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Jacobadam Moreno

Dr. Sharity Nelson

ENGL 1301 124

5 December 2022

Rhetorical Analysis of “Brain training: Games to do you good” by Bavelier and Davidson

Video games cause violence; this is something everyone has heard on TV or the internet.

Whenever something negative comes out of a person, especially children, people tend to relate it

to games, for example, violence, laziness, and being overweight, among other things. While this

is something fair to say, after all, violent games exist, and kids probably play more than they

should; it is not acceptable because no one relates anything good to video games. It is hard to

believe anything good can come from sitting down and only moving the fingers. However, some

studies have shown that games can positively affect people; for example, Super Monkey Ball can

help physicians make fewer surgical errors than those who do not play the game. This study has

made some people wonder whether or not games can be used for positive effects on people; after

all, if games can have both good and bad effects on people, would it be possible to create games

that aim to help people’s mental health? This is a question that Daphne Bavelier and Richard J.

Davidson tried to answer in their article “Brain training: Games to do you good.” In this article,

Bavelier and Davidson had a meeting with other scientists and entertainment-media experts

where they “discuss ways of using interactive technology such as video games to further our

understanding of brain functions and to provide new, engaging rehabilitation tools…” (Bavelier

and Davidson 425). Whether the strategy they develop is a good one is up for debate. Still, their

use of ethos, logos, and some pathos can appeal to anyone, especially neuroscientists.
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Their article appeals to ethos primarily through the authority that Bavelier and Davidson

have. Daphne Babelier is a neuroscientist that studied at the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology; she is known for having a multidisciplinary approach when researching factors that

promote learning. She is also a professor at the University of Geneva and head of the Brain and

Learning lab at Campus Biotech in Geneva. Richard J. Davidson is a phycologist who received

his Ph.D. from Harvard University and is known for his work studying emotion and the brain; he

is also a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and founder of the Center for

Healthy Minds. If this was not enough ethos to show that they know what they are talking about,

then both the host and the sponsor of the meeting will be. The article states that the meeting is

being hosted by the White House and sponsored by the NSF; “The meeting was hosted by the

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and sponsored by the US National

Science Foundation” (Bavelier and Davidson 425). Even if people did not know who Bavelier

and Davidson were, the host and sponsor names are more than enough to appeal to the ethos of

those reading the article.

The appeal to logos may not be as big as the appeal to ethos, but the article can still

resonate with the logic and reasoning of the audience. One of the methods it utilizes is

mentioning a fact that, although evident, no one knows of its magnitude. Call of Duty is a game

series so popular that people keep buying the newest game, despite it playing the same way as

the previous one, but no one knows that one of the games was played for over 35 billion minutes

in a single month. “In the month after its release, the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops had

been played for the equivalent of 68,000 years worldwide” (Bavelier and Davidson 425).

Another appeal to logos would be this sentence “Stronger links to professional game designers

would also facilitate the development of therapeutic games that people actually want to play as
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much as Call of Duty” (Bavelier and Davidson 426); the truth of this sentence is what appeals to

logos; even if a person were to create a game that can cure depression, it does not mean that it

will be as known or as played as Call of Duty, so help from professionals to make a fun, and

popular game is required.

Appealing to pathos can be difficult for a scientist because the truth may differ from what

people want to hear, but it does not mean that ways to appeal to it are non-existent. “After

spending an hour a day, 5 days a week for 8–10 weeks spotting snipers and evading opponents in

shooter games such as Call of Duty or Unreal Tournament, young adults saw more small visual

details in the middle of clutter….” (Bavelier and Davidson 425). This sentence easily resonates

with those that played any shooter; after all, the most deadly enemy is not the one in front of

someone; it is the one they cannot see aiming at their head. Another sentence that can resonate

with pathos is this one “One game, for example, aims to treat depression by introducing

cognitive behavioural therapy… In Re-mission, young cancer patients blast cancer cells and fight

infections and the side effects of therapy” (Bavelier and Davidson 425). The simple fact that

these games aim to help people with these severe problems can give people a heartwarming

feeling because big game companies focus on making fun, addicting games that will sell

millions. Then there are these groups of people whose goal is not to sell but to help those in

need.

In conclusion, “Brain training: Games to do you good,” an article by Daphne Bavelier

and Richard J. Davidson, manages to successfully appeal to the ethos, logos, and pathos of the

readers. By having two big people and the White House behind it, its appeal to ethos is

something that not many can achieve. Stating facts, giving more information about them, and not

being afraid to say the truth will resonate with everyone’s logos. Furthermore, making sentences
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that would make people remember their time playing any shooter and letting them know that

there are people out there who are making games intending to help those in need can make

someone smile and make them feel good, appealing to pathos. This article is sure to make

everyone realize that not all video games cause violence and that games can be used to help

others.
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Works Cited

Bavelier, Daphne, and Richard J. Davidson. “Brain Training: Games to Do You Good: Brain

Training.” Nature, vol. 494, no. 7438, 2013, pp. 425–426, https://doi.org10.1038/494425a