D&D and psychological development (need help)

[Particle_Man]

Does anyone have quick links/references to psychological/sociological/whateverological studies showing that D&D is good for you (I have an annoying sister that I would like to show scientific references to)?

I suppose in the interest of truth I will also accept references that show that D&D is bad for you. But aside from online addiction, satanic panic (which was debunked), and Jack Chick, I don't think there are any out there, are there?

 

[Turanil]

Psychological development with 4e? You must be joking?!


(Sorry, couldn't resist...)

 

[Mouseferatu]

I'm afraid I can't help you with links, but I can at least talk on the topic.

Back in college, I took an Abnormal Psychology class, and D&D's impact on people's psychological and emotional state was the subject of my final paper. I did a lot of reading of articles and research in various psychological journals and studies.

What I found was that, if you're already messed up--I don't mean "neurotic like most people," I mean "currently committed" levels of emotional problems--RPGs like D&D can aggravate your particular issues.

But if you're a normal, even vaguely healthy human being? D&D isn't remotely harmful--but neither, I'm afraid, was there any evidence of it being good for emotional/psychological development. It might aid one's creative development--the studies didn't go into that--and this might not hold true for every single individual. But as a whole? It's just a fun hobby (much as some of us might like to think otherwise).

 

[fba827]

I can't speak for psychological development, but from a personal experience, I can say that
1) D&D does keep my math skills from going dry
2) D&D increased my vocabulary many-times over as a young child (understanding the words used in the books and also because it got me to read other books more)
3) (as said above) It got me interested in reading more... fictional books, books about anthropology and sociology and evolution of that in cultures (like national geographic)
4) It got me to be more social with the "nerds" and, let's face it, nerds are good people to know - they are smart and stimulate your own mind
5) It got me to be more creative -- for any campaign I've ever run, or even for the small handful of freelance writings I did back in the day.. but it got my creative juices flowing and gave me an outlet for it


No it's never made me run out and seek cults to join or run in to caves thinking i can kill everything. I think those types of things aren't from D&D but rather someone already psychologically troubled and just latching on to D&D. But they could have just as easily latched on to anything (drugs, gambling, alcohol, weapons, sex, work, cleaning, reading, movies/tv, etc)

So, yeah, while I can't give you scientific evidence to the psychological effects, I can only say from personal experience that D&D has postivley contributed to my life in general

(Sure, it makes me a nerd in the process, but I'm okay with that)

 

[Rechan]

http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/whatis/psychology.html

If I were on Campus, I could use the databases there to check for the content of the studies, but being a post-graduate, I can't access them from home.

 

[Kzach]

I can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that D&D made me the person I am today.

Several internet message board communities agree, this is not a good thing

 

[Kzach]

I can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that D&D made me the person I am today.

Several internet message board communities agree, this is not a good thing

 

[Nordic Birch]

Does anyone have quick links/references to psychological/sociological/whateverological studies showing that D&D is good for you (I have an annoying sister that I would like to show scientific references to)?

I suppose in the interest of truth I will also accept references that show that D&D is bad for you. But aside from online addiction, satanic panic (which was debunked), and Jack Chick, I don't think there are any out there, are there?

http://www.theescapist.com/index.htm
http://www.car-pga.org/Literature/Home

car-pga especially has a long list of studies on the subject.

 

[apoptosis]

Does anyone have quick links/references to psychological/sociological/whateverological studies showing that D&D is good for you (I have an annoying sister that I would like to show scientific references to)?

I suppose in the interest of truth I will also accept references that show that D&D is bad for you. But aside from online addiction, satanic panic (which was debunked), and Jack Chick, I don't think there are any out there, are there?

Only studies I could find on D&D on PubMed or EMBASE

Am J Psychother. 1994 Fall;48(4):624-32.Links
Dungeons and Dragons: the use of a fantasy game in the psychotherapeutic treatment of a young adult.
Blackmon WD.

A schizoidal young man made a methodical attempt at suicide. He revealed a paucity of object attachments leading to profound isolation. His early upbring led him to extreme isolation of affect and a fear of fragmentation. His inner life was not safely reachable by conventional therapy. After he became involved in playing a fantasy game, Dungeons and Dragons, the therapy was modified to use the game material as displaced, waking fantasy. This fantasy was used as a safe guide to help the patient learn to acknowledge and express his inner self in a safe and guided way. The patient ultimately matured and developed healthier object relations and a better life. The theoretical underpinnings of this process are explored, both in dynamic terms and in terms of the biologic correlation and equivalence of dreams and waking fantasy. The utility of this game as a vehicle for treatment of selected individuals is discussed.

Not probably very helpful unless you have schizoid personality disorder (which is not schizophrenia nor a delusional disorder but a disorder of social isolation and reduced interpersonal relationships).