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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Much attention has been directed to the use of video games for learning in the

recent years, in part due to the staggering amounts of capital spent on games in the

entertainment industry, but also because of their ability to captivate player attention and

hold it for lengthy periods of time as players learn to master game complexities and

accomplish objectives (Dondlinger 2007).

According to the authors, Chen and Voderer, gamers fit into certain categories:

the competitor, explorer, collector, achiever, joker, director, storyteller, performer, and

the craftsmen. Each of these types of players has a specific goal for playing games,

motivating them to spend hours staring at a screen. For example the explorer plays “to

experience the boundaries of the play world.” At the same time there are players who

play to escape from the harsh realities of their life and change into a “respected”

character that in the fantasy world is a hero. Unfortunately some people feel compelled to

escape into these fantasy worlds because of depression and oppression daily.

Paducah, Kentucky. Jonesboro, Arkansas. Littleton, Colorado.These three towns

recently experienced similar multiple school shootings. The shooters were students who

habitually played violent video. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Columbine High

School students who murdered 13 people and wounded 23 in Littleton, before killing

themselves, enjoyedplaying the bloody video Doom. Harris created a customized version

of Doom with two shooters, extra weapons, unlimited ammunition, and victims who

could not fight back features that are eerily similar to aspects of the actual shootings.

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The one positive result of these tragedies is the attentionbrought to the growing problem

of video-violence, from the newsroom to the U.S. Senate (2000). At a Commerce

Committee hearing, several researchers testified that there are indeed valid reasons, both

theoretical and empirical, to be concerned about exposing youths to violent

video(Anderson, 2000).

As individual beings, we have difficulty accepting deriving from what violence is

and how video games are to different people. Children who watch television and go to the

movies see thousands of murders and countless other acts of violence. Many people

believe that being exposed to all this violence causes children to be more aggressive and

to commit crimes. (Shin, 2003)

Recently, attention has turned toward the violence in video games. It seems

reasonable to many people that if passively watching violence in movies and on

television causes aggression, actively participating in violence in video games should

have an even greater effect. Surely, so the argument goes, spending hours shooting

images of various creatures and of human beings and watching them blow up, break

apart, scream in pain, spew blood all over, and so on must have a harmful effect on those

who play - it must teach them that violence is acceptable, that it is a way to deal with

problems, perhaps make them insensitive to real violence, and thus cause them to be

more aggressive and more violent themselves (2000, April, 23).

By the end of the 20th century, even more graphically violent became available to

players of all ages (Walsh, 1999).

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Numerous educational, nonviolent strategy and sports exist, but the most heavily

marketed and consumed areviolent ones. Fourth-grade girls (59%) and boys (73%) report

that the majority of their favorites are violent ones (Buchman & Funk, 1996).

Another problem involves the lack of parental oversight.Teens in grades 8

through 12 reports that 90% of their parents never check the ratings of video before

allowing their purchase, and only 1% of the teens’ parents had ever prevented a

purchase based on its rating (Walsh, 2000).

Also, 89% reported that their parent’s never limited time spent playing video.

Ratings provided by the video- industry do not match those provided by other adults and

playing youngsters. Many involving violence by cartoonlike characters are classified by

the industry as appropriate for general audiences, a classification with which adults and

youngsters disagree. (Funk, Flores, Buchman, & Germann, 1999)

The field of instructional technology has experienced dramatic growth in the

research and development of multimedia learning environments. This growth has been

especially pronounced in computer based and web based learning environments

(Jonassen, 1988; Marsh & Kumar, 1992; Rieber, 1996; Yoder, 1994). A number of

researchers have indicated that gaming motivates learners (Keller, 1987; Malone, 1980,

1981; Thiagarajan, 1976).

The motivation generated in competitive gaming may translate into increased

achievement of the content (Laveault& St. Germain, 1997). Gaming also provides a

rehearsal dimension and is capable of delivering various forms of feedback essential in

sustaining motivation. Feedback guides the learning process and provides students with a
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sense of satisfaction and/or accomplishment. Satisfaction can result from extrinsic or

intrinsic factors. An instructional game can be defined as any training format that

involves competition and is rule-guided (Jones, 1987).

A well-designed instructional game must develop confidence in success by

generating positive expectancies (Jonassen, 1988; Keller, 1979). Research on gaming

(Molcho, 1988; Pierfy, 1977) has provided evidence that instructional games can promote

retention and the ability to transfer knowledge to new domains. Instructional games are

attractive to learners because they offer a simple and creative means of providing high-

level motivation, clear and consistent goals, and sustained interactivity. Gaming as an

instructional variable may be analyzed as methods of rehearsal by facilitating the

organization and retention of content (Dwyer & Dwyer, 1985; Orbach, 1979).

Online games provide an escape into a virtual world, where you can forget about

anything that is happening in real life and just enjoy yourself, even play with your friends

in a networking game. In the past, for a group of online game players to play networking

games, it was necessary for them to all be together and all their computers and Xboxes

connected to one another. Not only were they just playing a game, they were interacting

on a personal level. Now with online gaming becoming a component of most every video

game on the market today, it is possible for gamers to have this same action in the

privacy of their home. This anonymity comes with a cost however, and it is becoming

increasingly common that both the social aspect of gaming and the gamers’ social skills

themselves are degrading as online gaming becomes more prevalent. (Gentile, Lynch,

Linder & Walsh)

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Many teachers, parents and other concerned organizations and people

continuously clamor for a tighter clamp over computer gaming. Protest mainly focused

on how the trend is becoming a cause of distraction among students in their studies.

Many entrepreneurs set up cafés near school to cater the youngsters; the market by the

industry is seemingly tailored for. Numerous of students are designating cafés as hangout

places where hours are spent playing – be it until late at night, or worse, during school

hours which makes students skip classes.

Studies indicate that children who play computer games can improve visual

intelligence skills. Parents believed that computer use is related to better academic

performance of the children. It was found that high school students who used educational

software at home scored significantly higher on computer literacy tests than other

students. Computer use at home is also associated with improvements in general

academic performance. Other studies also found that students who own computers at

home had higher over-all grades, particularly in Math and English, than those without

home computers.

On the other hand, a study done in Taiwan by Chuang and Chen (2007, 30)

investigated and discovered that digital games improve children’s cognitive achievement

and can facilitate student’s cognitive learning process. Moreover, the findings indicated

that digital game playing not only improves participants’ fact/recall processes, but also

promotes problem-solving skills by recognizing multiple solutions. However, the

question on which type of digital games works best for students was not discussed in the

study.
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According to Molcho (1988), gaming has provided evidence that instructional games can

promote retention and the ability to transfer knowledge to new domains. Instructional

games are attractive to learners because they offer a simple and creative means of

providing high-level motivation, clear and consistent goals, and sustained interactivity.

Gaming as an instructional variable may be analyzed as methods of rehearsal by

facilitating the organization and retention of content (Dwyer & Dwyer, 1985).

Kimberly Young (2009, p.12) says, not only are children, teenagers, and collegestudents

effected by online gaming addiction, but a growing number of adults

are becoming hooked to online gaming. While such cases are rare, mental-

health professionals say the fantasy worlds offered by computer and video games can

becomethe stuff of very real addictions that destroy marriages and careers. People of all

agesare quickly becoming immersed in this virtual fantasy world whereby they can

easilyescape problems in their lives.As in any treatment program, the primary step to take

in the path, according toKimberly (2009, p.18), to recovery is to accept and not refute

“denial,” a defense mechanism that addicts frequently employ and that effectively stops

them fromaccepting treatment. Once this obstacle is conquered, treatment can be

performed moreeffectively than it would otherwise. Tracy Miller (2013) add because

computer gameaddiction is a new development in the world of mental health, treatments

are not as wellestablished as those for depression, anxiety, anger, etc. Most interventions

take acognitive-behavioral approach which involves changing how the addict thinks

about the addiction.