Posted by Matt Butrovich |
Apr. 03, 2008 11:33AM PST
| 1046 views
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FILED UNDER: News. Games, Science.
Though video game addiction has yet to be accepted as a true medical disorder, that hasn't stopped researchers from presenting a study at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference that comes to a rather unsurprising conclusion: people who are addicted to playing video games exhibit personality traits that are similar to those with Aspergers syndrome. I'll let the press release do a bit of the heavy lifting.
The researchers questioned 391 computer game players, 86 per cent of whom were male. They considered relationships between addiction, ‘high engagement’ and personality.
They found that the closer the players got to addiction the more likely they were to display negative personality traits. And that as players showed more signs of addiction they were increasingly characterised by three personality traits that would normally be associated with Aspergers, a variety of high functioning autism. These were neuroticism, and lack of extraversion and agreeableness.
More choice quotes after the break.
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Tags addiction, research
Posted by Daniel Espinoza |
Mar. 18, 2008 02:22PM PST
| 312 views
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FILED UNDER: News. Lifestyle.
Close your eyes and imagine a world with no internet or cell phones. If you start to panic, you may be the victim of an official brain illness.
The American Journal of Psychiatry recommends that internet addiction, including "excessive gaming, sexual pre-occupations and email-text messaging", be added to psychiatry's official guidebook of mental disorders as a common compulsive-impulsive disorder.
Skip ahead for a self-diagnosis.
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(Source: The Ottawa Citizen)
Tags texting, doctor, psychiatry, withdrawal, illness, addiction, internet
Posted by Matt Butrovich |
Mar. 17, 2008 05:46PM PST
| 534 views
|
FILED UNDER: Humor, Opinion. Games, Lifestyle.
I had initially hoped that this article was a joke when I spotted it on Yahoo! Games earlier today, as it seems like a great topic for parody. Instead I think the author is actually serious when offering up several ideas on how to save a relationship that's being ruined by video game addiction. Rather than going with the logical solutions like relationship therapy, interventions, etc. the author comes up with some absolutely ridiculous recommendations like dressing up as a night elf.
1. Learn from the game
Games like World of Warcraft use classic behavioral control techniques: they tie small rewards very closely to repetitive chores. If your spouse is neglecting household tasks -- a common complaint among sufferers -- try employing a little positive reinforcement. The next time he empties the trash, play a loud 'Ding!' sound and tell him his Refuse-Disposal skill just increased.
Are you kidding me? These failures at life that can't even take care of the house they live in should be positively reinforced with the behaviors that are causing them to shirk their responsibilities in the first place? My solution: kick their ass to the curb.
Hit page 2 for some more examples, and your thoughts.
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Tags lists, relationships, addiction, world of warcraft, mmorpg
