What do you think about video games – are they capable of turning that cute little child of yours into a rampaging monster many years from now, or could it actually have junior end up as a better person in the long run? The Boston Children’s Hospital did run a study using video games, hoping that the Rage Control game can help kids with their anger management issues. The study saw researchers rely on traditional treatments with children (aged 9 to 17) who had anger control issues, and these include cognitive-behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques, and social skills.
As for the second group of 18 children, they not only received the same standard treatments but also played a video game known as Rage Control for the last 15 minutes of their session. The video game sounds like Space Invaders, where kids had to keep their heart rate under a preset limit, or they are unable to destroy enemy spaceships in the process. Researchers claimed that the video game group were far better at keeping their heart rates down, and this resulted in clinically-significant decreases in anger scores on standardized tests. Hmmm, perhaps Bruce Banner should have given this a go instead of scouring the universe for a “cure”.
I do wonder, though, just how kids keep their heart rates down when playing a video game. I mean, I get all excited especially during the more tense moments in a game, how about you? [link to study]
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