Alexis Cruz
Differential Effects of Video Games and Film on Stress and Mood
What effect do playing video games and watching movies have
on mood and stress? This is a question former student of Brigham Young
University–Hawaii, Alexis Cruz, sought to answer in her senior research
project. Interestingly, Cruz’ study exists within a minority of research
categories that do not revolve around the pursuit of a link between playing
video games and aggression. Rather, her study sought quite the opposite. Cruz
specifically hypothesized that playing a video game would do better at
affecting both an improvement in mood and a decrease in stress than would
watching a movie.
When asked how she chose her research project, Cruz
remembered that she was instructed to choose something that she was passionate
about, saying “Choosing what to do my project on wasn't difficult for me
because I absolutely love playing video games and watching movies!” Cruz also stated
this aspect of choosing which topics to research can be very important. One
might grow tired of research quickly “if it’s something you aren't excited
about,” she advised.
Cruz also mentioned how “bothered” she was by how media
outlets seem to generally give video games a negative connotation as they
appear to be “commonly paired with violence, aggression, and mass shootings due
to selective attention to extreme examples.” And she added, “They are often
demonized despite the many people who also play and do not commit violent acts.”
So, in order to study the subject further, Cruz focused in on discovering
connections between video game playing and mood and stress. Eventually, Cruz
decided to compare both video game playing and movie watching with the same
attributes.
Though the research process was challenging for Cruz, she
says she ultimately “felt really proud” when she persevered. Looking back, Cruz
said that she feels that her research has helped her “to better understand and
think analytically” about other studies, and that it will help her “to conduct
improved studies in the future.”
Additionally, Cruz stated the importance of studying in
psychology for her and others, saying “Through research we can really gain
insight on how to better help people and improve their quality of life.”
In Cruz’ study, she found that playing a video game or
watching a movie produced an “overall decrease in anxiety, increase in positive
affect, and decrease in negative affect” indicating that both “can reduce
stress and help manage mood.”
And finally, Cruz noticed a trend in her data that, while not statistically significant, may have been shown to be so had more students participated. She said, "The trends suggested that with a larger sample size, there could be evidence to support my hypothesis that students who play video games experience a greater reduction in stress and a greater increase in positive affect more than students who watch a movie."
And finally, Cruz noticed a trend in her data that, while not statistically significant, may have been shown to be so had more students participated. She said, "The trends suggested that with a larger sample size, there could be evidence to support my hypothesis that students who play video games experience a greater reduction in stress and a greater increase in positive affect more than students who watch a movie."
You can see Alexis' study in more detail by viewing her project poster here.
Article by Kyle Evan Madsen
