Episode 19: Boom, Headshot!

Unlocking Games

It’s not often there’s breaking news in the world of academic articles on gaming, but a potential retraction of an article is worth talking about. A 2014 study called “Boom, Headshot! Effect of Video Game Play and Controller Type on Firing Aim and Accuracy� concluded that playing games with a gun-shaped controller, even briefly, will make the player much more accurate at shooting a real gun. That study went on to be cited in policy documents and the news, but there’s just one problem: some of the data may have been falsified or manipulated. What does this mean for academic gaming research? Can or should we trust a single published study?

Show Notes & Links

• Boom, Headshot! Effect of Video Game Play and Controller Type on Firing Aim and Accuracy, by Brad Bushman & Jodi Whitaker, 2014, Communication Research
• Dispute over shooter video games may kill recent paper (Retraction Watch)
• Analyses of Miscoded Data, a timeline of the investigation into the article’s data
• Origins of the “Boom, Headshotâ€� meme
• Andrew Przybylski on Twitter
• Do violent video games play a role in shootings? (CNN)
• APA’s Resolution on Violent Video Games
• More details on replication rates of academic studies

Other games mentioned in this episode:

• Mario Kart 8
• Duck Hunt
• Resident Evil 4
• Wii Play
• Super Mario Galaxy
• Halo
• Super Scope
• Pong
• Asteroids