GTA IV Car Psychologist: My Job is Difficult

Speaking in a recent podcast, Karen Dill (Associate Professor of Psychology at Lenoir-Rhyne College) after whom the Karin Dillettante car in GTA IV was apparently named, talked about how difficult it is to be a 'media psychologist' when people refuse to accept what you say is true. She was speaking with Craig Anderson, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University.

According to Dill and Anderson people who defend video games have their own agendas to protect and are not aware of the 'overriding thing' that means they (we) can't see the truth.

Before we go on, let's have a quick peek at Lenoir-Ryhne College's mission statements... just to show that we've been paying attention.

So, firstly, here's some of what Anderson has to say:



Okay, so now we know what we're dealing with in terms of objective scientific, no previous agenda, research and findings.

So, here are a few of the gems from the podcast:



Fair enough... we will put this to the industry, who will tell us that they don't comment on that kind of thing.

But now on to the classic 'false consciousness' argument: Dill points out that, "First of all, people in general don’t like to believe they can be affected by anything, especially anything as trivial as TV shows, or movies, or video games."

Really? That's why we never cover our eyes at syringes/zombies/Adam Sandler movies? Tell us more...

"So there’s just a general resistance to belief that we’re being affected by outside forces."

A general resistance? Everybody but 'media psychologists' knows the truth. Is there more we can be patronised with?


"Then I guess there’s one other sort of overriding thing that influences parents as well as people in the media industries, the people who create violent games or violent media, people who distribute them and sell them, and it’s actually a kind of cognitive dissonance kind of thing. You know, most people think of themselves and they think, “I’m a good person, I don’t do things to harm children,” yet they’re producing these violent games, or they’re selling them or renting them to kids."

And 'overriding thing' - she's just getting technical on us now. How are we supposed to understand complicated and insightful terminology such as 'overriding thing'?

There must be more?

"So there’s this other sort of cognition floating around of 'gee, if it’s true that these things are harmful, then I’ve harmed children, and that’s very, very uncomfortable. The easy way out of that discomfort is to decide that the research is wrong and that there aren’t harmful effects, and I’m still a good person even though I’m selling these bloody things to children all the time."

A 'sort of cognition floating around', we wish we'd studied harder now.

Dill is all behind Anderson on this saying, "Yeah, absolutely. And that makes our jobs, as media psychologists, difficult, and I want to talk about that more a little bit later. I’m sure you and I have both sat in audiences with teenage boys glaring at us, not enjoying our talks in any way."

Their jobs as media psychologists are made difficult? By people not agreeing with findings? Seriously readers, it's time you grew up and made the academics' lives easier by bloody well nodding your head.

So, how do we solve this? It's easy according to Anderson. With tonnes of research to back up the solution too. "So I guess that’s my parting advice: more reading, less screen time, and what screen time they have should be carefully monitored and controlled by the parents."

We'd suggest you start reading American Psycho, Of Mice and Men, Brighton Rock and Titus Andronicus to the kids immediately.

You can read more self-serving tosh right here.