評論
打印
You might have heard that video games are bad for you.
你可能聽說過電子游戲對人不好，
They'll rot your brain, or make you violent, or antisocial, or something.
它們會腐蝕人的大腦，或使人變得暴力，反社會，或其他不好的事。
And parents often fret about what their child or teen's gaming hours are doing to their brains.
父母經常擔心，孩子或青少年打游戲會對大腦產生影響。
But what if we're thinking about video games all wrong? Well, that's what some psychologists think.
但是，如果我們對電子游戲的想法都錯了呢？嗯，這是一些心理學家的想法。
Counterintuitive as it might seem, they're studying how we can use video games to improve mental health,
看似不可思議，他們正在研究如何使用電子游戲來改善心理健康，
especially in kids and teens.
尤其是改善兒童和青少年的心理健康。
Studies estimate that only about a third of American teenagers with mental health disorders actually receive treatment.
研究估計，實際上只有三分之一患有精神疾病的美國青少年接受了治療。
That may be because their parents are worried about the cost of therapy – which isn't always covered by insurance –
這可能是因為他們的父母擔心治療費用——這并總是在保險的范圍之內——
or because the kids are worried about the social stigma that comes with “seeing a shrink”.
或者是因為孩子們擔心“看心理醫生”會帶來社會恥辱感。
So some psychologists think there's another way to help them out—give them video games.
所以一些心理學家認為，有另一種方法可以幫助他們走出困境——電子游戲。
Already, they're a nearly ubiquitous feature of the American childhood—
美國人在幼年時代就已經普遍打電子游戲——
surveys estimate that over 90% of kids between the ages of 2 and 17 in the US play video games.
調查估計，在美國，年齡在2~17歲之間的孩子中，超過90%的人玩電子游戲。
So they're socially acceptable, and relatively inexpensive.
電子游戲在社會上是認可的，而且價格相對便宜。
Plus, since kids can play in their own homes, they can maintain their privacy. And video games are fun.
另外，因為孩子們可以在自己家里玩，他們可以保留自己的隱私，而且電子游戲也很有趣。
You might not think it's important that therapy be fun,
你可能認為治療的趣味性不是很重要，
but enjoyment of an activity does increase your motivation to keep doing it.
但是享受確實會增加繼續治療的動力。
And all that means there's huge potential for certain video games to help mental health—
所有這些都意味著某些電子游戲在改善心理健康方面具有巨大的潛力——
but only if they actually work.
但前提是這些電子游戲真的有效。
And they just might. Though the evidence is very preliminary,
這只是可能，盡管證據還不是很充分，
several trials have shown promise in using specially designed video games to treat mild to moderate mental illness.
一些試驗表明，使用專門設計的電子游戲有望治療輕度至中度精神疾病。
Many of these therapeutic games are based on already existing treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy –
許多治療游戲都是基于現有的治療方法，如認知行為療法——
a type of good ole talk therapy which aims to help people identify and alter problematic thoughts or behaviors.
一種好的談話療法，旨在幫助人們識別和改變有問題的想法或行為。
For example, researchers in New Zealand created a game called SPARX for treating depression.
例如，新西蘭的研究人員創造了一種名為SPARX的治療抑郁癥的游戲。
Through playing, kids ultimately learn strategies for relaxation, social interaction,
孩子們通過打電子游戲最終學會了放松和社交策略，
and dealing with difficult emotions and situations much like they would in therapy.
孩子對困難情緒和情況的處理很像是在治療。
But that's all disguised as an interactive fantasy video game.
但這一切都偽裝成互動幻想電子游戲。
When the game's designers compared it with regular counseling in a trial of nearly 200 kids,
當游戲設計師將其與近200名兒童試驗的定期咨詢進行比較時，
both groups showed about equal improvement,
兩組的改善效果一樣，
indicating that SPARX might be just as effective as therapy.
這表明SPARX可能和治療一樣有效。
And similar results were found by researchers working with a game called MindLight.
研究《心靈之光》游戲的人員也發現了類似的結果。
In MindLight, children navigate through a scary mansion, learning techniques to control their anxiety along the way.
在《心靈之光》中，孩子們穿行在一棟可怕的大廈中，學習如何在途中控制焦慮。
And in a preliminary trial of 174 kids with anxiety,
在對174名焦慮兒童的初步試驗中，
six weekly sessions of gameplay worked about as well as eight weekly sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy.
每周進行六次的游戲練習和每周八次的認知行為療法的效果一樣。
Similar trials have been conducted on games designed for adults with equally positive results.
在專為成年人設計的游戲中也進行了類似的試驗，結果同樣積極有效。
Though such findings still need to be replicated by other researchers – ones who weren't involved in making the games –
游戲得到廣泛接受之前，仍需其他研究人員——那些沒有參與制作游戲的人——
before these games could become widely-accepted therapies, the results are encouraging.
的努力，其結果是令人鼓舞的。
Scientists are now designing games to try and treat everything from addiction to eating disorders to ADHD.
科學家們正在通過設計游戲嘗試治療各種疾病——從上癮到飲食紊亂再到多動癥。
There are even some in the works to help manage psychosis.
甚至有一些正在努力幫助控制精神病。
Other researchers are hoping to create social support networks in virtual reality,
其他研究人員希望在虛擬現實中創建社會支持網絡，
or integrate video games into therapeutic programs.
或者將電子游戲整合到治療方案中。
And they might not have to create all these games from scratch.
他們可能不必從頭開始創建所有這些游戲。
Researchers have found playing certain simple distracting games like Peggle and Bejeweled can improve mood,
研究人員發現玩一些簡單分散注意力的游戲，比如跳跳球和寶石方塊可以改善心情，
so they could help manage stress or even depression.
所以這些游戲可以幫助控制壓力甚至抑郁。
And the right game could maybe even help treat illnesses like PTSD.
正確的游戲甚至可能有助于治療PTSD（創傷后應激障礙）等疾病。
In one 2010 study, researchers had 60 healthy participants watch a traumatic film and then play Tetris,
2010年的一項研究中，研究人員讓60名健康人員觀看創傷性電影，然后玩俄羅斯方塊，
a word game, or no game at all. In the following week,
文字游戲，或者不玩游戲。在接下來的一周內，
subjects had fewer flashbacks concerning the film if they had played Tetris compared to the other two groups.
與其他兩組相比，玩俄羅斯方塊的受試者對這部電影的重現較少。
The researchers think that may be because visual games like Tetris somehow interfere with the storage of the traumatic images as long-lasting memories.
研究人員認為，這可能是因為像俄羅斯方塊這樣的視覺游戲在某種程度上干擾了創傷性圖像作為長期記憶的存儲。
Though, this has yet to be confirmed with people who've experienced actual traumatic events.
不過，這還有待于那些經歷過實際創傷事件人的證實。
And the word game actually made flashbacks worse in one experiment— so the choice of game seems to be really important.
在一次實驗中，文字游戲讓重現變得更糟，所以游戲的選擇似乎真的很重要。
None of these studies invalidate the research that has found some games, especially violent ones,
這些研究都沒有讓某些游戲特別是暴力游戲
can possibly increase stress and aggression in some people.
增加人的壓力和攻擊性的研究無效
So if doctors are looking into using video games therapeutically, they'll need to be careful about which they use and how they use them.
因此，如果醫生正在研究電子游戲的治療方法，他們需要注意使用的是哪一種游戲以及如何使用。
Not to mention though, they'll have to consider the effects of different games might have on different types of people,
且不說，他們會考慮不同游戲對不同人的影響，
because even games designed to be therapeutic probably won't work the same for everyone.
因為即使是設計用來治療的游戲也不一定對每個人都有效。
But, the results coming from these preliminary studies using video games in a more clinical way are exciting,
但是，以更臨床的方式使用電子游戲的初步研究結果令人興奮，
especially to psychologists working with younger patients.
特別是對與年輕病人一起工作的心理學家而言。
And that's because mental health disorders seem to be a growing problem among children and teens in America,
這是因為，心理健康障礙問題在美國兒童和青少年中似乎日益嚴重，
with rates of things like depressive episodes and anxiety jumping 20 to 30 percent in recent decades.
最近幾十年，抑郁癥和焦慮癥的發病率上升了20%~30%。
While traditional therapies can be highly effective, they often don't reach the kids who need them the most.
雖然傳統的治療方法非常有效，但他們往往無法幫助那些最需要的孩子。
So even though there's a lot of work to be done, there's hope that video games will one day make therapy more widely accessible,
因此，盡管要做的工作還有很多，但希望有一天電子游戲治療更加普及，
leading to happier healthier kids.
讓孩子更快樂，更健康。
And in the meantime, maybe you can tell the haters that rag on you for your gaming to chill out a bit.
與此同時，也許你可以告訴那些指責你打電子游戲的人，讓他們放松一點。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感謝收看本期的心理科學秀!
If you liked learning about how video games might be used for good,
如果你想知道電子游戲如何對人類有益，
you might like our episode on whether violent video games actually make you more aggressive.
你可能會喜歡視頻節目——暴力視頻游戲是否真的會讓你變得更有攻擊性。
