In a study commissioned by PopCap–but that PopCap has not influenced in any way, apparently–a team of academics observed that casual games have positive effects on people’s moods. The findings were presented at the Games for Health conference in Baltimore by Carmen Russioniello and Jennifer Parks.
The focus of the study was the measurement of a set of mental states before and after playing different casual games:
The team then jumped into a statistic-heavy presentation of their findings, which tracked the effects of the games Bejeweled 2, Peggle, and Bookworm Adventures on 143 subjects’ emotional and mental states, including tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, and confusion. Three groups of subjects played one of the three games while undergoing tested, while a control group simply surfed the internet.
Nearly across the board, the games were found to have an ameliorating effect on negative mental states, although in some cases the impact varied across gender and age.
The study goes on to break out the various different ways people responded to the games. It turns out that responses tend to break down by gender and age:
For example, Bejeweled 2 caused a general decrease in physical stress among subjects, while Bookworm Adventures‘ effect on the same statistic was more pronounced in males. Bookworm Adventures also had a significant positive effect on emotional balance among those younger than 25 years of age, but less of an effect on those older than 25.
Although this may seem like trivial research, the group plans on expanding its focus on the effects of gaming on more serious illnesses:
After the main presentation, the group announced it has now received a grant to do further study examining activity levels on Wii as well as cognitive activity of sickle cell anemia patients playing PopCap games, measuring mood and pain. Longer term-effects will be examined.
I love studies like this. I like to think of myself as an articulate guy, fairly self-aware, but if you asked me to rate my tension/depression/anger/fatigue/confusion, I would be hard pressed to rate them separately. I would probably just punch the questioner in the face and throw my feces in the air. But that’s just me.
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