Hi 1. Where on earth did they find kids who did NOT have video games? Would results generalize to kids in general? Do results generalize to long-term use (i.e., does novelty wear off?). For how long would it be reasonable to expect that kids would remain non-users without the study?
2. I guess if Rick is concerned about the ethics of this study he would also have to be concerned about the ethics of: (a) parents buying videogames for their kids, (b) kids being allowed to spend their earned money on video games, and (c) any other way that kids could get a video game. That is, kids receiving videogame for participating in research would appear to be exposed to no greater a "risk" than what they face in everyday life. This assumes that appropriate criterion for risk is "that experienced in everyday life," rather than "zero risk." 3. The knowledge gained from such studies is of tremendous value in addressing concerns about inferring causality from nonexperimental data. That is, such studies should allow for more persuasive appeals to parents, resulting in less harm overall to children from excessive videogame play than without such studies. 4. There is no (validly) known risk until such studies are done, so how can it be unethical to engage in such studies? Presumably this consideration would change with accumulation of more evidence. 5. Presumably it is the parents who are giving their consent. Shouldn't their judgment, suitably informed, be respected? Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [email protected] >>> Rick Froman <[email protected]> 09-Mar-10 9:23:06 AM >>> In medical research, sometimes people are recruited into experiments with the promise that, if they are in the control group, when the experiment ends, everyone will get the treatment if it is effective. That seems only ethical. But what about this case? Weis and Cerankosky (2010) recently published a study, "Effects of Video-Game Ownership on Young Boys' Academic and Behavioral Functioning: A Randomized, Controlled Study<http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/02/17/0956797610362670>" (link available only to subscribers or APS members) online before print in Psychological Science (Feb 18) the abstract of which is as follows: Young boys who did not own video games were promised a video-game system and child-appropriate games in exchange for participating in an "ongoing study of child development." After baseline assessment of boys' academic achievement and parent- and teacher-reported behavior, boys were randomly assigned to receive the video-game system immediately or to receive the video-game system after follow-up assessment, 4 months later. Boys who received the system immediately spent more time playing video games and less time engaged in after-school academic activities than comparison children. Boys who received the system immediately also had lower reading and writing scores and greater teacher-reported academic problems at follow-up than comparison children. Amount of video-game play mediated the relationship between video-game ownership and academic outcomes. Results provide experimental evidence that video games may displace after-school activities that have educational value and may interfere with the development of reading and writing skills in some children. They mention later in the article that parents were debriefed but it isn't clear if they were made aware of the experimental findings or just of the hypothesis and methods. So, is it ethical to give everyone a treatment that has been found (in an experiment, not just a correlational study) to be detrimental? And was the compensation offered not only coercive but, based on the experimental findings, possibly detrimental to educational outcomes? Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Box 3055 x7295 [email protected] http://tinyurl.com/DrFroman Proverbs 14:15 "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=1155 or send a blank email to leave-1155-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=1158 or send a blank email to leave-1158-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
