggressive behavior and this was largely based on the media theory of the hypodermic needle effect which essentially means "monkey see monkey do". However, this attitude has begun to change with the realization that media and response are much more complex resulting in organizations outlining the benefits of video games.

A recent study has found that children up to the age of 18 can have their moral development impacted by video games. While these kinds of studies have previously been put into a negative light with findings warning of addiction and violent tendencies, this case was positive. The study found that children up to the age of 18 can have their moral development accelerated because video games allow players to see the cause and effect of decisions which encourages greater reasoning.

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The study highlighted the decision to kill or save little sisters in BioShock as an example of this moral reasoning, as it encourages weighing consequences before diving into the data collected through the research. A total of 166 school students aged 11-18 and 135 college students aged between 17-27 were asked to answer a survey of eleven questions that assessed the impact of gaming on their morality. Typically teenage females have higher moral development, but in this instance, it was found that males who frequently play video games had a higher amount of moral reasoning. Interestingly moral reasoning also appeared to increase with the greater variety of video games that were played.

video games improve moral reasoning

This study did find that players could be "less engaged" after highly violent games but also went on to note that this was a weak correlation. In terms of improving development, the cut off for this seems to be aged 18 although with a larger sample size there would likely be oddities that broke the trend. This study coincides with other studies that have outlined the benefits video games have for children and it seems that this avenue of research is becoming increasingly fruitful.

With video games being a huge industry that relates to millions of people, studies on gaming will likely continue and many will be interested in what they uncover. Given the history of negative studies that have surrounded gaming, many will be happy that there is increasing evidence of its positive impact. 

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Source: The Conversation