Psych study suggests players happier to die in-game than shooting others

Is that your coffee all over the keyboard and monitor? Sorry. We couldn’t believe it, too, until we found out that this buzz was based out of an actual scientific study into games and violence. Finnish researchers observed from the psychoticism analysis and study of 36 young adult gamers that those gamers may have experienced stressful emotions gunning down an opposing player. It gets more interesting in the full story.

In a collaborative effort among IT, research, and psychological departments, researchers from the University of Helsinki, Finland selected, classified, and observed three dozen (36) young adults who played James Bond 007: NightFire. They did this to investigate the player’s emotional reactions to violent video games.

And results have showed that players were more stressed by killing other players than enjoying it. In fact, researchers believe the opposite can happen when receiving damage from other players.

The psycho-related gaming test was used by placing all subjects under data gathering while playing the console game. Players were monitored for changes in the zygomaticus major (a facial muscle connecting cheek to a corner of your mouth) and corrugator supercilii (a muscle under your eyebrow).

Orbicularis oculi electromyographic (EMG) activity and skin conductance level (SCL) data were also recorded. Each player was also subjected to rate his emotions via a survey designed with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, though the survey was only to investigate the psychoticism trait.

Surprisingly, it was found that when players were killed or received damage in-game, their level of skin conductance level increased. The zygomatic major and orbicularis oculi also had increased levels of activity. And researchers have concluded that because the highest Psychoticism scorers experienced the least anxiety, it’s likely that players do not feel bad when dying.

We guess it’s really the part about successfully fragging other players that has us confused. Obviously due to the results, the study indicates that it’s possible the players weren’t happy after downing an opponent.