Category Archives: Developmental Psychology

Articles about the psychological, emotional and perception changes during human development.

What is Consciousness? (Video)

Michael Stevens attempts to define consciousness, raises questions of identity and asks if it is possible for something to exist simply as a “philosophical zombie.”

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Why Do We Play Games? (Video)

Vsauce founder Michael Stevens looks at the various characteristics that define games, and asks why humans play them. Could games play a role in brain development? Do they prepare us for survival? What are the psychological rewards for playing games? Is life itself a game? All these and other fascinating questions are addressed in the video above.

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Do Violent Video Games Affect Behavior?

video games aggressive behaviorAlthough traditional video game consoles like PlayStation and Xbox are being challenged by newcomers to the market – namely, affordable and fun “apps” for iPhones or Androids with plenty of amusing and comparable games to choose from – video games will not back down from their celebrated position as a beloved provider of entertainment.

This means that the controversial debate over the psychological effects of video games on children, whether beneficial or harmful, will continue. For parents, this means coming to terms with the fact that violent video games are here to stay, and then examining the psychological research on the link (if any) between these games and aggressive behavior. Continue reading

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Daphne Bavelier: Your Brain on Video Games (Video)

The media often portrays the negative effects of video games, however brain scientist Daphne Bavelier argues that action video games (for example Call of Duty – Black Ops) can have a significant and long lasting positive impact on our cognition. In her talk she shares research data that supports the remarkable viewpoint that, in moderate doses, action video games can dramatically improve brain plasticity, vision, attention and learning.

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Kathryn Schulz: On Being Wrong (Video)

In this video Kathryn Schulz explains that while “we all know that the human species, in general, is fallible,” our abstract appreciation of human fallibility goes out the window if we are personally questioned or challenged. Schulz claims that we get stuck in the feeling of being “right” due to (1) error blindness and (2) the fact that we are educated from a very early age that the way to succeed in life is to never be wrong. She goes on to show the dangers of such a mindset, and suggests that we can improve ourselves simply by embracing our fallibility.

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