The Psychologist Determined To Prove Video Games Are Good
The Psychologist Determined To Prove Video Games Are Good
The Psychologist Determined To Prove Video Games Are Good
By Alyssa Mercante
June 2, 2023
Summary
The video game research psychologist is currently in London, where she's set to give a talk on the fostering of terrorist cells and extremist beliefs in digital game spaces, a project she's working on with the Department of Homeland Security.
While she talks to me from her London hotel room you can't tell that she's a woman juggling multiple, high-level, uber-important projects at once-she's incredibly cheery, no sign of jetlag, and eager to talk about psychology, video games, and more.
Back when Dr. Kowert first started working towards her PhD the concept of marrying psychology and video games was a foreign one.
"I've seen a change in the perception of the value of studying games as an entertainment medium, and the ways that it impacts us in our day to day lives. And I've definitely seen a change in not having to justify that value." The video game violence debate After all, video games are a "Billion dollar industry" that courts people of all ages, backgrounds, and beliefs-of course it's deserving of thoughtful research and thought-provoking conversation.
In 2018, after a deadly weekend of shootings in Texas and Ohio, then-president Donald Trump suggested it was video games that were to blame, not America's proclivity for owning and brandishing guns.
"We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this and it has to begin immediately," he said.
"Violent video game research is really interesting because people really just desperately want to hold on to an easy solution to all of the world's complex problems like mass shootings, juvenile delinquency-they just want to blame something." Dr. Kowert explains.
Reference
Mercante. A. (2023,June 02). The Psychologist Determined To Prove Video Games Are Good. Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/dr-rachel-kowert-psychologist-game-violence-learning-1850477266