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A new study published by Miss Jane Barnett and her colleagues at Middlesex University has revealed there to be a general feeling of relaxation after a session playing massively multiplayer MMO World of Warcraft.
The psychologists recruited 292 male and female online gamers, playing the game World of Warcraft. The players were aged between 12 and 83 and were asked to complete a questionnaire on anger, aggressions and personality. They then played WoW for two hours and completed the questionnaire again.
Rather than the much reported feelings of anger and aggression that seems to have become synonymous with gaming, the psychologists found overall the gamers were more likely to feel calm or tired after playing. However, there were differences depending on sex, age and personality.
“There were actually higher levels of relaxation before and after playing the game as opposed to experiencing anger but this did very much depend on personality type,” said Miss Barnett. “This will help us to develop a emotion and gaming questionnaire to help distinguish the type of gamer who is likely to transfer their online aggression into everyday life.”
About the Author
World of Warcraft
- Platform(s): macOS, PC
- Genre(s): Fantasy, Massively Multiplayer, Massively Multiplayer Online, RPG
