{"id":6857,"date":"2020-07-28T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T09:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/playlab.uta.fi\/?p=6857"},"modified":"2020-07-28T12:00:25","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T09:00:25","slug":"how-gaming-could-reduce-bias-and-connect-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/how-gaming-could-reduce-bias-and-connect-us\/","title":{"rendered":"How gaming could reduce bias and connect us"},"content":{"rendered":"

In her article\u00a0<\/a><\/span>Reducing Bias Through Gaming<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0Karen\u00a0<\/span>Schrier<\/span>\u00a0explores different ways that research has found to\u00a0<\/span>reduce stigma and\u00a0<\/span>prejudice<\/span>\u00a0against groups with specific\u00a0<\/span>characteristics<\/span>, such as race, gender or special education needs<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Schrier<\/span>\u00a0sums up these negative presets\u00a0<\/span>a bias: an \u201cinclination or preference either for or against an individual or group that interferes with impartial judgment\u201d. Biases aren\u2019t inherently negative, but in the context of the research, they were generally assumed to be. <\/span>The article lists several strengths and weaknesses in using games as a means of reducing bias. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Research in the field has found that games can help to support a professional development experience for practitioners, meaning th<\/span>at<\/span>\u00a0schools and such<\/span>\u00a0could benefit from using games as\u00a0<\/span>part<\/span>\u00a0of their anti-bias teaching<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>This i<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0convenient, as games were also identified as platforms for learning communities that operate through social interactio<\/span>n and co-operation.<\/span>\u00a0The learning experience was also sound to be more impactful as games can encourage reflection and are efficient<\/span>\u00a0at<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>giving feedback.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Research on bias reductions suggests that empathy, perspective-taking, and compassion are key to help improve <\/span>attitudes towards marginalized groups. Gaming offers countless opportunities to place yourself in someone <\/span>else’s<\/span>\u00a0shoes, and consequently can be used as an effective tool<\/span>.<\/span> However, <\/span>Schrier<\/span> reminds us, that the games need to be specifically <\/span>designed<\/span>\u00a0with the goal of reducing bias in mind, or the effect could be\u00a0<\/span>insignificant<\/span> or even negative.<\/span>\u00a0Many games are played through avatars, which can be used for self-expression and experimentation.\u00a0<\/span>Identifying with characters has been shown to\u00a0<\/span>support students in systematically biased environments, such as women in STEM fields.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are some risks to using games as a means to reduce bias. Sometimes they will simply fail to meet their desired goals. Games used in educations <\/span>should<\/span>\u00a0be\u00a0<\/span>tailored<\/span>\u00a0to fit the spe<\/span>cific\u00a0<\/span>group that<\/span>\u00a0is being educated, so a one-size-fits-all solution doesn\u2019t\u00a0<\/span>exist<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Some biases can also be left unnoticed<\/span>\u00a0when designing the game<\/span>, as biases are ingrained deeply into society and societal norms.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Schrier<\/span> concludes on remarks that more research is needed to fully understand the potential for games as a means to reduce bias. She lists several\u00a0<\/span>questions for future research such as what are the specific\u00a0<\/span>design<\/span>\u00a0elements that\u00a0<\/span>invoke<\/span>\u00a0compassion\u00a0<\/span>and how can we best\u00a0<\/span>support learning<\/span>\u00a0communities through games.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The image was taken from Pixabay.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research suggests that gaming can be used as an effective tool to reduce bias.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":6859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[237],"tags":[356,345,445],"class_list":["post-6857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-research-highlights","tag-education","tag-game-research","tag-pelitutkimus","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}