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Tetris May Help Sooth Your Worried Mind, Study Says (theweek.in)
A new study published in the journal Emotion has found that playing the classic game of Tetris can help sooth the mind when you are awaiting uncertain news. The Week reports: The venerable video game was used in a recent experiment to create a state of flow -- the term psychologists use to describe a state of mind so engaged it makes the rest of the world fall away, and time pass more quickly. Researchers from University of California (UC) Riverside in the U.S. have found that state of perfect disengagement may improve the otherwise-emotionally unpleasant experience of waiting for uncertain news. In place of Tetris, in which blocks are flipped every which way and stacked into rows, one can substitute flow activities such as rock climbing, carpentry, playing chess, or swimming, researchers said.
For the research published in the journal Emotion, 290 undergraduate students were told the study would be about physical attractiveness. They filled out a questionnaire, after which a photo was taken of them. They were then told that students in another location would rate their physical attractiveness. While they were ostensibly being rated, the students were then asked to play Tetris for 10 minutes. [...] The participants who achieved flow -- those in the adaptive group -- experienced less negative emotion, and greater positive emotion than those who were bored, or for whom the level of play was too difficult.
For the research published in the journal Emotion, 290 undergraduate students were told the study would be about physical attractiveness. They filled out a questionnaire, after which a photo was taken of them. They were then told that students in another location would rate their physical attractiveness. While they were ostensibly being rated, the students were then asked to play Tetris for 10 minutes. [...] The participants who achieved flow -- those in the adaptive group -- experienced less negative emotion, and greater positive emotion than those who were bored, or for whom the level of play was too difficult.
Were these scientists pining for the steamships of their youth or something? Had they never played video games?
OF COURSE video games are distracting and disengage you from reality. And so do movies. And books. That's why we have these forms of entertainment. They are an escape from reality. I guess for some old timers, this isn't common knowledge. Now they know! Let all retirement communities be one big LAN party! Quake ahoy!
Sorry TRUMP TRAITORS, the only slots you'll be filling will be INVOLUNTARILY YOURS!
muppets
nope
Well, duh. I wouldn't say it soothes as much as distracts you. Any nervousness you feel is likely to be multiplied if you have nothing else to do than think about how nervous you are.
So playing games while you're worried takes your mind off things? Well gosh. Whoda thunk it? It's almost as if for some people, that's the whole point of video games, avoiding a shitty life by achieving flow in another world where their lives don't suck. I'm glad valuable grant money was spent on such an unexpected outcome that will certainly pave the way for exciting developments. Hey, look at it this way: these results are likely replicable, unlike most of the rest of the "science" produced by the humanities.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
It's very helpful.
This (that tetris can soothe a troubled mind) has been known for a long time. Years at least.
It is also said to help lessen the effects of PTSD as reported previously on slashdot.
https://science.slashdot.org/story/17/03/29/163238/playing-tetris-can-reduce-onset-of-ptsd-after-trauma-study-finds
This is not a new idea, and not relegated to Tetris.
Mod parent UP!
We are seeing numerous incidents of people pretending to know things who are actually ignorant about logic. They say "may", as in this case, or "maybe". It's clickbait. It's fake news.
Especially because Tetris lost its ability to take my mind off something since the 2008 "FOSS destroys the market" interview and a 2012 copyright lawsuit made Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov appear to me as an open opponent of the free software movement.
'Tis another typo
I heard it quite some time before /. had something a year ago; possibly another time before that?
It is NOT Tetris specifically, Tetris was used in the 1st study I read about. It's possible a non-Tetris study existed that didn't get noticed decades ago!
It's keeping your mind from dwelling / meditating on the trauma which is how memories are cemented. The way it works means that all other known science can be applied for greater impact; such as poor quality sleep that night because a healthy sleep cycle rehashes the day's events and cements them better somehow (other studies on sleep process on memory.) At some point if not already, there is a pill that will mess up sleep enough that you weaken this memory hardening effect and playing audio while sleeping probably has an impact as well. Future studies...or rediscovery and application... A masters thesis for example, never gets read.
People will think it's only Tetris for decades... and most people don't play it that long so it won't help them much; although, you can't really know how much it helps without attempting to compare 2 events. So when 5 minutes of Tetris is tried and doesn't seem to help the TV news viewer will think science failed them again instead of science reporting failing. again.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
While playing Tetris or any of the other endless video games of similar ilk, whether Tetris, or crushing candies or falling jewels, I find that they distract me from current concerns, as the psychologists noted. But they induce a stress of their own that steadily increases as the game continues, relentlessly and endlessly.
https://www.merriam-webster.co...
sooth adjective [süth]
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 archaic : true
2 archaic : soft, sweet
sooth noun
Definition of sooth (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : truth, reality
2 obsolete : blandishment
...if you can get that damn straight four piece.
And those of us, a vanishing number it seems, who were taught phonics know that the word you're looking for is "soothe".
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.