The most obvious answer to the question of why games are played would probably be the word "fun," but according to the findings of a new study conducted by the University of Rochester, the answer may not be that simple.
While fun is certainly a factor in why people play video games, other driving force overtook this simple motivation. The newly found causes include elements of freedom, goal fulfillment, and social connections to other players. The findings were based upon answers provided and collected from a pool of 1,000 gamers.
Richard Ryan, the principal investigator in the psychological study said, "We think there’s a deeper theory than the fun of playing. It’s our contention that the psychological ‘pull’ of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness." Ryan stated that these positive aspects of playing video games "also can be experienced as enhancing psychological wellness, at least short-term".
