Part 1: Reading Test [25 min] V3 Copy

The Psychology of Video Games

[1]. Video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment today. Although billions of people seem to be having fun playing them, the question still exists: could they also be bad for us? Video games have been accused of making players violent, isolated, dumb, or addicted. Just like rock’n’roll and comic books before them, video games worry parents and policymakers. However, their potential positive effects have often been ignored.  Are there any positive effects of playing video games and does academic research confirm their negative impact?

[2]. To begin with, let’s look at whether playing video games could be beneficial to players. In fact, video games have been found to have several notable benefits. In particular, certain commercial action games have been found to improve visual attention skills. Other games, such as Tetris, have been shown to advance spatial ability, the capacity to understand the relations among objects in space. Research on the cognitive benefits of videogame play is still emerging but there is some evidence to suggest that certain games can have positive effects on visual and cognitive skills. 

[3]. Video games have also been found effective in education. For instance, SimCity, a city-building video game, has been extensively used in geography education because its environments stimulate students’ interest, increase their geographic understanding and develop their critical thinking skills. Minecraft, the best selling video game of all time, can be used to teach many important 21st century skills. Teachers using Minecraft as an educational tool found significant improvements in creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and computational thinking skills in their students.

[4]. While research is starting to acknowledge the benefits of video game playing, there is still much more concern regarding the negative impact of this activity. 

[5]. One of the long-standing concerns is whether video gaming can cause aggressive behavior in real life. Decades of research studying this area have so far mostly led to heavy debates, yet no consensus on the matter. There is currently no clear evidence allowing to attribute real-life violence to video games. Moreover, their potential association with mild aggressive behavior is also highly debated among scholars and within the medical community.

[6]. The next concern is whether video games negatively affect school performance. The results are highly debated among scholars. Some researchers found an association between videogame play and poorer grades, but others did not. It’s obvious that if a child spends too much time playing games to the point that other activities are neglected, it’s never good. Doing a variety of activities including physical activity and sleeping are very important for the brain, and even more so for young brains. 

The Psychology of Video Games

[1]. Video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment today. Although billions of people seem to be having fun playing them, the question still exists: could they also be bad for us? Video games have been accused of making players violent, isolated, dumb, or addicted. Just like rock’n’roll and comic books before them, video games worry parents and policymakers. However, their potential positive effects have often been ignored.  Are there any positive effects of playing video games and does academic research confirm their negative impact?

[2]. To begin with, let’s look at whether playing video games could be beneficial to players. In fact, video games have been found to have several notable benefits. In particular, certain commercial action games have been found to improve visual attention skills. Other games, such as Tetris, have been shown to advance spatial ability, the capacity to understand the relations among objects in space. Research on the cognitive benefits of videogame play is still emerging but there is some evidence to suggest that certain games can have positive effects on visual and cognitive skills. 

[3]. Video games have also been found effective in education. For instance, SimCity, a city-building video game, has been extensively used in geography education because its environments stimulate students’ interest, increase their geographic understanding and develop their critical thinking skills. Minecraft, the best selling video game of all time, can be used to teach many important 21st century skills. Teachers using Minecraft as an educational tool found significant improvements in creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and computational thinking skills in their students.

[4]. While research is starting to acknowledge the benefits of video game playing, there is still much more concern regarding the negative impact of this activity. 

[5]. One of the long-standing concerns is whether video gaming can cause aggressive behavior in real life. Decades of research studying this area have so far mostly led to heavy debates, yet no consensus on the matter. There is currently no clear evidence allowing to attribute real-life violence to video games. Moreover, their potential association with mild aggressive behavior is also highly debated among scholars and within the medical community.

[6]. The next concern is whether video games negatively affect school performance. The results are highly debated among scholars. Some researchers found an association between videogame play and poorer grades, but others did not. It’s obvious that if a child spends too much time playing games to the point that other activities are neglected, it’s never good. Doing a variety of activities including physical activity and sleeping are very important for the brain, and even more so for young brains. 

The Psychology of Video Games

[1]. Video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment today. Although billions of people seem to be having fun playing them, the question still exists: could they also be bad for us? Video games have been accused of making players violent, isolated, dumb, or addicted. Just like rock’n’roll and comic books before them, video games worry parents and policymakers. However, their potential positive effects have often been ignored.  Are there any positive effects of playing video games and does academic research confirm their negative impact?

[2]. To begin with, let’s look at whether playing video games could be beneficial to players. In fact, video games have been found to have several notable benefits. In particular, certain commercial action games have been found to improve visual attention skills. Other games, such as Tetris, have been shown to advance spatial ability, the capacity to understand the relations among objects in space. Research on the cognitive benefits of videogame play is still emerging but there is some evidence to suggest that certain games can have positive effects on visual and cognitive skills. 

[3]. Video games have also been found effective in education. For instance, SimCity, a city-building video game, has been extensively used in geography education because its environments stimulate students’ interest, increase their geographic understanding and develop their critical thinking skills. Minecraft, the best selling video game of all time, can be used to teach many important 21st century skills. Teachers using Minecraft as an educational tool found significant improvements in creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and computational thinking skills in their students.

[4]. While research is starting to acknowledge the benefits of video game playing, there is still much more concern regarding the negative impact of this activity. 

[5]. One of the long-standing concerns is whether video gaming can cause aggressive behavior in real life. Decades of research studying this area have so far mostly led to heavy debates, yet no consensus on the matter. There is currently no clear evidence allowing to attribute real-life violence to video games. Moreover, their potential association with mild aggressive behavior is also highly debated among scholars and within the medical community.

[6]. The next concern is whether video games negatively affect school performance. The results are highly debated among scholars. Some researchers found an association between videogame play and poorer grades, but others did not. It’s obvious that if a child spends too much time playing games to the point that other activities are neglected, it’s never good. Doing a variety of activities including physical activity and sleeping are very important for the brain, and even more so for young brains. 

The Psychology of Video Games

[1]. Video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment today. Although billions of people seem to be having fun playing them, the question still exists: could they also be bad for us? Video games have been accused of making players violent, isolated, dumb, or addicted. Just like rock’n’roll and comic books before them, video games worry parents and policymakers. However, their potential positive effects have often been ignored.  Are there any positive effects of playing video games and does academic research confirm their negative impact?

[2]. To begin with, let’s look at whether playing video games could be beneficial to players. In fact, video games have been found to have several notable benefits. In particular, certain commercial action games have been found to improve visual attention skills. Other games, such as Tetris, have been shown to advance spatial ability, the capacity to understand the relations among objects in space. Research on the cognitive benefits of videogame play is still emerging but there is some evidence to suggest that certain games can have positive effects on visual and cognitive skills. 

[3]. Video games have also been found effective in education. For instance, SimCity, a city-building video game, has been extensively used in geography education because its environments stimulate students’ interest, increase their geographic understanding and develop their critical thinking skills. Minecraft, the best selling video game of all time, can be used to teach many important 21st century skills. Teachers using Minecraft as an educational tool found significant improvements in creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and computational thinking skills in their students.

[4]. While research is starting to acknowledge the benefits of video game playing, there is still much more concern regarding the negative impact of this activity. 

[5]. One of the long-standing concerns is whether video gaming can cause aggressive behavior in real life. Decades of research studying this area have so far mostly led to heavy debates, yet no consensus on the matter. There is currently no clear evidence allowing to attribute real-life violence to video games. Moreover, their potential association with mild aggressive behavior is also highly debated among scholars and within the medical community.

[6]. The next concern is whether video games negatively affect school performance. The results are highly debated among scholars. Some researchers found an association between videogame play and poorer grades, but others did not. It’s obvious that if a child spends too much time playing games to the point that other activities are neglected, it’s never good. Doing a variety of activities including physical activity and sleeping are very important for the brain, and even more so for young brains. 

The Psychology of Video Games

[1]. Video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment today. Although billions of people seem to be having fun playing them, the question still exists: could they also be bad for us? Video games have been accused of making players violent, isolated, dumb, or addicted. Just like rock’n’roll and comic books before them, video games worry parents and policymakers. However, their potential positive effects have often been ignored.  Are there any positive effects of playing video games and does academic research confirm their negative impact?

[2]. To begin with, let’s look at whether playing video games could be beneficial to players. In fact, video games have been found to have several notable benefits. In particular, certain commercial action games have been found to improve visual attention skills. Other games, such as Tetris, have been shown to advance spatial ability, the capacity to understand the relations among objects in space. Research on the cognitive benefits of video game play is still emerging but there is some evidence to suggest that certain games can have positive effects on visual and cognitive skills. 

[3]. Video games have also been found effective in education. For instance, SimCity, a city-building video game, has been extensively used in geography education because its environments stimulate students’ interest, increase their geographic understanding and develop their critical thinking skills. Minecraft, the best selling video game of all time, can be used to teach many important 21st century skills. Teachers using Minecraft as an educational tool found significant improvements in creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and computational thinking skills in their students.

[4]. While research is starting to acknowledge the benefits of video game playing, there is still much more concern regarding the negative impact of this activity. 

[5]. One of the long-standing concerns is whether video gaming can cause aggressive behavior in real life. Decades of research studying this area have so far mostly led to heavy debates, yet no consensus on the matter. There is currently no clear evidence allowing to attribute real-life violence to video games. Moreover, their potential association with mild aggressive behavior is also highly debated among scholars and within the medical community.

[6]. The next concern is whether video games negatively affect school performance. The results are highly debated among scholars. Some researchers found an association between video game play and poorer grades, but others did not. It’s obvious that if a child spends too much time playing games to the point that other activities are neglected, it’s never good. Doing a variety of activities including physical activity and sleeping are very important for the brain, and even more so for young brains. 

The Psychology of Video Games

[1]. Video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment today. Although billions of people seem to be having fun playing them, the question still exists: could they also be bad for us? Video games have been accused of making players violent, isolated, dumb, or addicted. Just like rock’n’roll and comic books before them, video games worry parents and policymakers. However, their potential positive effects have often been ignored.  Are there any positive effects of playing video games and does academic research confirm their negative impact?

[2]. To begin with, let’s look at whether playing video games could be beneficial to players. In fact, video games have been found to have several notable benefits. In particular, certain commercial action games have been found to improve visual attention skills. Other games, such as Tetris, have been shown to advance spatial ability, the capacity to understand the relations among objects in space. Research on the cognitive benefits of video game play is still emerging but there is some evidence to suggest that certain games can have positive effects on visual and cognitive skills. 

[3]. Video games have also been found effective in education. For instance, SimCity, a city-building video game, has been extensively used in geography education because its environments stimulate students’ interest, increase their geographic understanding and develop their critical thinking skills. Minecraft, the best selling video game of all time, can be used to teach many important 21st century skills. Teachers using Minecraft as an educational tool found significant improvements in creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and computational thinking skills in their students.

[4]. While research is starting to acknowledge the benefits of video game playing, there is still much more concern regarding the negative impact of this activity. 

[5]. One of the long-standing concerns is whether video gaming can cause aggressive behavior in real life. Decades of research studying this area have so far mostly led to heavy debates, yet no consensus on the matter. There is currently no clear evidence allowing to attribute real-life violence to video games. Moreover, their potential association with mild aggressive behavior is also highly debated among scholars and within the medical community.

[6]. The next concern is whether video games negatively affect school performance. The results are highly debated among scholars. Some researchers found an association between video game play and poorer grades, but others did not. It’s obvious that if a child spends too much time playing games to the point that other activities are neglected, it’s never good. Doing a variety of activities including physical activity and sleeping are very important for the brain, and even more so for young brains.