A study that stated in no uncertain terms that playing video games makes children stupid has been retracted following a thorough analysis of its findings.
The study, co-authored by Ohio State University professor Brad J. Bushman, analyzed the relationship between “violent media,” including video games, and the intellectual performance of children. It stated that just 12 minutes of exposure to animated violence caused substantial drops in the verbal and communication skills of children. It also maintained that “gifted” children were affected to a much greater degree than their general counterparts.
Per Retraction Watch, postdoctoral fellow Josh Hilgard at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at UPenn looked at the study upon its publication in Gifted Child Quarterly, and found its core claims amiss.
“First, I found that the huge effect reported was not an error or typo. That struck me as pretty unusual, considering the effect size that’s typical in this type of psychology research. Second, such data — especially in children –tends to be quite noisy. But when I plotted the data, it became visually clear that everyone in the treatment group decreased consistently by similar amounts. It was very unusual for every single data point to behave in such a similar way.”
Hilgard says he conducted a follow-up with the researchers, including Bushman, who provided him with the data he used. However, Bushman’s efforts proved inconclusive as the paper’s co-author, based in Turkey, was unreachable due to the failed coup and subsequent crackdown on academia. However, his questions remained, prompting the journal to retract the study in its entirety.
Brad Bushman is also the co-author of another paper that claimed violent video games gave players better aim with real firearms. That study, conducted in Ohio State University, was also retracted in February 2017 following inquiries by several researchers who found irregularities in his findings.
In the 2000’s, Bushman’s research was cited by disbarred attorney Jack Thompson, who led a crusade against the video game medium.
His research is often contrary to findings by other studies in the field. Last year, a study in the Southern Economic Journal found no evidence of any relationship between video games and violent crime.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
