Our brains are incredible pieces of machinery. We refer to them these days as supercomputers because we live in the age of technology. However, an actual supercomputer simply can’t compete with our complex network of neurons and synapses. The extent of how little we actually know about how our brains and minds work is actually quite mind-blowing. Science is working overtime in this regard and one of the questions being asked today is, ‘Do video games affect our perception of reality and if they do, how?’.
Tetris Effect
In the early days of gaming, the Tetris effect was term coined to describe the phenomenon that people experienced after playing the game of Tetris for long periods of time. These people reported having minor hallucinations, such as floor tiles wobbling or shelving units moving down a wall or strange moving objects in their peripheral vision. The Tetris effect, however, was not solely a result of playing Tetris but of doing any retentive task for long periods of time. Playing slot games for long periods at new Canadian online casinos, for example, might cause your brain to start seeing reels spinning when you close your eyes, or driving for many hours on straight highways might cause your vision to begin to blur at the edges.
GTP
Today, we have a new term: Game transfer phenomenon. GTP is a term coined to explain some of the strange happenings reported by gamers that play video games for long periods of time. The term and the phenomenon were brought to public attention by a team of psychologists from two universities: Nottingham Trent University and Stockholm University. Having embarked on a small study of around 40 avid gamers, the results showed that these gamers experienced a shift in their perception of reality after prolonged exposure to video games. Their findings gave rise to a minor uproar among their peers who felt the study was too small to come to any meaningful conclusions. Gamers, however, recognised in themselves some of the changes in behaviour reported by the gamers in the study.
Problem Solving
In this study they found that the GTP was to do with the way a person might approach a task or a problem – many players reported that they tried to resolve issues by thinking in the same way as their character from a game would. Others experienced the type of hallucinations associated with the Tetris effect, but now more detailed and usually heavily connected to the games they were playing, such as seeing characters from the games walking the streets.
Inherent Skills
Gamers in the study also reported an involuntary movement of their fingers or hands when confronted with a task – for example, if they had to pick something up or move something out of the way, they would automatically imagine using the gaming console to do so and their fingers would involuntarily reach for the right command. This effect is also related to the increased ability gamers have to perform certain tasks, like driving for example. A gamer that has spent many hours playing a driving game is likely to pick up certain skills and could use them involuntarily while driving. A case such as this was reported by a gamer who skidded on the ice while driving but was able to turn the wheel in such a way as to right the car before it hit a wall. The gamer in question insisted that they didn’t know how to turn the wheel the right way but just did it instinctively, suggesting that they learn this skill subliminally through gaming.
Rational Reactions
Gaming gets a bad rap much of the time due to the violent nature of many of the video games on the market. There is widespread fear that playing violent games will lead to more real-life violence. The effects of GTP, however, were not increased levels of aggression or tendencies towards more violent behaviour. In fact, many studies argue that rather than instigate violence, these games simply cause a gamer to become emotionally removed from disturbing scenes and images because they have become immune to their effect, and this helps them to stay calm in a difficult situation. The same can be said of doctors and nurses and firefighters. Once immune to the trauma, medics are more able to deal with an emergency quickly and efficiently.
(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)
