Stress-Induced Analgesia Through Video Game Play
- ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Kathleen A. Jocoy (Creator)
- Institution
- Appalachian State University (ASU )
- Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
- Advisor
- Mary Ballard
Abstract: Research on the positive effects of video game play suggests that video games provide an analgesic effect. The majority of research examining the analgesic properties of video games has suggested that cognitive distraction is the primary mechanism that drives this phenomenon. Playing video games also results in an increase in blood pressure. This increase in blood pressure may also be responsible for the analgesic effects of video games through the process of stress-induced analgesia (SIA) and is often not examined in studies of video game distraction. The current study aimed to determine if the analgesia from video games is related to the changes in blood pressure via SIA. To test this, participants played one of three video games with varying levels of stress or were assigned to a drawing control. All were subjected to pain using a cold pressor. While gaming condition was related to perceived stress and frustration, there was no effect of gaming condition on any measure of pain perception or blood pressure. These results suggest that while the gaming conditions effectively induced stress, they did not bring about the desired effects of SIA.
Stress-Induced Analgesia Through Video Game Play
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Created on 4/26/2011
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Jocoy, K.A. (2010). Stress-Induced Analgesia Through Video Game Play. Unpublished master’s thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
- Language: English
- Date: 2010
- Keywords
- Stress-induced analgesia, Video games, Pain, Stress, Cold pressor