In the past we've seen video games that can help you get in shape, video games that can improve your hand-eye coordination, and even video games that can help you 'activate your prefrontal cortex'.
Well, now you can even improve your social outlook by playing a video game.
The McGill University researchers that created the video game company 'MindHabits' (winners of the Greatest Canadian Video Game Competition) have new findings that show their new suite of 'social intelligence' games can actually reduce stress- this was measured by noting the presence of the stress-related hormone cortisol was reduced by 17% after testing one of their games.
Their idea is that stress in social situations is often a matter of perception- some people will inherantly focus on possible negative cues or impressions, rather than positive ones. The game they tested simply trains its players to look for smiling faces amoung frowning ones.
The results have appeared in the October issue of the American Psychological Association's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. You can learn more about their games at www.mindhabits.com.
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