When we attended the Arucas Gaming Fest last month one of the edugaming sessions was held by UNAM professor Antonio Bernal, who is a psychologist specialised in emotional intelligence. And while we learned about promising games such as Luto or about the global status of the esports phenomenon, this was perhaps the most interesting talk as it delved into how we as humans relate to gaming.
The panel looked at video games from the psychology point of view and vice versa. It naturally touched upon their potential “dark side”, with topics such as addiction and bullying, but also drew fascinating comparisons with how comics were treated in the 50s, or cinema before that in the 30s, with an specific mention to the Hays Code as self-censorship. The society wasn’t ready yet for the new medium, and it’s clear that today some parts of it aren’t willing to embrace gaming fully, or perhaps in the best manner.
Bernal then used the classic Bobo Doll experiment to explain parents, students, and teachers present at the event how violent behaviour and aggressiveness among children normally comes from adult inspiration and imitation, and not from the entertainment tools themselves alone.
What is more, and for those who still think video games incite violence, the speaker pointed at experiences such as SPARX, which help people deal with depression and anxiety instead, as a modern method of e-therapy that is more suited for the new generations.
More revealingly, the professor brought to the table a couple of benefits from playing video games that might not be the most commonly known. When we’ve heard many times about focus, team play, reflexes, or sense of direction/3D space awareness, Bernal talked more about the flow theory (and video games’ “intimate relation with flow estate”) and cognitive load, but also underlining the accentuated perception of community via multiplayer experiences, or how gamers nurture their frustration tolerance by facing different challenges interactively.
And why aren’t such benefits communicated more often? According to the psychologist, it’s the same as with good news, or what he called “the wicked incentive of money”: the most popular stories on newspapers and tabloids are those inducing fear and indignation; sadly it is what audiences react to and engage with the most.
How do you think video games make you a better person?
