Of all the games that people play, the blame game is perhaps one of the oldest - it's almost as old as the human race itself. These days, it seems that violent video games are occupying a top spot on the lists of finger pointers. But are video games the real issue? Or is there something deeper at stake here?

Join us as we take a closer look at how this classic "pastime" relates to human nature. More perspectives follow after the jump.

Another response came from psychology expert and self-help author Cooper Lawrence regarding her admittedly misinformed statements about Mass Effect and its sex scene. In her latest note to MTV News, Lawrence explained that she went live as a developmental-psychology expert, not an expert on Mass Effect. For more details, check out the full article.

In a recent study conducted by a University of Montreal professor, it was concluded that aggressive behavior in children nowadays is genetic rather than a by-product of violent media as previously assumed with the many issues popping up about violence-related cases due to video games.

Richard Tremblay, a professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and psychology, explains that modern media is still relevant to their development and subsequent behavior; however, there were many recorded incidents of violent youths even before the television appeared.

Tremblay has been tracking over 35,000 Canadian children over the past 20 years and presented his findings earlier this week in London at a meeting of The Royal Society, the UK's academy of science. He sums up his study by saying:

We’re looking at to what extent the chronically aggressive individuals show differences in terms of gene expressions compared to those on the normal trajectory. The individuals that are chronically aggressive have… more genes that are not expressed. [This] is an indication that the problem is at a very basic level.

Maternal factors were also seen as potential reasons for violent behavior in children. Smoking, drinking, poor nutrition, and excessive stress can all affect the neurobiological development of the fetus. This may lead to kids with impaired communication or social interaction skills and who are prone to violent and aggressive behavior.

 

Weekend Slowdown? Weekend reading more like it. An interesting and well written article on the Only a Game blog, attempts to outline the basic player patterns in an attempt to classify and categorize the different types of gamers out there.

We won't focus on the methodology and the references that the article drew upon, all the psychology stuff might bore you folks. Instead we'll present to you guys the 9 Basic Player types that this amazing work-in-progress has arrived at so far.

The 9 types are:

Conqueror - Conquerors seek to beat any challenge, the harder the challenge is to beat the more the satisfaction. Most commonly found in First Player Shooters, where the competition is against another human being - the ultimate AI so far - and where the competition is more often than not one against many, conquerors seek to be pushed to their limits and to triumph against adversity. The article notes that Conquerors on average are younger than most players

Manager - Managers seek complexity and thrive to discover how systems and how gameplay works. They derive satisfaction in discovering how things interact, and how actions within the game play out in the long term. Mastery is their middle name. Most managers find a home in Strategy games and RPGs.

Wanderer - Wanderers seek immersion and engagement in imaginary worlds. Good stories and great characters provide them more satisfaction than the challenge that the game's gameplay offers.

Get the rest of the types after the Jump!

Imagine this: it's 3:30 a.m. and the lights are out. In front of the television, locked in his room, is a hardcore gamer. Eyes red and palms sweaty, he's already loss track of the time. All he could think of is the futuristic AK-47 on his right hand and the enemies lurking in the shadows. He's forty five years old.

Creepy, huh? Certainly, we are all not like that. But the point is, games has this certain charm that is painful to let go of. Sure, we know how fun it is to play games, but the psychologists over at the University of Rochester kicked it up a notch for us.

According to their latest study, the fun of playing games is actually rooted in fulfilling basic psychological needs.The study was done in collaboration with Immersyve, Inc., a virtual environment think tank. More than 1,000 players served as the population and the systems utilized in the study included various consoles and some MMORPGs. Study lead author Richard M. Ryan has this brief explanation:

We think there's a deeper theory than the fun of playing. It's our contention that the psychological 'pull' of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Some video games not only motivate further play but also can be experienced as enhancing psychological wellness at least short-term. Not all video games are created equal in their ability to satisfy basic psychological needs. But those that do may be the best at keeping players coming back.

The study was published in the university's journal Motivation and Emotion. Other co-authors include graduate student Andrew Przybylski and President of Immersyve and Doctor of Psychology Scott Rigby. And so with that said, gamers unite! Go and fulfill your psychological needs!