Im not talking about mind controlled games but the other way around. One thing games excel at is shaping human behavior by stimulating the pleasure centre through operant conditioning. Many people find it hard to control their gaming because it is so fun. Many drugs like alcohol or cigarettes also stimulate the reward centre. Since game environments are fully controlled by game designers, could they be used in the future for more aggressive behavior shaping that comes close to mind control?
Operant conditioning techniques are used on many animals to make them perform complex tasks that look intelligent, I.e. play basketball, paint pictures or even do teamwork and communicate with each other in order to achieve a task. In addition, scientists managed to control the movement of rat by stimulating its brain parts connected to its whiskers and then stimulate the reward centre to encourage the behavior. Since all animals including humans seek pleasure and avoid pain, these techniques are rather effective. I wonder how the complex environments created in games could be used to apply rewards and punishments and shape human behavior in a controlled manner, effectively conditioning them to act certain ways, I.e. mind control? I know some techniques are used in schools today in the form of marks, or by religious authorities, but perhaps what could be unique to games is the fully controlled environments and very sophisticated virtual worlds. Maybe in the future some day?
mind control for video games
You should do some research.There were scientists who did all kinds of tests on humans(back in the 60's),and they didn't manage to control a human for more than 2 weeks.Even so,they didn't really achieve what you might call mind control,the humans remained for the rest of their lives in a vegetative state.<br /><br />I find it hard that a series of pictures can shape the way you think,without something attached to your brain...i find it impossible.And if somehow,one day,we'll use controllers attached to our heads,and one of those controllers is designed to take control of your mind...well just imagine what would happen if someone would find out the whole story,people would get to jail...<br />
Small behavioral modifications? Perhaps. But for complete mind control? Doubtful. Can we honestly say that we were in control of the rat? We were simply "steering" it. It remained in control of itself. We simply made it believe something was in front or beside it. It still CHOSE to turn in a different direction. Hardly worth noting except to say that the power of suggestion also works on animals with limited brain capacities - which is something we already knew.
-Shadow
-Shadow
The problem with conditioning via games is that we're usually very detached when playing games, and often "role playing" -- e.g. if I'm beating up everyone in GTA, I'm role-playing a thug, and I'll act like a thug. Any conditioning that the game does (e.g. shooting people makes the police chase me), is within the context of that role-play and that detached world-view, and what happens in that world isn't likely to carry over into my real life.
If you can actually make a game that produces real emotions in the player, where the player is feeling real guilt, grief, anger, etc because of things that happen in the game world, then you've got a better chance of anchoring a behaviour at those moments.
e.g. play "Aerith's Theme" to a FF7 fanboi and watch the tears come.
">Derren Brown did an episode where he creates audio and tactile anchors to the feeling of guilt, in order to trick an innocent man into feeling guilty at just the right moments and trick him into confessing to a crime he didn't commit.
I used to work for a slot-machine company, and the psychology of behaviour played a big role in the very refined designs of those machines. After all, they're basically skinner boxes (an "operant conditioning chamber")!! The theory that's used on rats inside those boxes is just as applicable to humans playing slot machines.
It's very hard for a slot-machine gambler to think clearly and objectively evaluate their wins vs losses, because the machine is designed to make them forget their losses and celebrate wins (even wins that were smaller than the bet, which is actually a loss). It's also designed to be addictive, and to encourage long playing sessions.
Games like WoW and Zynga have also been widely accused of using similar techniques in order to hook players.
So yes, it's possible (and very profitable)! Using these techniques for good, instead of using them to exploit people and take their money, would be a nice idea. Most "educational games" are likely an application of this (trying to encourage learning behaviours via game reward mechanisms).
You should do some research.There were scientists who did all kinds of tests on humans(back in the 60's),and they didn't manage to control a human for more than 2 weeks.Even so,they didn't really achieve what you might call mind control,the humans remained for the rest of their lives in a vegetative state.
I find it hard that a series of pictures can shape the way you think,without something attached to your brain...i find it impossible.And if somehow,one day,we'll use controllers attached to our heads,and one of those controllers is designed to take control of your mind...well just imagine what would happen if someone would find out the whole story,people would get to jail...
If you're into conspiracy theories, there's Manchurian candidates such as Sirhan Sirhan, apparently produced by the (real) MKUltra project which ran from the 50's to the 70's.
Less controversially, every TV advertisement, billboard or newspaper article that you look at is a weak form of hypnosis that attempts to control your behaviour. Public relations, marketing and advertising are basically just huge, subtle mind control industries. Obviously they're not operating at such a level that they can orchestrate assassinations, but they do still have a huge influence nonetheless.
In pop-culture, there's trained Hypnotherepist / Street magician Derren Brown, who constantly tries to demonstrate how powerful suggestion can be in shaping people's behaviours, e.g.
">
Though the right suggestions, you can definitely affect the actions of a person. A small percent of people are especially susceptible, to the point where stage hypnotists can make a living tormenting them.
Author
Agree about media and culture. There is a theory that human behavior is essentially a function of past experiences, genes, and some randomness. Media and culture ceertainly has a big effect on how we view the world. There is also the concept of influence, like in sales, as well as religion and politics. Some people literally kill themselves for God. This means overriding their basic survival instinct. Dan denette talked about cultural memes where memes compete with each other through their hosts, humans, essentially controlling their behavior, and they evolve over time. Memes are like ideas and concepts stuck in the brain. Maybe in terms of games behavior shaping is more accurate word.
This topic is closed to new replies.
Advertisement
Popular Topics
Advertisement
