Video Games for Engaged Learning and Prosocial Behavior

Abstract

Researchers studying the effects of video game play are generally of two minds: critics of video games and their influence on players, and proponents who contend that video games can have beneficial effects on those who play them. Proponents of video games consider them a useful medium for engaging young people, especially those who enjoy game play but who are otherwise disengaged academically and/or socially. This paper describes the two major paradigms framing the research on video games: the Active Media perspective, which assumes that players imitate what they see in media, and the Active User perspective, which focuses on what players do with the game. Next, the positive effects of video games on learning and behavior are explored. The paper articulates how video game research can inform the work of educators in multiple ways, and encourages the integration of carefully selected educational games into curricula for engaged learning and to encourage prosocial behavior.