A new study maintains that video games which simulate driving provoke a higher aggressive response than do violent games.
Drs. Simon Goodson and Sarah Pearson of the U.K.'s Huddersfield University will present their findings this week at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference in Brighton.
Using an Xbox 360, the researchers studied players of Project Gotham Racing, a "3D table tennis game" and an unspecified first-person shooter. They found that the racing game caused the greatest changes in heart rate and brain activity. The shooter caused the least.
The conference program synopsizes their presentation:
Research has suggested a link between videogame violence and aggression using cognitive and physiological evidence. However, previous researchers have made sweeping generalisations about the nature of videogames. Using the latest hi-definition console both cognitive (BSPAQ) and physiological (ECG EEG & Respiration) measures were taken of participants playing a violent shooting game a driving game or a 3D table tennis game.
Results suggest that rather than a game containing graphic violence a driving game had the
greatest impact on the participants. Given the high levels of realism in modern games a re-evaluation of the relations between videogames and violence is needed.