Should Violent Video Games Be Banned? Playing Doesn't Affect Empathy

Researchers compared a group of gamers' emotional responses to those of others who didn't play frequently and found that their ability to empathize wasn't hindered by violent video games. Researchers at the Hannover Medical School in Germany studied a group of males who played first-person shooter video games for at least two hours daily for the past year. Those subjects were compared to another group of gamers who had not played violent video games or any video games on a regular basis. Each participant underwent an MRI scan while being presented with images designed to produce an emotional response. They were also asked questions on various subjects to determine how empathetic their responses were.