• Hospital creates video game to help children with serious anger management problems
    29 replies, posted
[quote] [B]By Dave Lee [/B]Technology reporter, BBC News A video game designed to help children with serious anger management problems has been produced by a US hospital. Rage Control uses a device placed on a child's finger to monitor heart rate - if it gets too high, they lose the ability to shoot at enemy spaceships. The player must learn to keep calm in order to play the game successfully. Researchers said the game led to "significant decreases" in anger in the children studied. [URL="http://scienceblog.com/57320/video-game-with-biofeedback-teaches-children-to-curb-their-anger/"]ScienceBlog.com reported[/URL] that the results appeared as part of a study set to be published in the journal [URL="http://www.benthamdirect.org/pages/content.php?aps"]Adolescent Psychiatry[/URL]. "The connections between the brain's executive control centres and emotional centres are weak in people with severe anger problems," said senior investigator on the study, Dr Joseph Gonzalez-Heydrich. "However, to succeed at Rage Control, players have to learn to use these centres at the same time to score points." [B]Anger intensity[/B] The study, led by Boston Children's Hospital, compared two groups of nine- to 17-year-olds. Both groups received standard anger management treatments - but the second group also spent 15 minutes playing Rage Control at the end of their session. The study said that after five sessions, the children who had played the game were better at keeping their heart rate down - and showed lower scores on a recognised rating scale for severity of anger issues in children. The study's lead author, Peter Ducharme, said it was hoped that children playing the game would be able to apply the same calming techniques to other areas of life. "Kids reported feeling better control of their emotions when encountering day-to-day frustrations on the unit," he said. "While this was a pilot study, and we weren't able to follow the kids after they were discharged, we think the game will help them control their emotions in other environments." Next steps in the study include producing toys made with similar principles for children too young to be suitable for the video game. These may include racing cars that stop if a child gets too excited and a cooperative building block game that becomes more wobbly if the child's heart rate goes up. [B]Mind control[/B] Using computer games, or other interactive tools, to aid in treatment or recovery is becoming more common - but is rooted in science first discovered in the early 1900s. Electroencephalography feedback (known as EEG) is a technology that monitors the level of brain activity. Other examples of EEG's use is in a game called [URL="http://www.vivifeye.com/index.html"]Mindball[/URL], in which players must move a ball with their thoughts, using brain-wave detectors. Competing players must become more relaxed than their opponent in order to move the ball and win the game. In a study similar to that carried out by Boston Children's Hospital, researchers found that encouraging children to engage in activities that made use of EEG led to an improvement in overall focus and concentration. Dr Simone Fox, a clinical and forensic psychologist, and a senior lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, said it was important to use this type of technology to demonstrate to children why their body reacted in certain ways. "It's creating an awareness of how your body might be reacting when you're feeling angry," she told the BBC. "I guess the video games are developing an awareness that they're linked - that you get sweaty, your muscles get tense and so on." The approach had benefits over traditional methods, Dr Fox said, by presenting an alternative environment for children who may find it difficult to engage with psychologists. "I think the key to engaging young people is working at their level. "A lot of children with anger management problems just don't want to talk [about the issue] that way. Being creative and having alternative ways of addressing this is going to be key." [/quote] [URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20080417"]Source (BBC)[/URL]
Good to see institutions making use of modern tehcnology.
That's kind of hilarious and awesome
That's actually pretty ingenious.
But...but...I thought games CAUSED violence!?
coming soon to wii vitality sensor
Now add this to Super Meat Boy so I can finish it.
That's a great idea!
It stops them from shooting if they become too angry... I don't know about anyone else, but I get angrier when someone or something tries to stop me from being angry. I like to have the anger gradually go away on its own, or mash some orcs' faces in Space Marine.
[QUOTE=Schmaaa;38182742]It stops them from shooting if they become too angry... I don't know about anyone else, but I get angrier when someone or something tries to stop me from being angry. I like to have the anger gradually go away on its own, or mash some orcs' faces in Space Marine.[/QUOTE] It probably would for a while, but after they realize that getting more angry doesn't help the situation they would probably end up learning anger management techniques(counting to 10 sort of shit).
This should come with every copy of Black Ops 2 on the 360
[QUOTE=Fatfatfatty;38182809]This should come with every copy of Black Ops 2 on the 360[/QUOTE] Vitality Sensor and Microphone Volume Sensor, get too loud, and the mic cuts out. (This would actually be a neat idea)
They seriously need that Rage Control device for League of Legends players.
I got a handle on myself at a young age playing strategy games. It came to the point where I realised I couldn't beat the AI if I just got pissed and built the biggest tanks available.
They should just make a collar you put on every time you play games so that if it senses anger rising it gives you a little electrical shock equivalent to a slap to the face.
I love seeing the practical application of games. The merging of medical diagnostics with a game is, as stated above, [I]ingenious[/I].
I gotta try this...
[QUOTE=Schmaaa;38182742]It stops them from shooting if they become too angry... I don't know about anyone else, but I get angrier when someone or something tries to stop me from being angry. I like to have the anger gradually go away on its own, or mash some orcs' faces in Space Marine.[/QUOTE] That's the thing though. You'll eventually learn to "disconnect" and not let the meaningless hindrances enrage you, which is exactly what people with anger management problems have trouble with. This idea is pretty old though, I remember reading about this exact concept as a way of helping ADD patients train their focus.
i thought there already was a game like this... called Modern warfare
[QUOTE=milkandcooki;38183056]They seriously need that Rage Control device for League of Legends players.[/QUOTE] The honour systems seems fairly effective for most players despite doing fuckall other than give you some numbers telling you how many people like you.
give them dead space very satisfying stomp stomp
[QUOTE=PassTheBong;38184759]i thought there already was a game like this... called Modern warfare[/QUOTE] That's the exact opposite.
Really? Stopping me from being able to shoot would just make me angrier and quit in frustration. Stuff like that just wouldn't work for me.
This interests me.
Shit, when aliens invade these kids are going to be the only ones calm enough to function :v:.
[QUOTE=milkandcooki;38183056]They seriously need that Rage Control device for League of Legends players.[/QUOTE] they need it for every ARTS, really
[QUOTE=Twistshock;38184772]The honour systems seems fairly effective for most players despite doing fuckall other than give you some numbers telling you how many people like you.[/QUOTE] It really has. I played it over a year ago, and then again now, and the players are... vaguely nice? It was almost shocking when the players were giving each other polite advice.
Guys I found a list of cheat codes: [sp]Hold your breath[/sp]
They should make a physics game where you have to put blocks in the right gaped holes but the last one won't fit That would help more kids become hospitalized and addicted to anger medication , win win for the hospital
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