Superman Vs Bad Man Analysis

Happ, C., Melzer, A., & Steffgen, G. (2013). Superman vs. BAD Man? The Effects of Empathy and Game Character in Violent Video Games. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 16(10), 774-778. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0695
This study explores gamers’ empathy and morality when exposed to a character’s point of view. It shows that the players may adopt some of the game’s goals, characteristics, and the character’s experience and feelings. Players in the “Superman” condition (Playing in the hero’s shoes), though there was violence, were generally happier and empathetic towards the character, increasing their efforts to win, along with having less hostile behavior. In contrast, when players played as the villain character, they empathized with the evil character which increased negative and violent thoughts. It concludes that empathy towards a character can amplify feelings in a negative or positive way based on the story that is told to the

In this study, children report that they felt no psychological difference after playing a video game, but parents reported the opposite. Despite the parent’s beliefs, the study concludes that children playing video games is not harmful to a child’s psychological health. This article was published within the past year, making it relevant to today. The main author, Adam Lobel, studied psychology and focuses on the subject of video gaming and children; making him familiar with the topic of this article. Another author, Isabela Granic, focuses her studies on anxious and aggressive children, and she also focuses on effects (mainly benefits) of video gaming on mental health. This source is used to show that, though people believe that children can be impressionable in terms of the violence in video games, they don’t actually feel any negative psychological change, further debunking the argument that video games cause