This document discusses video game usage in children and provides guidance for teachers. It covers various genres of video games, why children play games, how gameplay affects the developing brain, and how to evaluate excessive gameplay. Teachers are encouraged to better understand their students' gaming interests and habits in order to support those struggling with excessive play through environmental accommodations and teaching independence and boundaries.

1. THE CULTURE AND INFLUENCE OF VIDEO GAMES ON
CHILDREN
CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE FOR LEARNING
DIFFERENCES
August 31, 2012
Presenter: Anna DiNoto
Phone: 425.390.4177
E-mail: annascaps@gmail.com

2. - I’m Anna DiNoto, MA, LMHC
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
- I’m a graduate student @ AU in Seattle - PsyD candidate
- I have a small private practice for all ages (Redmond, WA.)
and I’m a
behavior specialist for Seattle-based group homes and
skilled
nursing facilities
- My specialty is emotional dysregulation, and the
populations I work
with that are experiencing this issue are typically
problematic technology users and ASD/DD populations
- I’m in the midst of writing my dissertation & applying for
internship for
a fall 2013 start-date
- For more information, feel free to ask or visit my website

3. PRESENTATION
OBJECTIVES
- Define video games.
- Explore the various forms (i.e., genres) of video
games your students are playing.
- Learn why kids are playing and their motivations
behind playing.
- Learn some tips on how to better understand their
video gaming worlds.
- Learn a little brain science behind video game play in
children.
- Understanding how gameplay can become excessive.
- Learn the value of assessing video game usage in your
students.
- Learn ways to approach and treat excessive game
play.
- Summary.
- Leave some time at the end of this presentation for
questions & case presentations !

4. A STARTING POINT: WHAT ARE VIDEO GAMES?
A video game is:
 A system designed to be experienced.
• Difficult to explain until you witness
and experience video games.

5. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE
•Action/Arcade
1. Pac Man
2. Geometry Wars
3. Katamari Damacy

6. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Beat ‘Em Up
1. Double Dragon
2. Castle Crashers
3. Lollypop Chainsaw

7. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Fighting
1. Street Fighter
2. Mortal
Kombat
3. Smash Bros.

8. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Platformer
1. Super Mario Bros.
2. Super Meat Boy
3. LittleBigPlanet

9. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Adventure
1. Maniac Mansion
2. King’s Quest
3. Limbo

10. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Driving/Racing
1. Mario Kart
2. Need for Speed
3. Gran Turismo

11. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
• Role-Playing
1. Japanese (JRPGs)
oFinal Fantasy
oPokemon
1. Western (WRPGs)
oElder Scrolls
oFallout
1. Strategy RPGs
oFinal Fantasy Tactics
oDisgaea

12. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
• Role-Playing (Continued)
1. Action RPGs
o Diablo
o Torchlight
1. Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs
o Theme park
World of Warcraft
Knights of the Old Republic
o Sandbox
Ultima Online
EvE Online

13. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Shooter
• Traditional
1. Wolfenstein
2. Doom
3. Halo
• Modern Call of Duty
1. Gears of War
2. Team Fortress 2

14. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Action-Adventure
1. Grand Theft Auto
2. Red Dead
3. Metroid

15. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Sports
1. Madden
2. Tony Hawk’s Pro
Skater
3. Mario Tennis

16. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Simulation
1. The Sims
2. SimCity
3. Microsoft Flight

17. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Casual
1. FarmVille
2. CowClicker
3. Angry Birds
4. Cut the Rope
5. Plants v. Zombies
6. Words with Friends
7. Animal Crossing
8. WiiFit
9. Nintendogs

18. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Puzzle
1. Tetris
2. Bejeweled
3. Portal

19. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Rhythm
• Dance Dance Revolution (DDR)
• Rock Band
• Dance Central

20. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT EXCLUSIVE
(CONTD.)
• Survival Horror
1. Resident Evil
2. Dead Space
3. ZombiU

21. GENRES OF VIDEO GAMES: DESCRIPTIVE NOT
EXCLUSIVE (CONTINUED)
•Misc
1. Minecraft
2. Secondlife

22. EXAMPLES OF SELECTED GENRES

23. INTERESTING FACTS YOU MAY
NOT KNOW ABOUT VIDEO GAME
CULTURE
• Persistent worlds
• Gabe Newell
• Angry Kirby Syndrome

24. WHY ARE THEY PLAYING: THE MULTIPLE
LEVELS OF REWARD
• Boredom
• Escape
• Hyperfocus
• Compensatory strategy
• Hang out with friends
• Lack of Boundary Setting
• Compulsivity
• Sunk Cost Fallacy
• Trolling (i.e., bullying)

25. WHY ARE THEY PLAYING: THE MULTIPLE
LEVELS OF REWARD
• The Band Wagon Effect
 They’re doing it so I wanna, too = conformity.
• Stimming/Perseveration
• Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
• Operant Conditioning
• Stress relief
• Fun!
• Fear-Anxiety
• Feel a sense of progression
• A combination of things

26. WHY ARE THEY PLAYING: SOCIAL
RELATIONSHIPS
(CONTINUED)
• Social relationships & social
standing
Online (secondary life)
 Status achievable
Reality (primary life)
 “limited” in abilities,
acceptance, achievements, etc.

27. WHY ARE THEY PLAYING: ENGAGEMENT
(CONTINUED)
• The Art of Video Game Storytelling
1. Engaging storyline
Linear narrative vs. interactive storyline
Heroism
Creativity
Agency
Strategy
 Conflict resolution
1. Graphics
Immersive
1. Holding control

28. WHY AND HOW ARE THEY PLAYING:
ENGAGEMENT
(CONTINUED)
• Flow – Engagement
 Involved, focused, concentrating
 Sense of ecstasy
 Greater inner clarity
 Sense of serenity

29. WHY AND HOW ARE THEY PLAYING:
[DIS]ENGAGEMENT
(CONTINUED)
• Dissociation – Disengagement
Reduced capacity to:
 Edit or manage immediate
impulsive response(s) to a situation
Time oriented separation

30. WHY AND HOW ARE THEY PLAYING:
DISSOCIATION VS. FLOW
(CONTINUED)
In flow gamers experience: Engagement
o Gamer-actualization – players playing characters
representing who they are or who they could be.
In dissociation gamers experience: Disengagement
o Gamer-substitution – tendency to detach from
reality, create a fantasy life that in the end, likely
feels empty (i.e., only short-term pleasure is
experienced).

31. WHY AND HOW ARE THEY PLAYING
(CONTINUED)

32. EVALUATING VIDEO GAME USAGE OF YOUR
STUDENTS
• Ask open-ended questions
1. What is it like to be you in
reality vs. virtual reality?
2. What makes gaming
enjoyable for you?
3. Be curious about their game
playing choices!

33. TIPS: HOW TO BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR
STUDENTS’ VIDEO GAME CULTURE
• Reddit.com/r/gaming+games+ludology
• Urbandictionary.com
• Gamerankings.com
• Metacritic.com
• Esrb.org
• To learn more about various video game
documentaries:
• http://www.pixelprospector.com/i-history-of-
video-games/

34. EVALUATION OF VIDEO GAME PLAY :
UNDERSTANDING VIDEO GAME PLAY IN
CHILDREN

35. EVALUATION OF VIDEO GAME PLAY :
UNDERSTANDING VIDEO GAME PLAY IN
CHILDREN
• Children’s brains are not fully
connected:
• ↓“white matter” to the frontal lobes
= sluggish communication.
• In children, the part of the brain that
governs judgment (i.e., frontal lobe)
is the LAST to be fully connected!

36. EVALUATION OF VIDEO GAME PLAY :
UNDERSTANDING VIDEO GAME PLAY IN
CHILDREN

37. EVALUATION OF VIDEO GAME PLAY :
UNDERSTANDING VIDEO GAME PLAY IN
CHILDREN’S BRAINS
The Teen/Child Brain:
Fast-Growing Synapses + Undeveloped Frontal
Lobe
= A Child’s Brain
Promote speedy and efficient The area of the brain
learning. responsible for reasoning and
judgment.

38. EVALUATION OF VIDEO GAME PLAY :
UNDERSTANDING VIDEO GAME PLAY IN
CHILDREN

39. EVALUATION OF VIDEO GAME PLAY :
UNDERSTANDING VIDEO GAME PLAY IN
CHILDREN

40. EVALUATION OF VIDEO GAME PLAY :
UNDERSTANDING VIDEO GAME PLAY IN
CHILDREN

41. EVALUATION OF VIDEO GAME PLAY :
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM OF
INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS

42. EVALUATION OF VIDEO GAME PLAY : TREATING
THE PROBLEM
The Team should decide
whether or not abstinence or
moderation management is
needed or is the goal.

43. SUPPORTING AND INSTRUCTING STUDENTS
WHO PLAY EXCESSIVELY

44. SUPPORTING AND INSTRUCTING STUDENTS
WHO PLAY EXCESSIVELY

45. SUPPORTING AND INSTRUCTING STUDENTS
WHO PLAY EXCESSIVELY
• Environmental accommodations and supports
(Contd.)
Redirection
Termination
Gradually modify activity/environment
Support for difficult situations
Peer support and understanding
Systematic desensitization
Systematic reduction of support

46. SUPPORTING AND INSTRUCTING STUDENTS
WHO PLAY EXCESSIVELY

47. SUMMARY AND TAKE HOME POINTS

48. SUMMARY AND TAKE HOME POINTS
• What does this mean for you, as a teacher,
moving forward?
Be mindful of behavioral patterns
 Behaviors = Clues
Know your boundaries of competence
 Ask for help from professionals in the
field
Team should consider unique ways on how
to intervene
 Teach Student
o Independence
o Boundary Setting

49. QUESTIONS?
Email or call Anna DiNoto at:
E-mail: annascaps@gmail.com
Phone: 425.390.4177