It’s out of a certain sense of professionalism that I approached this study, given that I really wanted to let it pass especially given that Wastey previously covered the topic of diversity in video games here on Enthusiacs.  However, with a headlining-grabbing conclusion that video games can make one racist, I felt compelled to offer my opinion.

The study, published in Social Psychology and Personality Science, recently conducted by a Ohio State University researcher, has concluded that playing violent video games with a black avatar can cause racism in gamers. This study was done using various avatars and missions from the game Saints Row 2. The basic principle was that players, all white and 60% male (A hardly representative sample of the population of any country by any means), played through either a violent or non-violent SR2 mission, as either a white or a black protagonist. After the play session, players were asked questions about stereotypes. The results were that players who played as a black protagonist on a violent mission tended to answer their questions with a more negative racial slant than the other groups.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I will say that despite my varied ethnic background, I self-identify as white. I really have no interest of being another white guy talking about race issues as though I understand how to be both white, black, and/or every other racial profile on the planet. I make no such claims. I can say, however, that I can speak from my own perspective and experience, and rely on my (hopefully) good judgement to guide me.

I don’t believe that playing violent games with a protagonist of any colour can make a person (more) racist. I will also say that some games, and I include the Saints Row series, do perpetuate an unfortunate trend in which non-white characters tend to be criminals, gangsters, or some other stereotype. I don’t like this because it doesn’t match my own experiences. I live in a diverse world, a diverse society, and I would prefer my media mirrors the real world. I appreciate diverse, deep characters of all walks of life to be my protagonists and supporting players.

The danger with using racial and ethnic stereotypes as the exclusive means of portraying non-white characters is that it serves to reinforce those stereotypes that could likely already be present in the mind of players. An individual with racist tendencies, regardless of how slight they may believe it to be, is going to find that their views, though ignorant, are supported by the media presented. It would stand to reason that after having this view reinforced, these people would probably say something racially slanted when asked a loaded question soon after. I don’t believe that you can point simply at the game as the cause of those opinions.

In the study, a second round of experiments was conducted, this time with all white and predominantly female group, using a WWE game or a Fight Night game. This study determined how violently the player responded toward a fictional partner character. The results reinforced the original findings.

The study co-author, Dr. Brad Bushman, wishes the study to show how damaging violent video games can be toward racial stereotypes. As I’ve discussed, I do agree that using racial stereotypes hurts gaming in general. However, I still do not agree that this study has been conducted responsibly, or that the overall findings are accurate. I’m not alone either.

The Huffington Post asked Dr. Chris Ferguson, a professor of psychology in Florida and expert on behavioural effects of video games, about his option of this study. He, like me but with more credibility, criticized the methodology of the study and also the generalities of its results. He believes that this kind of generalization hurts the overall study of video games and their effects.

What I find disturbing about this study is how it comes so very close to really touching on an issue affecting video games today, but gets caught up in sensationalized results and poor practices. There is an issue with racial stereotypes in video games. In the few cases where my protagonist is non-white, I end up with too much Carl “CJ” Johnson, and not enough Lee Everett. Here in real life, video games have a diverse fan base, and there’s benefit in acknowledging that diversity in the games we all play. I’m honestly getting bored with playing as the same generic scruffy white guy (Band name! I called it!) in my games with a supporting cast of minority caricatures. It doesn’t reflect my real-world experience, and it serves only to hurt gamers and gaming as a whole.