Do games make you feel good?

Video games already have a notorious reputation. Surely, there must be something good about them, right?

A new study at the University of Rochester indicates that games can make you feel good about your accomplishments. In a report published in the December issue of Motivation and Emotion, Professor Richard Ryan and colleagues observed college students as they played older and, presumably, less challenging video games.

Similar to the euphoria from scoring a hole-in-one, or the sense of satisfaction in finishing an important project, Ryan described what keeps gamers gripped to their controllers:

Games either afford people challenges that help them feel competent or give them a sense of freedom maybe that they are not experiencing elsewhere or opportunities to connect with players… Those are a lot of the things that people seek in other avocations, from their hobbies or sports or from other things.

Source: GamesPolitics.com

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