This is unsurprisingly all over the game networks: a Middlesex University research study has found that long-term play in MMO World of Warcraft is not linked to increased aggressive tendencies. On the contrary, it's linked with a heightened sense of relaxation.
The results were presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Dublin last week in a paper titled, 'Sex and violence and playing games: reduced levels of anger after violent online play'. It was presented by Jane Barnett, Mark Coulson and Nigel Foreman.
According to the abstract, the study 'had two main aims":
First, to explore the types of anger-causing scnearios experienced when playing WoW. Second, to identify the state emotions experienced before and after the anger-causing scenarios, as a function of sex and personality.
In terms of science, it looks robust: there were 292 people in the sample, most of whom were recruited via the WoW forums and were thus invested participants. In the conclusion, they researchers argue that "the identification of a specific gamer personality type helped to outline the possible benefits and risks of these individuals who play videogames". Personally, I'd like to see what these 'personality types' are, and how they segment the players.
Clearly a hot topic in the aftermath of the Byron Review, released last month, I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing and basing my assessment on more than just the abstract.
