Gaming Drives You Crazy
In the majority of research seeking to probe the link between gaming and aggression researchers use combat-oriented games like Call of Duty or Mortal Kombat. A new study coming from Huddersfield University in the UK suggests that shooting games might not be as affecting as previously thought.
One of the biggest problems with previous aggression research is that the actual measurement of aggression varies from study to study and some researchers use questionable definitions of aggression. This study sought to shed light on unquestionable measures of emotion by measuring sheer physical data (EEG, heart rate and breathing) in addition to the usual mental measures.
The participants, aged 18-45 played one of three games on the Xbox 360; either a 3-D table tennis game, an FPS game or Project Gotham Racing (the only game whose title they actually reveal). Interestingly the driving game induced the greatest change in brain activity and heart rate, while the FPS defied expectations by producing less of a change than even the table tennis game.
This certainly explains why my friends who take a sound beating in Halo quite gentlemanly rage and scream whenever we play Mario Kart. Nothing says ‘frustration’ like blue shells.