Centro Escolar University Malolos

AY 2014-2015

The Emotional Effects of Computer Game Addiction to the Selected

Students of CEU-MALOLOS

Chapter I
The Problem and its Background
INTRODUCTION:
Computer games are the most popular entertainment in modern societies and they
target a variety of people in different ages. The addiction to the rivalry and excitements of
the games make them the most common recreational programs for today's teenagers, so
that they do anything to reach a higher level of the game, they immerse in the game so
much that they completely separate from their surroundings. Challenging with the
obstacles and reaching a higher level in the game, make the players excited and losing the
game make them anxious.
Computer games started in 1972 with Pang, a computer tennis game, and then
developed in hardware and software systems. Improvement of quality and variety of
games increasingly spread it in the society especially adolescences.
It is believed that computer games like watching TV provides opportunities for
visual learning. Especially because these games are more active compared to watching
TV, they are considered more effective.
Since these games are known as the second entertainment after TV, opponents of
these games emphasize on their negative effects such as stimulating anger and violence,
costing a lot of money and having negative effects of physical and mental health, which
are much higher than the positive effects of the games such as increasing the coordination
of eyes and hands.

As Klein and Keepers mentioned in their research reports in 1990, students who prefer
computer games to other entertainments have more behavioral problems that other
student (cited from Patton).
Currently in Iran, a great part of students' leisure time out of school is spent on
computer games. The reasons for adolescents' attraction to these games include being
excited and easily accessible while authorities and families do not have any proper plan
for students' leisure time and there is no many options for their entertainments. Playing
computer games to some extent can be useful, but long-term playing leads to various
physical and mental complications.
Long term involvement with these games means the players long term tension,
restlessness and worrisome and during the game, physical tensions and real physical
stimulations are experiences. By sympathetic nervous system stimulation, this can
gradually make this system sensitive and ready for response to limited stimulants, while
causes anxiety symptoms in the player. A study by Sherry, investigating the reasons for
playing video and computer games by adolescents and their game priorities on 535
adolescents in age 15-20 in the West USA found that 68% of adolescents had these games
as their weekly entertainment. The reasons for playing these games among boys were
excitements and challenges and they insisted to win. Moreover, sport and violent games
were more attractive for boys.
Development of electronic and computer games are a great threat for youth and
adolescents and can lead to psychological disorders and depression in these groups. In
previous times, kids were involved playing with other children, but children of today

spends most of their time on computer games as soon as they understand and acquainted
with them, while these games cannot create any emotional and human relationship.
Childrens and adolescents attractions to the computer games cause many mental,
physical and social problems for them. These effects are stimulating anger and violence,
obesity, epilepsy due to games, social isolation, and other physical and mental damages.
Many psychologists and mental health professionals have paid attention to the effects of
these games.
The increasing prevalence of computer games among children and adolescents
have made many researchers to determine the effects of these games on players. In Iran,
there are few and limited studies on the effects of addiction to computer games on
players. Considering the increasing rate of addiction to computer games among Iranian
adolescents and youth, the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of
addiction to computer games on physical and mental health including physical health,
anxiety, and depression and impaired social functioning.
(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905489)
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:
Several early and recent social cognitive models can provide useful contexts for
understanding effects of exposure to violent media. Banduras Social Learning Theory
and Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1973; 1983) propose that children can learn
behavioral responses by observing behaviors of others and by observing the outcomes of
those behaviors. Classical experiments by Bandura and his colleagues using the Bobo
doll paradigm showed that children can learn aggressive behavior through observation of
both actual and filmed aggression (Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961, 1963a). Children are

more likely to imitate a witnessed behavior if that behavior was rewarded, and less likely
to imitate the behavior if it was punished (Bandura, 1965; Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1963b).
Huesmann (1986, 1998) proposed that peoples behavior is guided by the acquisition,
internalization and application of behavioral scripts. Scripts are sets of highly associated
concepts that guide perception of social events and enactment of social behavior.
Children who are exposed a lot of media violence are more likely to acquire behavioral
scripts that contain aggression and violence. An aggressive script can become chronically
accessible through repeated rehearsal. Numerous aspects of script theory have been
empirically confirmed, both within the aggression domain as well as in other domains.
For example, playing a violent video game increases the amount of aggressive content in
a story completion task (Bushman &Anderson, 2002).Two recent relevant models are the
General Aggression Model (GAM; e.g. Anderson &Bushman, 2002; Anderson
&Huesmann, 2003, Anderson &Carnagey, 2004; Barlett&Anderson, 2010) and the
General Learning Model (GLM; Buckley & Anderson, 2006; Gentile et al., 2009; Swing
& Anderson, 2008). GAM integrates Social learning theory, Script theory and a host of
other models including cognitive-neoassociation theory (Berkowitz, 1984), cultivation
theory (Comstock &Scharrer, 2007), desensitization theory (Carnagey, Anderson, &
Bushman, 2007), and social information processing theory (Crick & Dodge, 1994). GLM
extends the basic processes underlying GAM to other domains of social behavior.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK:

Compute
r Games

Student

Emotion
al Effect

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS:

General Problem:
What are the emotional effects of computer game addiction to the selected
students of CEU-Malolos?
Specific Problem:
1. What is the profile of the respondent?
1.1 age

1.2 gender
1.3 course
1.4 time being spent by the respondent
2. How can computer games affect the emotional aspect of the respondent in terms of the
following?
2.1 Fun and Entertaining
2.2 Stress Relieving
2.3 Peer Influence

3. How can the negative impacts of video games be minimized?

3.1 finding other interests
3.2 setting time limits consumed in playing
3.3 parental guidance
SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:
This reaserch obtains the knowledge gain by conducting a survey
based on the effects on how the emotional changes occurred to students
after too much playing of computer games. The respondents of the study
were from selected students of CEU Malolos and the study is entitled "The
Emotional Effects of Computer Game Addiction to the Selected Students
of CEU-MALOLOS ". The researchers who conducted this study aims to
gain knowledge in terms of how video or computer games are able to

cloud the minds of teenagers and how it can instantly change their
emotions. The group has chosen respondents that have the ability to play
computer games regularly.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:
This study will enable the students to understand more about the
emotional effect of playing video game addiction. In dealing with the
study, the researcher wants to elaborate more on to whom the study will be
substantial. For this reason, it will be beneficial to the following:
To the Parents. This research informs them about the effects of
video games to their children. In this way, they can possibly find ways to
solve problems and guide their children in having addiction to video
games.
To the Teenagers. This study will help them to understand and be
aware of the possible effects of abusive playing of video games. This also
will help them to control themselves and use their time in a more creative
way.
To the Future Researchers. This study may be used as their guide
in developing future studies that will be related to this current study. This
will also help them lessen their burden in doing studies related to this
research.
To the reader of this undergraduate thesis. They can acquire
better knowledge about emotional effects of video game addiction. This

will also help them to nurture their understanding about this kind of
situation that occurs in real life.
DEFINITION OF TERMS:

addiction - is a condition that results when a person ingests a

substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity

(e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable.

anger - is an emotional response of annoyance, displeasure, or

hostility.
anxious - experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness, typically

about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

computer games - any of various game, recorded on cassette or
disc that are played by manipulating a mouse, joystick, or the

keyboard of a computer in response to the graphics on the screen.

depression - a serious medical condition in which a person feels
very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a

normal way.
emotion - any specific feeling; any of various complex reactions
with both mental and physical manifestations, as love, hate, fear,

anger, etc.
psychologist - a person trained and educated to perform
psychological research, testing and therapy.

response - something that is said or written as a reply or

something that is done as a reaction.

stimulant - an agent, especially a chemical agent such as caffeine,

that temporarily arouses or accelerates physiological or organic
activity.

violence - the intentional use of physical force or power,

threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a
group or community, which either results in or has a high
likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm or
deprivation.