Advocacy Blog Blasts Report that Tetris Helps with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Advocacy Blog Blasts Report that Tetris Helps with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
January 9, 2009
A UK study which claims that playing Tetris can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder received wide play in the gaming press this week.
However, a blog which advocates for PTSD sufferers has blasted the Tetris connection.
Wounded Times argues that the study, in which subjects were shown images of traumatic injuries, doesn't adequately replicate real PTSD-inducing situations:
Do they really think a movie is the same as reality? Let them take the game out to police officers in the street right after they had to kill someone in a gun battle and one of their own was killed as well. Try the game on them. Take it to Afghanistan and Iraq right after a road side bomb blew up some GI's, killing some and taking off a few limbs at the same time a lot of innocent civilians got killed in the process, including children...
The problem about the blog world jumping all over a story like this, as they have over the last few days, is it offers false hope...
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Posted 07/04/09 at 11:08pm
Andrew Eisen: LGJ - Not that I'm aware of. The Twitter feed was someone else's live blog of the debate.
Andrew Eisen: LGJ - Not that I'm aware of. The Twitter feed was someone else's live blog of the debate.
Posted 07/04/09 at 11:04pm
Leet Gamer Jargon: @AE: Wait, wait, wait: JT has a Twitter account?! Are you serious?
Leet Gamer Jargon: @AE: Wait, wait, wait: JT has a Twitter account?! Are you serious?
Posted 07/04/09 at 09:24pm
PHX Corp: For those that want to know what i watching it's called man vs cartoon(a.k.a fixing Wile E. coyote's Mistakes one trap at a time by EMERTEC)
PHX Corp: For those that want to know what i watching it's called man vs cartoon(a.k.a fixing Wile E. coyote's Mistakes one trap at a time by EMERTEC)
Posted 07/04/09 at 08:20pm
GoodRobotUs: Went out for my Mum's 65th Birthday, which is the only relevance 4/7 has in the UK for me ;)
GoodRobotUs: Went out for my Mum's 65th Birthday, which is the only relevance 4/7 has in the UK for me ;)
Posted 07/04/09 at 08:18pm
Andrew Eisen: Beach + fireworks + root beer + strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, whipped topping, and pound cake = my Fourth of July!
Andrew Eisen: Beach + fireworks + root beer + strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, whipped topping, and pound cake = my Fourth of July!
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:58pm
GoodRobotUs: Which seems to be the only point Jack proved, that some people find some games offensive. i.e. Nothing.
GoodRobotUs: Which seems to be the only point Jack proved, that some people find some games offensive. i.e. Nothing.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:57pm
GoodRobotUs: The discussion was supposed to be whether games were dangerous not 'Do you find some games offensive'...
GoodRobotUs: The discussion was supposed to be whether games were dangerous not 'Do you find some games offensive'...
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:55pm
GoodRobotUs: Some agreed, some didn't, but it was their choice to make, not the governments.
GoodRobotUs: Some agreed, some didn't, but it was their choice to make, not the governments.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:55pm
GoodRobotUs: By asking the audience their opinion, he more or less proved that it's a matter of personal choice
GoodRobotUs: By asking the audience their opinion, he more or less proved that it's a matter of personal choice
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:55pm
GoodRobotUs: Meh, he ended proving Mark's point for him
GoodRobotUs: Meh, he ended proving Mark's point for him
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:26pm
Erik: Jack if you are reading this you are a LIAR. There is no legal weight to the MPAA's ratings.
Erik: Jack if you are reading this you are a LIAR. There is no legal weight to the MPAA's ratings.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:24pm
JDKJ: I still think my buddy the midget who rides a unicycle backwards while juggling four bowling pins would have been a much bigger hit with that crowd. And he can make up statistics and misinterpret studies, too.
JDKJ: I still think my buddy the midget who rides a unicycle backwards while juggling four bowling pins would have been a much bigger hit with that crowd. And he can make up statistics and misinterpret studies, too.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:33pm
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:32pm
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:54pm
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:50pm
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:07pm
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:01pm
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:52pm
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:50pm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
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Comments
gotta say i kinda agree with this.
showing someone a movie is NOT THE SAME AS EXPERIENCING REALITY.
In the same way that playing GTA isnt the same as doing the things in real life. I hardly think that the participants can be classed as having PTSD after seeing some nasty images. Heck, everybody using the internet has clicked onto stuff unknowingly a few times and seen some horrible things. Would never say id had PTSD though or even came close to experiencing anythign 'similar' to PTSD.
"Do they really think a movie is the same as reality?"
Hey, that's valid research there, Sparky!
That's how it's done!
Take the individual out of the picture.
Show them a movie or make them listen to sounds, and that qualifies as "doing research".
Look at the so-called research on "aggression" and the so-called research about how violent video games "affect" people or "desensitize" them.
If it's valid research methods for THEM, it's valid research methods for YOU.
Someone call the CDC and the US legislature! We need to make PTSD victims play Tetris! We need legislation on this NOW!
:/
Nightwng2000
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Nightwng2000 has also updated his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
I would have to count them as one of the blogs jumping all over this, and prolly doing so to try to get attention for donations or other support. They are jumping as hastily as anyone else IMO.
I would argue that they NEED to push for testing on a range of suffers of PTSD, from soldiers, to police, to kids, and so on, but I would NOT flat out say they are 100% wrong. Even though it may only lessen the flashbacks and such from 10 a day to 9, it is a useful tool to help. My guess is the same would go for WoW, and other games people can get more hooked on. When people play enough Tetris, they tend to think about playing the game, fitting the pieces together, and so on. So anything that takes up that time which opens of the door for a flashback is good.
The real question is, night terrors. If they can prove it helps night terrors, then they will be golden. Between PTSD and little kids who have watched a very scary movie, it would be great to know about. All in all, they need to complete the study, because it isn't done.
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Ow. Better no hope at all than what is potentially false hope, eh? I didn't read anything in the Tetris stories that claimed to be the cure-all for PTSD, just that it could possibly distract and minimize. This strikes me as an overreaction, and a silly one at that. Would they rather there was no research done on how to help PTSD sufferers?
The study can be read for free from the Plos One website and surprisingly easy to read. ( http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.00041... ) (it's undergoing maintenance as of this writing)
I very much agree that bloggers offers false hope with all this positive news, but I also think that this is a systematic problem in that if you don't jump the fastest on the latest news, someone else will pick up the news before you do and you won't get any visits to your blog. Therefore, it makes bloggers speed read and miss or misinterpret raw information.
Even if this study were to be successfully replicated, there are still practical concerns, such as the willingness to accept treatment, physical disability, the emotional impact of the trauma, implementing the treatment, etc.
http://vgresearcher.wordpress.com/
But what do violent games have to do with non-volent Tetris?
- Warren Lewis
You obviously never visited communist Russia.
Triggering memories and controlling the reaction isn't quite the same as what was likely reported, which was probably a form of cognitive behavioral therapy.