Greetings,
I hope to blog in more detail about this over the weekend, and find relevant news items, but for now here is a thread I was discussing in Linkedin, that I thought I should could communicate here as well. This was discussing my questions about what people thought of Big Bang Theory's depiction of D&D last week...
"Unfortunately pop culture media, though often a reflection of current views, can also perpetuate and shape views. As some of you may, or may not, be aware, I am slowly working on attempting to establish causal relationships of variables between role-playing gaming and participants with the RPG Research project.
At the office facilities I have one preliminary observation group, and just had out 12th weekly session. Prior to this week's session beginning Tuesday evening, I had a disturbing conversation with the senior secretary/administrative assistant there.
This office has a lot of lawyers, and other businesses, with a shared receptionist service in the building. While the younger receptionist has just been curious, the elder one has been a bit skeptical about my work. It appears she just realized this week, that the group was playing D&D, and she asked to speak with me about that. It was a long 20-30 minute conversation that I want to try to blog about as soon as I get a chance, but the short version is she was a parent during the 80's.
She kept seeing and hearing things about D&D and RPG's then, and she felt she "didn't have the time" to "look into it more", so she just went with the general "public opinion" that D&D was "weird", and "dangerous", so she forbade her children from participating in it when they tried to. She apparently is aware of Big Bang Theory, and other shows that have depicted D&D, and she thought those were accurate representations of gamers as completely dysfunctional. Also, she, like many others, apparently had a nephew-in-law???, a relation through one of niece's marriages, that apparently killed the neice and daughter in December. Though neither he, nor the press picked it up, she initially asked if I thought his (in her view) "addiction to D&D led to his killing them".
It took a few minutes to get her to clarify this was DDO (D&D Online). Apparently he had become extremely obsessive about the game before he snapped. I am trying to find news articles and information on this murder (apparently still pending trial this July). I gave her the information about all the correlative and meta-data studies that prove RPGers do not have higher levels of suicidal, homicidal, or anti-social personality traits (all available on the site and elsewhere over the decades), in the 70+ studies since the 80's.
By the end of the conversation, she seemed at least open to the possibility that D&D wasn't causal, and that his obsession was more likely a symptom of greater psychological issues, rather than causes the issues. I also clarified for her the differences between tabletop, live-action, and computer-based, of which she had thought dressing up (live-action), tabletop, and computer-based were all part of just one activity known as role-playing gaming.
These are common misconceptions I run into all the time. She thought the popular culture depiction of dysfunctional young men was caused by playing D&D. This too seems to be a common popular myth. I am hoping, in addition to many other aspects, to begin performing a "man in the streets" survey to see how pervasive this is (This could happen this summer, or next, it depends on a number of variables). This discussion is exactly why "this matters" as a topic that needs to be addressed, and addressed in a very activist way. And fortunately there is some effort under way to do so (more on that later)."
--
-Hawke Robinson
Role-playing gamer since 1979.
Game master since 1984.
In training as recreation therapist, music therapist, and research psychologist.
Retired computer scientist.
The RPG Research Project
Research Facilities & Mailing Address
http://www.rpgr.org
(509) 252-0800
1312 N. Monroe Suite 114
Spokane, WA
99218
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rpgresearch
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rpgresearch
Skype: dev2devportal
Mission: Clearly establish through rigorous scientific
testing the causal therapeutic and educational impact
of role-playing gaming on participants.
"Holistic medicine treats the person rather than the disease,
its concern lies with the 'whole person' and with permitting
individuals to assume self-responsibility for their own health.
Whereas illness is the sole concern of 'traditional medicine',
holistic 'well medicine' deals with wellness and health promotion"
