011 - How do video games affect our physical and mental health?

011 - How do video games affect our physical and mental health?

Author: Jamie Madigan January 18, 2016 Duration: 1:01:59
Psychology of Video Games Podcast
LeisureGamesVideo Games
I admit it: I'm turning into my parents. When I was a kid I played a lot of games, and they had concerns about how it was affecting my physical and mental health. My mom and dad thought it would wreck my attention span, stunt my social skills, and make me generally unhealthy. As a result, I was made to go outside, play with friends, and get fresh air. Now that I have kids of my own, I can't just stand by and let them play as much as they sometimes want to.

But a lot about video games and technology has changed in the time since I was a kid myself. And a lot of research has been done on how video games --and media in general-- affect our physical and mental health. In fact, many games are now being designed specifically to promote health.

My guest this week is Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, the co-founder for the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She's an expert on how media can affect our health --and how it can be used deliberately to benefit health. That includes both physical and mental health.

More about the podcast here:
http://www.psychologyofgames.com/podcast/

Subscribe in iTunes here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/psychology-video-games-podcast/id976468994

Music and Audio Credits:

"Carnival Intrigue" by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/
http://incompetech.com/wordpress/2015/04/carnival-intrigue/

“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Polish_Ambassador/Diplomatic_Immunity/05_Robot_Motivation

Animal Jam "Jamaa Township" captured from the Animal Jam website
http://www.animaljam.com/

Zombies, Run! audio captured from the app
https://zombiesrungame.com/


"Unwritten Return" by Kevin MacLeo

Ever wonder why a particular game mechanic feels so satisfying or why you keep returning to a certain virtual world? Psychology of Video Games Podcast digs into those exact questions, moving beyond simple reviews to explore the mental machinery behind our play. Hosted by psychologist Jamie Madigan, each episode applies research and theory to understand our experiences with games. You’ll hear discussions on how developers use principles of motivation and learning to craft compelling systems, and what our behavior-from cooperation to rage-quitting-reveals about our minds. This isn’t about finding the next game to play; it’s about understanding the ones you already love on a deeper level. The podcast unpacks the subtle psychological hooks in design, the social dynamics of online worlds, and the cognitive reasons behind our emotional responses. Whether you’re a dedicated gamer or simply curious about human behavior, these conversations offer a unique lens on a popular pastime. Tune in for a thoughtful analysis that connects the dots between academic psychology and the everyday realities of playing video games.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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Psychology of Video Games Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Podcast 50 - Moral Choices in Games vs. Other Media [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:57
My guest experts and I discuss how moral choices in video games are different from other media and what makes them so difficult. We also discuss some of our favorite and most compelling choices from games.
Podcast 49: Empathy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:41
Empathy --the ability to understand and share the emotions of others-- is a powerful tool for those wanting to create games where the goal is to get players to think differently and have powerful emotional experiences. I…
Podcast 48: Loot Boxes Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:22
Special ALL HAWAII EDITION! To give me a little breathing room after finishing up my book manuscript, here are two complete interviews I did while researching the recent loot box podcast episode. One is the full intervie…
Podcast 47: Loot Boxes and Gambling [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:26
What is the relationship between loot boxes and problematic gambling? Should loot boxes be considered a form of gambling? In this episode I talk with Chris Lee, a politician, and David Zendle, a researcher, who are both…
Podcast 44: Gamification and Game Based Assessments [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:06
I talk with Dr. Richard Landers, an expert researcher on gamification and game-based assessments. We discuss some of the psychology behind why gamification does (and does not) work, as well as why it's so difficult to do…
Podcast 43: Dungeons, Dragons, & Psychology [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:41
I talk in this episode with my guest expert, Megan Connell PsyD, who uses Dungeons & Dragons in group therapy with remarkable results and runs a weekly D&D game with psychology nerds on Twitch. We also discuss what lesso…
Podcast 42: Mobile Game Affinity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:55
Say it's time to download a new game for your phone or tablet. What, out of the billions of choices out there, will you choose? Psychology pretty consistently tells us that when we have too many choices we look for strat…
Podcast 41: How Video Games Prepare You For Success [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:43
Video games often get kind of a short shrift when it comes to how valuable they are considered, versus a being a waste of time. Yet an argument can be made that they teach and reinforce valuable skills that psychologists…

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