© 2008-2011 Douglas A. Gentile; All Rights Reserved
Developmental psychologist Douglas Gentile is an award-winning research scientist,
educator, author, and one of the world's leading experts on the effects of mass media
on children, adolescents, and adults.
Dr. Gentile conducts scientific research on the positive and negative effects of
media on children, adolescents, and adults, including such topics as media violence,
video games, advertising, media ratings, and video game addiction.
The media provide benefits and risks for healthy child development. Studying the
effects of media scientifically can provide parents, educators, and policy makers
with the information that they need to improve children’s outcomes.
On the Science of Parenting Radio Show: Dr. Gentile and Michael Murray discuss children’s brain development with Dr. Diane Bales. Click here to listen to the show.
Brains on Video Gaming: A discussion with other researchers (e.g., Green, Bavalier, Han, et al.) about the multiple effects games can have. Click here to read more.
Problems with Media Ratings: Three national surveys of parents demonstrate that the current age-based rating systems are not working for parents, as only 6% of parents feel they are always accurate and more importantly, parents disagree about what age it’s ok for children to see different types of content. Click here for a brief summary. Full paper here.
The Five Dimensions of Video Game Effects: There are at least five dimensions on which video games can affect players -- amount of play, content of play, game context, structure of the game, and the mechanics of game play. Click here for a brief summary. Full paper here.
Video Game Addiction: A longitudinal study following 3000 children across two years examining the predictors and outcomes of becoming a pathological video game player (more colloquially known as video game “addiction”). The study finds surprising links to depression, anxiety, social phobias, and school performance. Click here to read the study.
Abstracts and full text of Dr. Gentile’s academic research papers, conference papers,
and general audience papers.
Includes materials and links for parents, including recorded interviews and the Science
of Parenting radio show.
Multiple resources are available, including research articles, audio podcasts, books,
videos, frequently asked questions, etc.
Includes podcast interviews, papers, FAQs, and research measures for students studying
media effects.
