Chapter I

Introduction
Have you ever played video games? For many people, the answer is yes and most of those
people made video games hobby and some an everyday life because most of the time, a lot of
people play video games. There are always video games that would attract the children and
adults. We made our topic Video Games, how they affect students because most teachers and
parents had problems with some children about how they spend more time on playing video
games than studying. In our school, I can tell there are a lot of teenagers who are under this
problem like skipping classes or school to play video games or playing video games while in
class. There is also an accident were playing video games cause fights and injuries to those who
played. We made this research paper to tell you how video games affect people and we are
determined to find answers on our own with our knowledge and resources as students.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to answer the following questions:
1. How video games attract people to play them?
2. How long can video games brainwash students to play them?
3. Can people control themselves from the addiction of playing video games?

Significance of the Study

We made this research paper from the good of all students and possibly also for the parents to
know how they can maintain or control their childrens addiction of playing video games. For the
students, this can be helpful to them with the help of the students in my school and some people
who have experienced and had fully researched on some facts and articles that have relations to
our research paper.

Chapter II
Review of Related Literature

(1)Recent data from UCLAs Higher Education Research Institute provides useful information
about video game usage on college campuses. The data show that most college students have
played video games, many play them regularly, and a small percentage use them as a primary
means of entertainment and leisure. In the 2009 Freshman Survey, around 1% of respondents
admitted to playing over 20 hours of videogames per week. Over 35% of the respondents stated
that they play at least one hour per week.

There is an enormous gender disparity in the amount of time spend on videogames. While less
than 1 in 50 incoming freshmen women played more than 10 hours of videogames per week, 1 in
10 males admitted to doing this. The disparity increases with 10 times more males than females
admitting to playing more than 20 hours per week.
Video game usage tends to drop significantly during the first year of college. Over 7% more
students report playing no video games at all after the first year than they did at the start of their
freshman year. The same trend is seen at the extremes, with around 25% fewer males admitting
to playing more than 20 hours of videogames per week.

(1)http://www.acsd.org/article/the-effect-of-videogames-on-studentachievement/

2
(2)The effect of video games on the brain is a research area gaining popularity as the percentage
of children and adults who play video games is on the rise. Some people believe violence in
video games and in other media promotes violent behavior among viewers. While there is not
sufficient data to validate this claim, there are a number of studies showing that video games can
increase aggressive behavior and emotional outbursts, and decrease inhibitions. From a few of
these studies, and from my own observations of children playing video games, it is quite obvious
that the video games do have at least some effect on the behavior of the player. The extent and
long range consequences of these behavior changes after one has turned off the video game are
not so easily deduced. One source states that "While research on video games and aggressive
behavior must be considered preliminary, it may be reasonably inferred from the more than 1,000
reports and studies on television violence that video game violence may also contribute to
aggressive behavior and desensitization to violence". Another study reports that "Hostility was
increased both in subjects playing a highly aggressive video game and those playing a mildly
aggressive video game. Subjects who had played the high-aggression game were significantly
more anxious than other subjects".
I had a chance to observe the effects of video games first hand on two boys, ages eight and ten,
when I babysat them earlier in the semester. They were playing the video game "Mario Cart,"
which is really not a very violent game; the object is to win a car race by coming in first while
maneuvering through different courses. When the younger brother won, the older brother got up
and started kicking him and yelling insults! Later on that day, the younger brother was playing
another video game by himself and when he could not beat the level, he threw down the
controller and screamed at the t.v. screen, "Why are you doing this to me...?!" and burst into
tears. I was very shocked by this reaction and was not quite sure how to handle the situation.
This game had brought an eight year old boy to tears, right in front of me. "Certainly, video
games can make some people go nuts. You just have to look at some enthusiasts playing video
games on their cellular phones, mumbling to themselves heatedly even though others are around
them. At game centers (penny arcades), frustrated people punch or kick game machines without
regard to making a spectacle of themselves". From the above descriptions, it seems that players
get somewhat "sucked" into the video game and become oblivious to their surroundings and
much less inhibited to share their emotions. What types of changes are occurring in the brain to
activate this behavior which one exhibits when "sucked" into a video game?
Akio Mori, a professor at Tokyo's Nihon University, conducted a recent study observing the
effects of video games on brain activity. He divided 260 people into three groups: those who
rarely played video games, those who played between 1 and 3 hours three to four times a week,
and those who played 2 to 7 hours each day. He then monitored "the beta waves that indicate
liveliness and degree of tension in the prefrontal region of the brain, and alpha waves, which
often appear when the brain is resting". The results showed a higher decrease of beta waves the
more one played video games.

3
"Beta wave activity in people in the [highest amount of video game playing] was constantly near
zero, even when they weren't playing, showing that they hardly used the prefrontal regions of
their brains. Many of the people in this group told researchers that they got angry easily, couldn't
concentrate, and had trouble associating with friends". This suggests two important points. One,
that the decrease of beta wave activity and usage of the prefrontal region of the brain may
correlate with the aggressive behavior, and two, that the decrease of beta waves continued after
the video game was turned off, implying a lasting effect. Another study found similar results and
reported: "Youths who are heavy gamers can end up with 'video-game brain,' in which key parts
of the frontal region of their brain become chronically underused, altering moods". This study
also asserts that a lack of use of the frontal brain, contributed by video games, can change moods
and could account for aggressive and reclusive behavior. An important question arises: if the
brain is so impacted by video games as to create behavioral changes, must that mean that the
brain perceives the games as real?
Perhaps looking at what effects video games have on autonomic nerves can begin to answer that
question. "'Many video games stir up tension and a feeling of fear, and there is a very real
concern that this could have a long-term effect on the autonomic nerves,' Mori commented".
Autonomic nerves are those connected with involuntary internal organ processes, such as
breathing and heart rate. "Heart rate can be altered by electrical signals from emotional centers in
the brain or by signals from the chemical messengers called epinephrine (adrenaline) and
norepinephrine. These hormones are released from the adrenal glands in response to danger....
Multiple studies have reported that playing video games can significantly increase heart rate,
blood pressure, and oxygen consumption. If studies show that heart rate is increased when
playing video games, then it seems that the brain is responding to the video game as if the body
is in real danger. Does repeated exposure to this "false" sense of danger have an effect on what
the brain then perceives as real danger?
From the above studies and observations, video games do effect the players in some ways, since
it appears that players get so wrapped up in the game that they forget their surroundings and
begin to see the game as a real quest. Studies have shown that playing video games can increase
heart rate and blood pressure, as well as decrease prefrontal lobe activity while the person is
playing the game. This could account for changes in the player's mood and cause him or her to
become more aggressive or emotional. However, the extent of these effects on the body once
video game playing has ceased are preliminary and need to be confirmed.

(2)http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1742

Chapter III
Research Design
We used the survey papers to perform our research within our social school to research about our
scientific questions. We have shown them choices that would make it easy for the students to
answer our survey.
Name: _________________________________

Name: _________________________________

Section: ________________ Date:___________

Section: ________________ Date:___________

Video Games

Video Games

How they affect students

How they affect students

1. What made you play them in the first

place?
Just to pass my time
Can relate to my interests
They were socially popular
Just requested to play them

1. What made you play them in the first

place?
Just to pass my time
Can relate to my interests
They were socially popular
Just requested to play them

2. Have you ever thought of them as a

distraction to your study?
Yes
No
Sometimes

2. Have you ever thought of them as a

distraction to your study?
Yes
No
Sometimes

3. About how many hours do you spend

playing video games?
Less than an hour
1 hour
2 hours
More than 2 hours

3. About how many hours do you spend

playing video games?
Less than an hour
1 hour
2 hours
More than 2 hours

4. Can you prevent yourself from playing

video games?
Yes
No
Sometimes

4. Can you prevent yourself from playing

video games?
Yes
No
Sometimes

Chapter IV
Data Analysis
These are the results of the students answers to our survey paper.
1. What made you play them in the first place?

Student's choice
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Student's choice

2. Have you ever thought of them as a distraction to your study?

Student's choice
12
10
8
Student's choice
6
4
2
0

Yes

No

Sometimes

6
3. About how many hours do you spend time playing video games?

Student's choice
12
10
8
6
Student's choice

4
2
0

4. Can you prevent yourself from playing video games?

Student's choice
18
16
14
12

Student's choice

10
8
6
4
2
0
Yes

No

Sometimes

Findings
We have found the number of people who answered on the following questions:
1. What made you play them in the first place?
Just to pass my time 17 students
Can relate to my interests 7 students
They were socially popular 5 students
Just requested to play them 1 student
-Most students answered Just to pass my time
2. Have you ever thought of them as a distraction to your study?
Yes 9 students
No 10 students
Maybe 11 students
-Most students answered Sometimes
3. About how many hours do you spend playing video games?
Less than an hour 3 students
1 hour 10 students
2 hours 9 students
More than 2 hours 8 students
-Most students answered 1 hour
4. Can you prevent yourself from playing video games?
Yes 16 students
No 5 students
Sometimes 9 students
-Most students answered Yes

Conclusion
Our conclusion about our research paper is will now answer scientific questions in our statement
of the problem:
1. How video games attract people to play them?
-From our research paper analysis, most people just play video games to pass time. But
some people answered Can relate to my interests and They were socially popular.
Therefore, the most appropriate answer to this question is that students are mostly
attracted to video games that relate to their likes, hobbies and interests.
2. How long can video games brainwash students to play them?
-Our research analysis shows that most of the students have no full control over their time
playing video games because from the chart above, we can see there is not much
difference in the choices 1 hour, 2 hours and More than 2 hours.
Only less students play video games in Less than 1 hour, so we can also say that our
answer to this question is inaccurate. Video games can brainwash students for hours.
3. Can people control themselves from the addiction of playing video games?
-From the number 4 chart, we can see that most people can prevent themselves from
playing video games. About a half of the students answered Yes, so even if they play
video games, they can still control their one habit.

Recommendation
Our recommendations to all of the students out there are to always maintain your playing hours
to the minimum of 1 hour to prevent addiction to video games and to always make studying your
first priority and not video games. And for parents, you must also give a limit to the number of
hours your children are playing video games to also prevent addiction and also to prevent them
to get any rude behaviors and negative attitudes that their video games can have like said in the
related literature above. We also like to recommend that all you addicted to video games to play
outside, be active and to stop that habit of playing video games. We thank you for the small time
to read our research paper and we wish you the best of luck.

Chapter V
Bibliography
(1)http://www.acsd.org/article/the-effect-of-videogames-on-studentachievement/
(2)http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1742

10

Table of Contents
Chapter I
Introductionpg. 1
Statement of the Problem...pg. 1
Significance of the Study....pg. 1
Chapter II
Review of Related Literature.pg. 2
Chapter III
Research Design.pg. 5
Chapter IV

Data Analysis..pg. 6
Findings..pg. 8
Conclusion..pg. 9
Recommendation....pg .9

Chapter V
Bibliography..pg. 10

Sorsogon National High School

Sorsogon City
S.Y. 2013-2014

Research Paper in English IV

Video Games
How they affect students

Members:
Nicole Dechavez
Mark Real Jubilo

Submitted to:
Ms. Jean Carrol Corral
English IV Teacher

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank all the students who helped answered our survey to complete. We also
like to thank Mr. David & Mrs. Emelita Dechavez and Mr. Alfredo & Mrs. Regina Jubilo for
giving us spare time for our research paper and for the money for the papers.
We are grateful to God for keeping us safe during our research and to the internet, because
without internet we would never have gotten this far in our research paper.