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Male Brains 'Wired for Videogame Obsession'
thinkzinc notes a story indicating that, according to a new study, men have a harder time putting down a controller than women do. Researchers at Stanford did brain imaging work on a group of young test subjects while they played a simple PC game. Besides the 'obvious' conclusion that men were more 'aggressive at gaining territory on the screen', the tests also indicated that male brains showed more activity in the reward and addiction components of the brain. "The lead author, Dr. Allan Reiss, noted that most of the video games that are popular with men are territory and aggression-type games. 'These gender differences in the brain may help explain why males are more attracted to, and more likely to become hooked on video games than females,' he said. Other recent surveys indicate that about 40 percent of Americans regularly play games on a computer or console, but young males are two or three times more likely than females to feel addicted to video games, Reiss said. "
The male brain is also wired for interest in questionable pictures of the opposite sex.
Junk science, the lot of it; sole purpose is to perpetuate a stereotype.
main(0)
Video games are generally written to suit the obsessions of male brains, are they not?
-Matt
...and in other news, scientists studying grizzly bears in Canada have finally shown that they do, in fact, defecate in the woods.
Female Brain 'Wired for Shopping Obsession'... news at 11.
I prefer to be certain they are pictures of the opposite sex.
We need legislation banning video games. We must protect us from ourselves!
al gore thinks the earth is cooling down.
In Soviet Halo, the game kills you (socially anyway)
Every time I read a report of this form it always has the underling tone that what men are better at is a debilitating weakness. Why?
...the article is saying the male brain responds more actively to a specific type of game. One cannot draw a general conclusion from this. I'm not the least bit surprised that aggressive, competitive, territory-domination games are more popular amongst men, though.
My girlfriend is JUST as addicted, if not MORE to the same games as I am. Oblivion and Black and White 2! It becomes a system of trade offs of who's playing what at what time...
It has more to do with the person then the gender! She can wale on me in UT and I make rockin' brownies.
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
...didn't I choose that research area as well. I could be tenured at Stanford now conducting very prestigious research like that concluding for example that, objects have a tendency to fall down most of the times, if humans don't eat they die, male members of a species have a tendency to chase the corresponding female members with usually a single and overbearing purpose in mind, wonderful wonderful research like that... every day I would wrap up and go home I would feel I'd done something important for humanity...
Mario and Sonic told me this isn't true.
http://twitter.com/onion2k
Does this warrant a surgeon general warning on the side of video game packages?
Totally bogus: a study of 11 males and 11 females is not nearly adequate to make any generalizations about the population.
Five bucks say they were students in the researcher's class.
-------------------------
A person of moderate zeal
Whoever marked the parent as troll maybe be a no-tail?
/Goes back to IDE
Or whatever they call themselves again.............
WOMEN! That's it.
throw new NoSignatureException();
I can put the controller down whenever I want!
Title of the article: "Male brains wired for video game obsession"
That is VERY offensive. Men in the U.S. are the targets of an extreme amount of hostility. I'm guessing that the person who wrote that headline knew that being hostile toward men is in fashion, and wrote it to get attention for the advertisements.
Quote: "These gender differences in the brain may help explain why males are more attracted to, and more likely to become hooked on video games than females," he said.
Fraud: He has not shown any gender differences in the brain. He has shown that, at the time, those particular subjects were using their brains differently.
The article does imply something useful about brains, however. The fact that Slashdot editors wanted us to see it may be an indication that the editors are not in touch with reality. Maybe that's because the editors spent so much time playing games rather than trying to relate to reality.
If you want to experience a society where men aren't hated, go to Brazil. However, don't fall in love with the first woman you meet, like many of my acquaintances.
I agree. While using a "territory" game may fall inline with the mass's perception of video games, they're not the only games out there. The industry has evolved to gear games at their male target audience, though recently innovative and casual games outside of the "territory and agression" mentality are becoming common. When you test subjects on games in which the male brain is supposed to be inclined, it should be little surprise that they find the games more addictive. This shouldn't necessarily mean that video games can't be as compelling to women as to men. Have the study participants play a variety of games -- not just those related to screen territory -- and then let me know if this still holds true.
As there are no further details on what the game actually encompassed, we can assume 'gaining territory' was the sole purpose of the game. Duh, men have a tendency (either because of nature or nurture) to be more aggressive, and if the purpose of the game is to be aggressive they will enjoy it more. Nearly all games cater to this idea.
Women however tend to enjoy the story-telling and relationship-building aspects of games. My gf and her female relatives are totally addicted to the Sims, while I really can't stand it. I don't mind a bit of FPS, but I don't put nearly as much time in it.
So, like in all _proper_ research, the conclusion should be: It depends. In this case, on the type of videogame. But I guess that wouldn't make such an attention-grabbing headline.
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Male Brains 'Wired for Videogame Obsession'
Female Brains are wired for...
Mine is wired for a CowboyNeal obsession.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Lots of guys playing games with buxom female characters with the physics implemented for bouncing boobies.
I agree. I have trouble putting down the controller, but my gf is afraid of picking it up because she can't stop whatsoever until I snap her out of it.
I think it has to do with attention span. Those who love constant stimulation like my gf get a serious high from video games like the Sims where there is always things going on.
"I only speak the truth"
Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
I see nothing wrong with that. I like being barbaric. I like to scratch my nuts when I first wake up in the morning. I like to just shrug it off when women talk about their feelings (Here's a clue, ladies. If you're not my wife, I don't give a flying fuck about your feelings). I like to eat leftover pizza for breakfast and wash it down with a colder beer. I like porn. I like loud, nasty rock 'n roll. I like sex and violence.
After I'm done with my day's work I like to fire up a game and beat the everloving shit out of anything that gets in my way. I don't see anything wrong with this. After all, it's not like I'm at a bar getting drunk and picking fights with other patrons. I'm not hurting anybody or damaging other people's property. Of course, now it's an 'addiction', so I'm sure that there are women and some men who are traitors to their sex who will think that I and other gamers 'need help'.
I don't need help, and I sure as hell don't want any. I like being a barbaric, sex-crazed, gamer who eats too much, drives too fast, and has the volume up way too high. I'm an asshole, and I'm proud of it!
I write sci-fi for metalheads
I write sci-fi for metalheads
The reasons studies showing differences between sex, race or whatever, especially in mental areas should be swept under the carpet is not that the studies are false. Sex is determined by hormones and race by genes, both OBVIOUSLY have hypothetical causality with human brain's function that you would have to be an idiot to simply discount without some serious research to disprove. The brain is part of the body and is shaped by the same factors as it, thus as our brain is different to other species because of our genes and hormones it is going to differ from other humans, I'm personally amazed about just how few differences there tend to be in cognitive capacity between sexes (who have very differently structured brains) and races (who often have very different genes and environments). The reason we should sweep this stuff under the carpet is not because the data is wrong, or the conclusions are evil, it is because of the potential for abuse greatly outweighs the potential benefits.
Take the controversial race-IQ correlation thing that is being hailed by some as the ultimate in suppressed wisdom and derided by others as pure racist hate and bigotry. It is neither. It is just some data which may be probably true, but to the general public it has less potential to enlighten them than be used as rationalisation of an existing view that has only the ability to be divisive. That data says that the average IQ for Africans is significantly lower than that of Caucasians, does that mean George Bush is smarter than his former secretary of state Colin Powell? (or his new SoS Rice or possible successor Obama for that matter) Of course it doesn't, Powell is a smart black guy and Bush is a dumb white guy and since this is always a possibility we're back to where we started where you need to judge someone on their own, not by their race. It however doesn't mean that someone who already doesn't like blacks won't be able to use it to win over some supporters with their misused statistics.
This study isn't really harmful at all in my opinion but I think if the misandric minority of women were in the habit of using such studies on quite trivial male weaknesses then in that hypothetical situation it might be in the best interest for those in possession of the results to show an amount of discretion as to who was made aware of them and how it was phrased to prevent certain members of the community from being victimised using these studies as an excuse.
Before I finish though, I'd like to discuss something I don't like, pinning the blame on a more traditionally powerful group to appease general harmony. Problems in Africa MUST be blamed on European imperialism even though violence, corruption and even slavery existed in Africa long before a white man went south of Alexandria. Women not doing well in an area? The top hypothesis on this list is usually males excluding them, regardless of whether large numbers of talented women actually want to go into the area or not. As a white male born in the '80, being constantly blamed for ongoing problems that I could not possibly have had the power to create, often in aggressive and personally directed ways really hurts sometimes. I assume people who fit into this category makes up a lot of slashdot, anyone feel the same way?
When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
So, do this mean I can now officially call video gaming a disability, then collect insurance while staying home to play all day instead of working?
historically, men have been hunters and women have been gatherers.
men seek to dominate or subjugate the world around them, often through force.
women seek to collect objects of beauty and nest themselves in comfort.
hunting and catching an object of sexual desire is not all that different from leveling in WOW or winning races & collecting cars in Gran Turismo.
had to laugh at the "womens brains wired for compulsive shopping" because just look at our examples from popular culture: women and shoes! precious moments figurines! beanie babies!
Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
It should be "Games designed to appeal more to the male brain."
News at 11.
I write sci-fi for metalheads
They've just found a specific branch of male-based dyslexia in which ordinary words come out spelt "pwned", "lolnub", and "biatch".
Male brains wired for video game obsession, because everyone knows a girl wouldn't get obsessed with The Sims or World of Warcraft. Nope. Only males.
In other news, little girl brains are wired to enjoy playing with toys (now that sounded ambiguous), a research revealed by surveying boys and girls when given Barbie dolls to play with.
You just got troll'd!
I can put the controller down whenever I want!
I just don't want to right now.
Meanwhile all the women are watching American Idle and all of the other "reality" TV crap. So are there brains more predisposed to like mindless force-fed entertainment?
A: If you are male, and go to Brazil (and Thailand), you will begin to realize that all your life in the U.S. you have been treated badly by women.
It's reasonably easy, for me anyway, to find women in the U.S. who are personally very interesting and are responsible. They are often valuable employees, for example. It is difficult to find a woman in the U.S. who I would consider marriageable. My women friends say the men in the U.S. are just as bad, and I have every reason to believe they are right, but haven't done as much personal investigation of men, of course.
In Brazil, you will find many women who should marry someone, even if they are not right to marry you.
But, take your time. It takes a lot of effort to build a marriage-quality relationship.
Women from the Thai culture in Thailand (not from the Chinese culture) are often also quite gentle with men. Although I have met Thai women I thought were marriageable in both Thailand and the U.S., in general they are too childish. Also, there are huge cultural differences.
Marrying someone from another culture, even the Brazilian culture, requires extra effort and insight and willingness to define and learn the best elements of your own culture and the other person's.
If all of this is outside your experience, you may be helped by remembering the song "One Night in Bangkok". The song is about a true story. One year the World Chess Championships were held in Bangkok. Some of the chess players went out at night. The women were so nice to them that some of them fell in love immediately. I have known European and American men in Thailand who did that.
I saw the aftermath of instant love in Bangkok happen with my own eyes, standing on the corner on Patpong road about 20 years ago. A western woman was trying to get control again over the man she came with, after he had seen how nice the Thai women could be, even though the women he had seen were prostitutes, and therefore tended to be far less interesting than more moral women.
Those who don't like what I've said here can express their own theories about why there is a social breakdown in the United States. (Dollar falling in value, highest percentage of population in prison, and so on and on.)
Here's the actual paper: Hoeft_2008JPsychiatrRes.pdf
I emailed the progenitor of the paper about the "kind of video game" issue. I posit that word jumble games and MMORPGs are the sort of games that are likely to addict women.
If he ever writes back (unlikely), I'll post.
-l
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My wife is ready for "just one more song" then I am when we are playing.
What a meaningless study, do you really need a study for this that money is spent on? This is like saying that: The study shows that if you cut your finger off it will bleed, and the blood will be, yes, red. It will also hurt, and you will only have 4 fingers remaining on your hand. What a load of bullshit. There are less women who are interested in playing games to begin with.
Both of you. Males aren't being persecuted. You have absolutely no fucking idea what it means to be persecuted, to be the target of outright hostility and to be the victim of discrimination. Well, not unless you're black or gay. I suspect you aren't, though.
What I do suspect is that you love your women to be submissive, to accept the man as the head of the household, and to believe in serving him. This is your prerogative - if you find a woman who is like that, go for it.
However, lack of submission has absolutely nothing to do with social breakdown, hostility against males or any other crap like that. If anything, I'd argue that the social breakdown that you see around you and the hostility that is expressed against you is the result of your chauvinistic, self-centered and egotistical attitude. You just can't handle an independent woman.
Seriously - prostitutes were nice to a man? No wai! Getouttahere! Wouldaneverguessedthat. Brazilian and Thai women are nicer? Wouldn't have anything to do with the fact their society is about as male dominated is it could possibly be, right?
Personally, I find that most brazilian women are either crazy or wallflowers. Thai women who made it out of Thailand seem to have adapted fairly well to western habits - but you can still tell who just arrived and who grew up here.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
In the actual research paper (see a previous reply for link) they mentioned that the reward/addition areas of the brain under study also showed differing sensitivity to drug stimuli. "Gender differences in brain function shown here are also consistent with the behavioral literature on drug intake and addiction (D'Souza et al., 2002) which has been related to disparities in the sensitivity of the male and female brain to drug stimuli (Cicero et al., 1997; Munro et al., 2006) (but note opposite gender effects observed in (Riccardi et al.,2006) in other regions of the brain)." Maybe males are just more sensitive (to reward).
Men do seem to like video games far more than women.I work for a hotel in Prague and my boss recently bought a PS3 for the staff. All the men workers spend every free moment playing, while the women never touch any of the games. The women take walks near Prague Castle while the men stay back and play Madden all day.
...when either gender simply acts kindly to the other, magic happens. Best of all, it doesn't matter who starts it. This was the point of the parent article, which you lost during your diatribe.
Makes sense in a way. In many tribal situations, the men go on long hunting trips. Sometimes the hunt lasts for days, as they track an animal like a boar and try to trap it. If men were easily bored or distracted during this time, the tribe would go without meat. So it makes sense that men would be wired to "obsess" on one activity for long periods if there is a reward involved.
And for those seeing this as an attack against men, just look at it another way: women lack the brain wiring that gives us guys the tenacity to stick with an arduous, but ultimately rewarding, task for long periods of time...
I write sci-fi for metalheads
I write sci-fi for metalheads
...seemes to be ignored in this 'study'.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
http://orangehammer.ytmnd.com/
This clip is a guy screaming his head off as his guild nears victory and then kills Ragnaros in World of Warcraft for the first time (and lots of his guildmates cheer too.)
Somehow, I can't imagine many women getting THIS worked up over what amounts to some orange pixels on a screen.