Violent games help people relax

Playing online role-playing games is exhausting, and according to one research, it may actually help people feel more relax and less angry. Psychologists at Middlesex University studied 292 male and female online gamers, between the ages of twelve and eighty-three years of age, and came to the conclusion that people's level of relaxation increased after playing World of WarCraft (WoW), which is known to be an addictive game.

Gamers were asked to fill out a questionnaire that gave researchers some insight into their level of anger, aggression, and personality before and after a two-hour gaming session. Jane Barnette, who lead the study, said gamers experienced higher levels of relaxation after playing the game as opposed to anger, which is a common misconception attributed to those who play violent video games. Researchers hope this study will help them develop a gaming questionnaire that could help them identify the personality type that's more likely to transfer their online aggression into everyday life.

The effect violent video games has on gamers has been widely debatable, and some countries including the United States, Britain, and Australia have tried to ban the sale of violent video games. Stephen King recently spoke out about such bans saying that games only reflected a violence that already existed in society, and that parents should be responsible for monitoring their children's entertainment, not politicians.

Related:

Horror writer King blasts banning violent video games (Reuters)