Tek-Bull

Violent video games actually make gamers more hygienic

As a society, we really have moved past the basic right to personal privacy. Anything you do out in public is more than likely being monitored, whether or not we like it. How we shop, drive, eat, pay for things, or even interact with strangers has become the intense study of corporations, the government, and even other individuals. By and large, this large scale motorization on the smallest details is all in the name of what some larger corporations call “consumer studies.” Target even claims that they know their customers so well that they can identify when a woman is pregnant and exactly how far along she is.

Although there are hundreds of studies done on targeted groups each year, one group in particular continually stands out: gamers. Gamers make up a huge social demographic and companies and researchers alike are increasingly eager to find out and catalog as many details about them and their habits as humanly possible. Especially the level of violence within a game and how it effects said gamer.

Recently, studies are showing that when very inexperienced newbie gamers play increasingly violent video or computer games, their hygiene gets better and they buy more soap.

Seems a little odd, right? Well, popular psychology tells us otherwise with a theory called the Macbeth Effect. Essentially what the theory states is that when a person is initially confronted with general violence and violence against humans, they try to cleanse and purify themselves physically to help deal with the moral and mental distress. Hence the Macbeth reference (Lady Macbeth: “Out damn spot! Out!”).

Although this is more than interesting, and a very far cry from the usual accusation that violence in games brings out the violence in gamers, it should be noted that only 76 newbs participants were followed after playing video games in 15 minute intervals. Dvice Image Credit to: Wallpaper Webs