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Whether kids should be encouraged to play video games remains a topic of debate among many parents, who often entertain some of the myths associated with video game play. The authors review the latest scientific evidence to dispel worries that video game play contributes to obesity, desensitizes players to real-world violence, and causes aggressive behavior. They also discuss research that demonstrates video game play helps improve social skills and visuospatial cognitive abilities, aids in mood management, and even appears to decrease real-world violence. They conclude that playing video games can be a worthwhile activity for most children when balanced with other life responsibilities.

Recent years have seen debate about whether depictions of inherently evil monster races such as orcs in role playing games or literature/movies such as Lord of the Rings could be considered racist. Although such decisions may be subjective, little data has been produced to inform the debate regarding how critical an issue this is. In particular, does consuming such material relate to racism in the real world, or do a majority of individuals, particularly people of color, consider such depictions racist? The current study sought to address these issues in a sample of 308 adults (38.2% non-White) a subset of whom (17%) were players of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. Playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) was not associated with greater ethnocentrism (one facet of racism) attitudes. Only 10.2% found a depiction of orc monsters as inherently evil to be offensive. However, when later asked the blunter question of whether the same depiction was racist, the number jumped to 34.0%, with women particularly inclined to endorse this position. This suggests asking people about racism may prime them to see racism in material they hadn't previously found to be offensive. Neither participant race nor history playing the D&D game was associated with perceptions of offensiveness or racism., Author(s): Christopher J. Ferguson [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.264307.4, 0000 0000 9688 1551, Department of Psychology, Stetson University, , 421 N. Woodland Blvd., 32729, DeLand, FL, USA Issues of race [...]

In this excerpt from their new book, "Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong" (BenBella Books, 2017), the authors present an argument in defense of video games while dispelling the myth that such games lead to real-world violence. The authors define and examine moral panics and provide guidelines for identifying and understanding this phenomenon. They focus in particular on how the moral panic around video games has affected scientific research on games.

At present, there have been a number of studies examining the sexualization of female characters in various media. However, most studies to date have not clearly delineated whether sexualized images or the presence of assertive versus passive female characters influences negative attitudes toward women in viewers, as well as female viewer anxiety. The present study investigated whether the inclusion of powerful female characters in movies with sexualized content influences both male and female viewers' attitudes towards women as well as anxiety responses of female reviewers. Participants included 134 undergraduate students attending a private liberal arts university in the southern region of the United States. Participants were randomized to watch one of three movie conditions: first, movies that involve strong female lead characters, but which also include sexualized characters, Second, movies that involve strong female lead characters without sexualization and third, movies that involve sexualized female characters without strong portrayals (i.e. damsels in distress). Participants were measured on attitudes toward women, rape myth acceptance and anxiety. Results indicated little support for the view that sexualized media impacted viewers' attitudes toward women, rape myth acceptance or anxiety., Author(s): Naser Mubarak [sup.1] , Christopher J. Ferguson [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.264307.4, 0000 0000 9688 1551, Department of Psychology, Stetson University, , 421 N. Woodland Blvd., 32729, DeLand, FL, [...]

Orcs are monsters with origins in Irish folklore popularized in the Lord of the Rings book and movie series, and also widely used in the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) game systems. In recent years, controversies have arisen regarding whether orcs involve racist depictions or may promote racism in real life. Recent evidence from other studies finds that playing D&D is not associated with real-life racism, and most people including people of color don't find depictions of orcs to be offensive or racist. However, it may still be possible that racist stereotypes are used in visual depictions of orcs. The current study sought to address this with a content analysis of 78 images of orcs from the D&D game or from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies from the 1970s and 2000s. Use of racist stereotypes were very rare in visual depictions of orcs and incidental when they did occur. Evidence did not support that visual depictions of orcs depended upon visual stereotypes of real-life human groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that sexual harassment has potential influence on women's well-being and body image. This study evaluated the effects of exposure to catcalling, which is the specific instance of sexual harassment on the street by strangers, on women's state body image and state self-objectification. The participants were randomized into experimental and control groups and were pre-tested to determine their state body image and self-objectification. The participants then watched one of two videos. The experimental video included four women being catcalled by a man while they walked down the street. The control video was set up on the exact same street, with the exact same women, but without the catcalling. Finally, participants completed a post-test questionnaire to measure their state body image and self-objectification as well as their trait body image and self-objectification. Results showed that there were no significant differences between the control and experimental groups regarding either body image or self-objectification. Bayes factor analyses confirmed the results as null., Author(s): Sophie Fisher [sup.1], Danielle Lindner [sup.1], Christopher J. Ferguson [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.264307.4, 0000 0000 9688 1551, Department of Psychology, Stetson University, , 421 N. Woodland Blvd., Unit [...]

The use of weaponized drones or 'unmanned aerial vehicles' (UAVs) has become increasingly widespread and controversial over the past few decades. The current paper reviews the state of the research regarding the potential psychosocial impact of weaponized drones on operators and target populations and communities. It is concluded that research regarding the impact of drones in the psychological literature remains limited and most discussion of drones' impact has taken place in the public policy and legal/ethical spheres, often by entities invested in condoning or condemning the use of drones. The limited available data addresses potential new challenges to the well-being of drone operators, factors influencing decision making regarding the use of drones, and the impact on target communities. The current paper neither condones nor condemns the use of drones, but is advanced as a state of the research and a call for additional objective and empirical analysis on this relatively new form of warfare., Author(s): Alaa Hijazi [sup.1] , Christopher J. Ferguson [sup.2] , F. Richard Ferraro [sup.5] , Harold Hall [sup.3] , Mark Hovee [sup.4] , Sherrie Wilcox [sup.6] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 [...]

One of the most controversial debates around intelligence testing regards how tests are used to measure intelligence among non-Western populations. Studies conducted since the 1930's consistently indicate significant sub-average intelligence among African populations. The purpose of this study is to examine whether commonly used intelligence tests such as the Ravens Progressive Matrices are valid indices of cognitive functioning among children in Mali, Africa. Participants in the current study were 206 children from Mali attending French-language schools. The Woodcock-Johnson II math assessment was used to measure participants' academic achievement. The Vineland II- Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) was used to indicate their adaptive functioning level. In this study, tests of IQ were compared against adaptive functioning and academic achievement, to examine whether IQ scores measured among African populations are artificially low or are an accurate measure of performance. IQ scores as measured by the Ravens were discrepant with standardized scores on math achievement and adaptive functioning. Results indicate that use of the Ravens may substantially underestimate the intelligence of children in Mali. This can be particularly problematic when comparisons are made across cultures using the same test and norms. . It is recommended that tests developed with local normative samples be used to assess for IQ., Author(s): Cissé Dramé [sup.1] , Christopher J. Ferguson [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0000 8747 9982, grid.264755.7, Texas A&M International University, , 5201 University Blvd, Laredo, TX, USA (Aff2) 0000 [...]