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This week sees the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, and while the game is sure to reignite controversy over the morality of children playing violent video games, one Sunderland psychology student has won a prize for his research which claims that playing these games has a positive affect on young people.
Chris Whitehead is in the final year of his BSc Psychology degree. He says: “Games such as Halo, Call of Duty and even Grand Theft Auto have the potential to become a powerful learning tool. My research found that these games help develop skills such as teamwork, spacial and coordination skills.”
Chris graduates in the summer and is hoping to find a job as an occupational psychologist in industry. Chris’s main interest is in how teams can be improved in companies using communication, which led to his research into the effects on communities of MMOGs (Masively Multiplayer Online Games).
The South Shields student says: “Team objective based games require a lot of communication between players to allow them to complete objectives, and playing such games can defiantly improve these skills and potentially help develop leadership styles.”
Chris believes that online games have the potential to help learning and communication, and believes a lot of the controversy surrounding them is down to poor parental understanding of the potential dangers of children playing games which are aimed at adults.
The 22-year-old says: “A lot of research has shown a link between aggression and video games. However, these studies always took children and exposed them to violent video games intended for adults. With the release of Grand Theft Auto IV this week I'm sure we will see a surge in controversy around the subject, but I would argue that the main cause of this link is due to parents ignoring ratings and allowing their children to play games not suitable for them.”
Chris’s research was chosen as the winning entry from all the final year psychology projects at the University of Sunderland. The aim of the competition is to instil real-world skills, such as presenting findings and researching practical projects, for students preparing to move into the world of work.