Lab Report Analysis: 

Video Games and Health Correlations

Abel Jacob

Writing for Engineers 

Prof. Rodwell

Video games are commonly seen as a viable source of entertainment among kids and teenagers. However they are seen as a negative influence on children and interpreted by parents and health researchers as an addiction. Research however shows that there are many positive benefits that come with video games. The following lab reports analyzes video games and how they can be used in many beneficial aspects such as used for health reasons. For all 3 reports, the audience includes health professionals who monitor physical and mental health as well as researchers who study behavioral changes and triggers.  Report #1 dives into an issue of behavioral responses to doing exercise. Oftentimes people would find that doing exercise came as a chore to them so researchers used video games as a catalyst to persuade participants to do more exercise. The second lab report was similar in theme as it used a specific game and console to determine the value people can get from playing fitness games. Researchers aimed to find important uses for them such as motivation for health benefits. The third report focused on behavioral and psychological trends based on violent media, specifically video games. They test levels of aggression after exposing participants to violent video games and aim to find and correlations. By analyzing these lab reports, formatting options, style, and content of lab reports can be analyzed and studied in order to provide ample ideas to improve writing techniques.

Several kids and adults actively engage in playing video games, which makes them a great medium for spreading experiences and messages about changing one’s behavior in favor of a healthier one. This makes video games a very skilled medium when presenting messages such as good health choices. This provides researchers with a very compatible item which allows for research. In the article “Playing for Real: Video Games and Stories for Health-Related Behavior Change” by Tom Baranowski,  Richard Buday,  Debbe I. Thompson, and Janice Baranowski, twenty-seven articles were identified on 25 video games that promoted health-related behavior change through December 2006. The majority of the articles showed how playing video games has a good impact on one’s health. The background of this report explains why and what factors led to the presentation of this experiment. It also explains many terms that are unknown to most readers and shows why the main focus of the report (video games). It goes to large lengths to define videogame vernacular. It shows the uses of video games and the scientific and testable aspect of the experiment which is behavioral change. The Methods section is explanatory as it is research based on other articles and experiments. The process is stated throughout the section and goes through specific keywords used and excluded and included topics. 

The Results of this report clearly define the characteristics of this research and the findings received at the end of this experiment. They go into detail as to separate findings depending on a general topic such as physical games or diet-alone games. This allows for a much more organized view of the results and for readers to easily find the point of interest. The Discussion at the end of this report is very long and drawn out and describes the multiple aspects of this lab report including the factors which make a game interesting. It tries too much to include external information instead of focusing on their research and the improvement that could have been made or connecting hypotheses. They also include factors such as Theory Based Behaviors, Story, Genre, Immersion, Interactivity, Fantasy, Design, Structure, Age, Game Play, Health Behavior, Time, Cost, Attention, Retention, and Production aspects to view the changes videogames can really make. The Conclusion provides a brief overview of the whole experiment but not detailed enough for readers to understand the main purpose or statement the report is making. 

People who regularly exercise have lower morbidity and mortality rates than adults who do not. Exercise video games might provide a fun, long-lasting supplement or alternative to more conventional forms of exercise. In the report, “Exercise Video Games, Physical Activity, and Health: Wii Heart Fitness: A Randomized Clinical Trial” by Beth C. Bock, Shira I. Dunsinger, Joseph T. Ciccolo. Eva R. Serber, Wen-Chih Wu, Peter Tilkemeier, Kristen A. Walaska, and Bess H. Marcus, a study evaluated the uptake and maintenance of moderate to intense physical activity, health risk markers, and exercise video games with traditional exercise methods. Unlike the previous report there is a clear difference as to how this report begins. There is a clearly stated introduction section which shows reasons for this experiment taking place. It however introduces major problems that the researchers are wishing to solve which is making physical exercise more engaging for more people to take it up as a hobby. It shows the uses of videogames and how it is perfect for this experiment as it allows participants to enjoy specific testing points. It also does a good job in explaining crucial acronyms used throughout the paper. The Methods are very clearly stated as well and include multiple sources of specific information in order to replicate the experiment. The report clearly states the population that was studied by identifying key factors which are important to the experiment and its ability to function. They include the measures taken to carry out this experiment, including, specifics on exposure times, media presented and other factors which are clearly noted throughout the sub section. A special statistical analysis portion is also included for people to understand how data was collected and ways for someone else to repeat this experiment. It allowed for a deeper explanation and complement to the results section. 

The Results section is very involved and clear by using terminology mentioned before and combines it with the data collected. There are graphs and charts in this area however I feel they impede on the reader’s flow of reading the report. It breaks up the paragraph to show important statistics but it could have been presented in a manner that allows for the reader to fully understand the concepts before looking at the charts. The Discussion and Conclusion sections have overlapping material that should be contained either of the sections and not both as they can become repetitive especially seen throughout the length of the report. The Discussion shows how the study can be used to analyze health benefits and increases in physical activity. They also include flaws in the research and how they could have fixed certain aspects of the experiment. They also include options to extend or deviate the research to study similar but varied topics. The Conclusion includes many of the reasons for extending research which does not aid readers when looking for a general overview of the experiment. However it does clearly state the intent of the research and how it has improved throughout the course of doing the experiment. Shows the effectiveness of the experiment and why it is important.

Violent video game use has frequently been associated with an increase in aggressive conduct. A key mechanism for this aggression-inducing effect, according to the General Aggression Model. It is an emotional desensitization process brought on by playing violent video games repeatedly over an extended period of time. Lack of empathy should be one sign of this desensitization. Current studies have mostly looked at the immediate, short-term effects of violent media use, but little is known regarding long-term consequences. In this study taken from, “Lack of Evidence That Neural Empathic Responses Are Blunted in Excessive Users of Violent Video Games: An fMRI Study”, by Gregor R. Szycik, Bahram Mohammadi, Thomas F. Münte, and Bert T. te Wildt, present photos of emotional and neutral settings with and without social contact were viewed while fMRI activations were recorded from 15 extreme violent game players and control subjects who were matched for age and education. The Introduction starts by introducing a theory that is very important to the experiment and its procedures. The author also does a very good job of explaining terms that are not as normal in common language. There is a heavy literature analysis to show credibility but takes up too much space and does not focus on the experiment as much. It also has portions of the methods section in the intro which is confusing for readers. They also look at other research already done in the field to strengthen their experimental procedures.  The Materials & Methods section is a section not similar to the other reports as they include specific technological items and their uses for replication purposes. This section also clearly describes the participants and why they were chosen, the stimuli and design of the project which allowed it to be carried out and constructed, the image acquisition, psychometric data retrieval, and fMRI data analytics. They provide very specific details and go in depth as to how the research was done.

 The Results include the different aspects of the project such as the questionnaire and the fMRI results. The data is also provided neatly and in an organized manner to make it easier for the readers to understand the findings of this report. The main flaw of this report comes through the lack of a dedicated Conclusion section. The Discussion section is not a complete discussion as it includes elements of a conclusion. There is no clearly sectored conclusion portion. The discussion portions however highlight the key factors this experiment proved and how it can be replicated better in the future. 

These reports were very different due to the topics they used such as health benefits, ways to increase physical exercise, and psychological effects of violent games respectively. The reports also differed in structure with certain reports having no conclusion (LR#3), or having extended portions in certain sections. The results section was often the best done as it allowed for standard procedure of presenting results. The discussion section often proved to be different through the topics shared throughout the section. Two out of three reports included ways to improve research and the conditions which they were done in. 

These 3 Lab Reports were very similar in the sense that they all talked about the problems of video games, health, and how some benefits or negative aspects can be derived from them. Lab Report #1 used a research based method which had researchers going through numerous experiments previously done to make a correlation between playing games and health benefits. Lab Report #2 did an experiment by using video game consoles and games to provide an entertaining means to exercise and analyze behavioral changes when playing video games. Lab Report #3 presented a form of psychological data gathering to find the correlation between violent media and aggressive behaviors. They used violent video games to see if any aggressive behavior would be stimulated. Each Lab Report showed its own effectiveness through various way such as using graphs and charts to present data clearly, comprehensible methods to recreate a similar experiment, and using discussions to present problems, improvements for further research, and a conclusion to tie the report together. Although Lab Reports are written in similar fashion, these reports proved to show that there are many differences, improvements to be made, and commendable portions which provide for a varied experience when researching topics and learning from them. 

Works Cited:

Tom Baranowski, Richard Buday, Debbe I. Thompson, Janice Baranowski,

Playing for Real: Video Games and Stories for Health-Related Behavior Change,

American Journal of Preventive Medicine,

Volume 34, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 74-82.e10,

Beth C. Bock, Shira I. Dunsiger, Joseph T. Ciccolo, Eva R. Serber, Wen-Chih Wu, Peter Tilkemeier, Kristen A. Walaska, Bess H. Marcus,

Exercise Videogames, Physical Activity, and Health: Wii Heart Fitness: A Randomized Clinical Trial,

American Journal of Preventive Medicine,

Volume 56, Issue 4, 2019, Pages 501-511

Szycik Gregor R., Mohammadi Bahram, Münte Thomas F., te Wildt Bert T.

Lack of Evidence That Neural Empathic Responses Are Blunted in Excessive Users of Violent Video Games: An fMRI Study

Frontiers in Psychology

Volume 8, 2017