Psychologist’s Study Suggests Avid Gamers Can Control Nightmares
Jayne Gackenbach, a psychologist at Grant MacEwan University in Canada, had written several books on dream research by the time the 80s were coming to a close, but it wasn’t until the 90s kicked in that she began to study the effect video games had on the dream world.
Her initial studies proved that avid gamers were more apt to experience both “lucid dreams”, a controlled combination of third and first person dream perspectives, and “dream control”, a position of power allowing you to alter and adjust subconscious situations to your liking.
In 2008, essentially satisfied with her dream specific data, Gackenbach transitioned over to the high threat world of nightmares to see if gamers would continue to demonstrate the same “take charge” attributes they displayed in dreams. The outcome of her threat assessment study, comprised of thirty-five males and sixty-three females, proved that gamers not only experienced less threat than non gamers, but they were often able to reverse the threat — turning themselves into the bad ass presence.
“What happens with gamers is that something inexplicable happens,” Gackenbach explained. “They don’t run away, they turn and fight back. They’re more aggressive than the norms.”
Armed with this information in 1991, the “Freddy’s Dead” creative team at New Line Cinema could have written a more favorable and accurate outcome for our gamer boy Spencer. But, they didn’t, and because of that, we were blessed with quite possibly the best video game related death scene ever. Enjoy.
[via: LiveScience]
