Video game teaches empathy

(USA)

Video games can be used as a tool to teach kids empathy, according to new research.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed the game for school children in a bid to teach empathy. Participants playing Crystals of Kaydor showed ‘greater connectivity in brain networks related to empathy and perspective taking’ in just two weeks.

“The realisation that these skills are actually trainable with video games is important because they are predictors of emotional well-being and health throughout life, and can be practiced anytime — with or without video games,” explains Tammi Kral, a UW-Madison graduate student.

 

The results were published in npj Science of Learning (a Nature journal) this week.

“Our long-term aspiration for this work is that video games may be harnessed for good and if the gaming industry and consumers took this message to heart, they could potentially create video games that change the brain in ways that support virtuous qualities,” added Richard Davidson, director of the center and a professor of psychology and psychiatry at UW-Madison.

Watch the trailer of Crystals of Kaydor now.