Video games calm the body after stress, even when players feel on edge

Video games calm the body after stress, even when players feel on edge

Playing A Plague Tale: Requiem helped participants recover from stress on a biological level, regardless of violent or non-violent gameplay. But those playing violent passages felt more stressed and aggressive, highlighting a disconnect between felt and physiological stress responses.

psypost.org

TL;DR: A new study had 82 adults endure a cold-water stress test, then play either violent or non-violent passages of the game A Plague Tale: Requiem for about 25 minutes. While both groups showed the same drop in heart rate and cortisol afterward (i.e., they physiologically chilled out), only the non-violent players felt more relaxed. Those who played the violent segments actually reported higher stress and aggression—even though their bodies had calmed down.

The authors reckon this mismatch means gamers can misjudge their own arousal based on what they think is “tough” gameplay. It suggests video games, violent or not, might help speed up stress recovery—though self-reports can be misleading and results might not generalize beyond this one title.