Computer games: ‘No violence link’

COMPUTER games make people more relaxed and do not trigger violent tendencies, according to a study.

Researchers based at Middlesex University in Britain found those who played computer games were calmer afterwards.

The findings are due to be presented today at the British Psychological Society (BPS) annual conference, which is being held in Dublin for the first time.

Yesterday, the BPS said researcher Jean Barnett had to pull out of the presentation but the details of the study have been released.

It asked 292 people aged between 12 and 83 to play the World of Warcraft game while their levels of aggression were tested.

Ms Barnett said the results did not back up the popular theory that computer games made enthusiasts more volatile and frustrated.

Instead anger levels depended on each individual’s characteristics, with most participants feeling calm but tired.

“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.

“This will help us to develop an emotion and gaming questionnaire to help distinguish the type of gamer who is likely to transfer their online aggression into everyday life,” said Ms Barnett.

World of Warcraft is a game particularly popular with online users and is based on elaborate quests and fantasy battles with monsters.

Those involved in the study were assessed and then played the game for two hours before they were tested again.

They had to identify situations which made them angry during the game and rate their level of frustration.

The findings revealed anger levels had little to do with the game and more to do with the player.

The researchers recommended the development of a specialist questionnaire to identify the personality types likely to be affected by video games.

All of those who participated in the study were recruited from the online gaming community.

The study said with psychological profiling and knowledge of common warning signs associated with gender and age, the public health problems linked to computer games could be minimised.