The fear you feel when you're playing a horror video game is real, players get emotionally engrossed in the games and enjoy the fear caused by zombies and darkness they often see, a new study has found.
Researchers found online 269 college students in 2013 about their experiences with popular video games such as 'Resident Evil', 'Call of Duty' and 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent.'
They used a method that has been used in studying fear reactions to non-interactive activities , such as movies and television programs.
They wanted to know whether the fear felt while playing games was the same as with the non-interactive media.
"It was interesting to see how the fright reactions that people had, how the emotional experiences that they were having, differed from those reported with non-interactive media," said Teresa Lynch, PhD student at the Indiana University's Media School.
Lynch said:"There are a lot more of these anxious feelings ... and an enjoyment of that fear,"
half of those surveyed - 44.1 per cent - said they enjoyed feeling scared.
She said :"That answers one part of the question of why do people continue to expose themselves to these aversive stimuli, why do they continue to expose themselves to these things that they know are going to cause an unpleasant emotional experience. It's because to some degree, in some way, they're getting pleasure out of it,"
"A few people did share in open-ended reports they enjoyed the feeling of surviving the experience," said Lynch.
Assistant Professor Nicole Martins said :"They get some enjoyment out of it. They like the feeling of being scared. Maybe the enjoyment comes from the fact that you're getting this rush, knowing that no harm is really going to come to you,"
"I think we share fear experiences because it is something that connects us on a very primal level," said Lynch.
Men reported enjoying and playing more frightening games than women. But, notably, no differences showed in how frequently the sexes experienced fear. They had the same kind of fear.
Source of study: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hbem20#.VZnHP1UVikq
Researchers found online 269 college students in 2013 about their experiences with popular video games such as 'Resident Evil', 'Call of Duty' and 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent.'
They used a method that has been used in studying fear reactions to non-interactive activities , such as movies and television programs.
They wanted to know whether the fear felt while playing games was the same as with the non-interactive media.
"It was interesting to see how the fright reactions that people had, how the emotional experiences that they were having, differed from those reported with non-interactive media," said Teresa Lynch, PhD student at the Indiana University's Media School.
Lynch said:"There are a lot more of these anxious feelings ... and an enjoyment of that fear,"
half of those surveyed - 44.1 per cent - said they enjoyed feeling scared.
She said :"That answers one part of the question of why do people continue to expose themselves to these aversive stimuli, why do they continue to expose themselves to these things that they know are going to cause an unpleasant emotional experience. It's because to some degree, in some way, they're getting pleasure out of it,"
"A few people did share in open-ended reports they enjoyed the feeling of surviving the experience," said Lynch.
Assistant Professor Nicole Martins said :"They get some enjoyment out of it. They like the feeling of being scared. Maybe the enjoyment comes from the fact that you're getting this rush, knowing that no harm is really going to come to you,"
"I think we share fear experiences because it is something that connects us on a very primal level," said Lynch.
Men reported enjoying and playing more frightening games than women. But, notably, no differences showed in how frequently the sexes experienced fear. They had the same kind of fear.
Source of study: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hbem20#.VZnHP1UVikq
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