Oxford University researchers say a new study marks a rare example of collaboration between academics and the video game industry.
牛津大学研究人员表示，一项新的研究标志着学者和电子游戏产业之间的罕见合作。
Lack of information from game makers has long been an issue for scientists hoping to better understand player behaviors.
缺乏来自游戏厂商的信息长期以来一直是希望更好地了解玩家行为的科学家所面临的难题。
The new study, which looked at how video games affect mental health, is unusual because it used information provided by the video game makers themselves. It comes at a time when video game sales have increased. Many people are staying at home because of the coronavirus health crisis. And in many countries, public health officials have set limits on public life.
这项新研究着眼于电子游戏如何影响心理健康，这是一项不寻常的研究，因为它使用了电子游戏厂商自己提供的信息。该研究发布时，电子游戏销量有所攀升。由于新冠病毒健康危机，许多人窝在家里。在许多国家，公共卫生官员对社会生活设定了限制。
The paper, released by the Oxford Internet Institute, is based on questions presented to people who played two video games. Those games were Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
牛津互联网研究院发布的这篇论文是基于对两种电子游戏玩家的调查。这两款游戏分别是《植物大战僵尸：邻里之战》和《集合啦！动物森友会》。
The study used data provided by the game makers Electronic Arts and Nintendo of America. It showed how much time the people in the study spent playing the games. Earlier research used estimates from the players themselves.
该研究使用了游戏厂商美国艺电公司和任天堂北美公司提供的数据。这些数据显示了研究所涉对象花了多少时间玩游戏。之前的研究使用的是玩家自己的估算。
The researchers said they found the actual amount of time spent playing was a small but positive factor in people's well-being - the state of being happy, healthy, or successful.
研究人员表示，他们发现实际游戏时间是影响人们幸福感的一个很微小但很积极的因素，幸福感是指人们感觉快乐、健康和成功的一种状态。
The paper said the level of enjoyment that players get from a game could be more important for their mental health than playing time.
该论文表示，对于玩家的心理健康而言，游戏享受程度比游戏时间更为重要。
The paper has not yet been peer reviewed. Peer review is a process by which a study is examined by a group of experts in the same field.
该论文尚未经过同行评审。同行评审是指由同领域专家小组对研究进行审查的过程。
The study results could raise questions about ideas that gaming causes aggression or addiction.
该研究结果可能会引发人们对游戏导致好斗或成瘾这种观点的质疑。
"Our findings show video games aren't necessarily bad for your health," said Andrew Przybylski, the institute's director of research. "In fact, play can be an activity that relates positively to people's mental health – and regulating video games could withhold those benefits from players."
该研究院的研究主任安德鲁·普齐比斯基表示：“我们的研究结果表明，电子游戏不一定对你的健康有害。实际上，游戏可以成为有益人们心理健康的活动，而监管电子游戏可能会使玩家无法享受到这些好处。”
Regulate means to make rules or laws that control people or things.
监管是指制定控制人或事物的规则或法律。
Joseph Hilgard is an assistant professor of social psychology at Illinois State University. He noted some limitations in the study. He suggested that the data does not directly show that video games have an effect on well-being. Instead, Hilgard described the data as "correlational," which suggests that two or more things change or happen together.
约瑟夫·希尔格德是伊利诺伊州立大学社会心理学的助理教授。他指出了这项研究的一些局限性。他暗示这些数据不能直接表明电子游戏会影响幸福感。相反，希尔格德称这些数据是“相关型，”，这表明两个或更多事物同时发生改变或发生。
Paul Croarkin of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota said he had "lingering questions" about the study. Croarkin has studied video games and children. He said the self-reporting nature of the study was a weakness. But he added that the researchers presented their findings in a balanced way.
明尼苏达州梅奥诊所的保罗·克罗瓦金表示，他对这项研究有着“挥不去的疑问。”克罗瓦金研究过电子游戏和儿童。他说，这项研究的自我陈述性质是缺点。但是他补充说，研究人员以一种均衡的方式提出了他们的发现。
For the study, the researchers questioned 2,756 people who played the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. They also questioned 518 players of Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. All the players were asked to complete a questionnaire on their experiences. Their answers were matched up against playing time recorded by the video game companies.
在这项研究中，研究人员调查了2756名《集合啦！动物森友会》的玩家。他们还调查了518名《植物大战僵尸：邻里之战》的玩家。所有玩家都被要求填写一份关于自身经历的调查问卷。他们的答案再跟电子游戏厂商记录的游戏时间相匹配。
Andrew Przybylski suggested that researchers need to work more with the video game industry "to study how games impact a wider, and more diverse, sample of players over time."
普齐比斯基表示，研究人员需要跟电子游戏产业开展更多合作，“以研究随着时间推移，游戏如何影响更广泛、更多样化的玩家样本。”
He added, "We'll need more and better data to get to the heart of the effects of games, for good or ill, on mental health."
他还说：“我们需要更多更好的数据，以便深入了解游戏对心理健康的影响，无论它是好还是坏。”
I'm John Russell.
我是约翰·罗素。
Words in This Story
collaboration – n. the act of working with another person or group in order to do something
academic – n. a teacher in a college of school of higher education
data – n. facts and other information collected together for future study
positive – adj. good or useful
factor – n. something that helps produce or influence a result; one of the things that cause something to happen
addiction – n. a strong need to have something (such as a drug) or do something
withhold – v. to hold (something) back; to refuse to provide (something)
benefit – n. a good or helpful result or effect
match up – phrasal verb. to put someone or something together with another person or thing
sample – n. a small part of something; a representative
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