The Gaming Mind: A New Psychology of Videogames and the Power of Play

The Gaming Mind: A New Psychology of Videogames and the Power of Play

by Alexander Kriss PhD

Narrated by Matthew Josdal

Unabridged — 8 hours, 50 minutes

The Gaming Mind: A New Psychology of Videogames and the Power of Play

The Gaming Mind: A New Psychology of Videogames and the Power of Play

by Alexander Kriss PhD

Narrated by Matthew Josdal

Unabridged — 8 hours, 50 minutes

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Overview

Are videogames bad for us? It's the question on everyone's mind, given teenagers' captive attention to videogames and the media's tendency to scapegoat them. It's also-if you ask clinical psychologist Alexander Kriss-the wrong question.



In his therapy office, Kriss looks at videogames as a window into the mind. Is his patient Liz really "addicted" to Candy Crush-or is she evading a deeper problem? Why would aspiring model Patricia craft a hideous avatar named "Pat"? And when Jack immerses himself in Mass Effect, is he eroding his social skills-or honing them via relationship-building gameplay?



Weaving together Kriss's personal history, patients' experiences, and professional insight-and without shying away from complex subjects, such as online harassment-The Gaming Mind disrupts our assumptions about "gamers" and explores how gaming can be good for us. It offers guidance for parents, clinicians, and the rest of us to better understand the gaming mind. Like any mode of play, at their best, videogames reveal who we are and what we want from our lives.

Editorial Reviews

The Wall Street Journal

"The Gaming Mind seeks in part to dismantle the stigma that surrounds videogames and the archetypal ‘gamer kid.’ . . . Kriss is certainly right to highlight the emotional space that games occupy in the lives of those who play them and to take seriously the feelings that emerge there."

Dr. Pete Etchells

"This is a much-needed, nuanced, and informed analysis of gaming. We’ve gotten the public narrative on videogames all wrong, which creates a lot of undue worry about the impact they can have on us. Kriss takes us on a heartfelt personal and professional journey, showing how, with careful and empathetic thinking, we can start to get it right."

Governor Jared Polis

"I’m a gamer and have been my whole life from my first Apple 2+ when I was six. Alexander Kriss’s work is not only a nostalgic tour de force, but it also powerfully explains the positive impact of gaming on our minds and psyches."

Naomi Kyle

"Gaming is an undeniable growing phenomenon, and The Gaming Mind puts it under a magnifying glass. Alexander Kriss sheds light on long-overlooked deeper questions: Why do we rage quit? Why did we create videogames in the first place? And what do they trigger in us? There’s a reason videogames have had a visceral impact on our culture in recent decades—and the answer lies within our own minds."

Dr. Levi Harrison

"As a physician, I have seen gaming do good for the soul and mind. The stereotypes that society holds about gamers have never been true, and they’re starting to completely change. The Gaming Mind explores this paradigm shift: clearly showing us that gaming can foster social and communication skills—as well as supportive and inclusive global communities."

From the Publisher

The Gaming Mind seeks in part to dismantle the stigma that surrounds videogames and the archetypal ‘gamer kid.’ . . . Kriss is certainly right to highlight the emotional space that games occupy in the lives of those who play them and to take seriously the feelings that emerge there.”The Wall Street Journal

“Psychotherapist Kriss debuts with an unusual case for the benefits of playing video games . . . draw[ing] on personal and patient experiences to explore the ‘nuance and complexity’ of video games. . . . A thoughtful contribution to an ongoing debate.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Gaming is an undeniable growing phenomenon, and The Gaming Mind puts it under a magnifying glass. Alexander Kriss sheds light on long-overlooked deeper questions: Why do we rage quit? Why did we create videogames in the first place? And what do they trigger in us? There’s a reason videogames have had a visceral impact on our culture in recent decades—and the answer lies within our own minds.”—Naomi Kyle, actor, producer, and host of Last Week in Gaming

“I’m a gamer and have been my whole life from my first Apple 2+ when I was six. Alexander Kriss’s work is not only a nostalgic tour de force, but it also powerfully explains the positive impact of gaming on our minds and psyches.”—Governor Jared Polis, Colorado

“This is a much-needed, nuanced, and informed analysis of gaming. We’ve gotten the public narrative on videogames all wrong, which creates a lot of undue worry about the impact they can have on us. Kriss takes us on a heartfelt personal and professional journey, showing how, with careful and empathetic thinking, we can start to get it right.”—Dr. Pete Etchells, psychologist and author of Lost In A Good Game

“As a physician, I have seen gaming do good for the soul and mind. The stereotypes that society holds about gamers have never been true, and they’re starting to completely change. The Gaming Mind explores this paradigm shift: clearly showing us that gaming can foster social and communication skills—as well as supportive and inclusive global communities.”—Dr. Levi Harrison, gaming and E-sports doctor, and founder of The Try-Angle

Kirkus Reviews

2020-01-12
Psychotherapist Kriss debuts with an unusual case for the benefits of playing video games.

"Games," writes the author, "are here and growing; they are a way for us to learn more about who we are or make contact with parts of ourselves we didn't know existed." A gamer from the age of 5 and now the go-to guy for colleagues who don't know how to help "gamer kids," the New York-based author draws on personal and patient experiences to explore the "nuance and complexity" of video games. "Not all games are violent, or sexualized," writes Kriss, nor is there scientific agreement about whether they are addictive, as societal stigma would have it. For many of his patients, games are a way to explore parts of themselves they "feel harder to access in the physical world." One client, an aspiring model assaulted by a photographer, turned herself into an ugly, unappealing man in the post-apocalyptic game "Fallout 4"; another, a 21-year-old man living a chaotic family life, relished the "knowable" world of "Mass Effect." Others found "new ways to connect, self-reflect, and feel known," even entering pathways to future growth. Such patients discover a "sense of safety" in games, a protected space where they can "explore unconscious fears and desires." The author's own experiences playing "Silent Hill 2," a game of psychological horror, helped him, at age 14, deal with a friend's death. He discusses conflicting research findings on games addiction. He prefers to call the latter "compulsive play," in which the individual is not "beholden to an ‘addictive' game but is in fact in control of and responsible for herself and her behavior and is therefore free to change." He stresses that "we are all entitled to play. We need to play in order to fully discover and live as ourselves."

A thoughtful contribution to an ongoing debate that would have benefited from a more thorough look at harmful effects.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940177242071
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Publication date: 03/31/2020
Edition description: Unabridged
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