Desensitisation

• Carnagey examined the effect of playing violent video games. After randomly being allocated to play a violent or non-violent video game for 20 minutes, participants watched a film depicting real-life violence. Their heart rate were measured. Those who had played violent video games had lower heart rate, suggesting desensitisation. This suggests that exposure to violent video games does have a desensitising effect However this research only shows short term effects, so this may be reversed an hour or two after playing the game.
• However, it was also adaptive for our ancestors to become accustomed to environmental stimuli that were frequently encountered. For instance, some tribes have become tree dwellers for their own safety. On the face of it living high in the trees would seem a stressful and frightening experience, but these tree dwellers have become desensitised to the fear element of living in the treetops. Psychologists have proposed that desensitisation can therefore also provide an adaptive response to the environment.